The potato crop is of great importance worldwide as it contributes to food security and is the fourth most consumed crop in the world. In Colombia, large areas are planted mainly in the departments of Cundinamarca, Boyacá and Nariño, the latter being characterized by smallholder production on small farms with low technology and the use of local and native cultivars in planting; because of climate change, there is an increasing incidence of extreme weather events, including intense droughts, and small producers will have greater negative effects due to their low technical capacities. Objective. To characterize the physiological response of local cultivars of Solanum phureja and their adaptation strategies. Results. As an effect of water deficit, a reduction in yield from 20% to 75% was evidenced depending on the severity of stress, Mambera was identified as a cultivar with good response to the effects of water stress while maintaining acceptable yields, as well as purple mouse with more efficient use of water, Criolla Colombia as more susceptible, but with high concentrations of chlorophyll and high concentrations of chlorophyll, but with high chlorophyll concentrations under stress and high recovery rates under rehydration. It was also identified how water potential correlates positively with gas exchange and dry matter accumulation but inversely with chlorophyll concentration, and how senescence stage and chlorophyll contents are key to select genotypes with stress tolerance. Conclusions. Potato presents an integrated strategy to resist stress which is applied in the short, medium and long term, the first affected is the water potential of the plant causing immediate reductions in gas exchange rates, in the medium term there is an increase in chlorophyll and reduction of leaf area, and ending with affectations in yield; Differential behaviors among cultivars, the intensity and severity of stress and the phenological stage where it occurs were presented, which helped to better understand the XI physiological phenomenon and is of great interest for further work on the subject in order to establish strategies for agronomic management and genetic improvement.

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