Perspectives in consumer-oriented breeding for potatoes in India

Abstract

Potato has become an integral part of human diets world over and is consumed alone or with wide variety of other vegetables. Consumer preference of the regions varies and is dependent upon market specifications, variety; tuber appearance, size, shape, colour; absence of disease or tubers defects; texture and flavour of cooked potatoes. Breeding for consumer preference related traits is integral part of the varietal development efforts world over and thus helps to write the success story of a variety evolved.In recent years there has been a surge in the consumer awareness in India, with consumers becoming more conscious about the food, its nutritional valueand its use. The desired products fetch higher premium prices in the market. A potato is not merely a potato anymore in recent times, but a commodity having varied uses, with each user having a specific requirement. In view of the above, it becomes pertinent to delineate the various consumer-oriented breeding objectives for potato, based on its use. Indian consumer-based profiles of potato have been proposed, based on recent overview and prevailing Indian scenario for orientingspecific breeding programmes, guiding consumers and seed producers to breed, consume and multiply the variety of their choice and formulation of selection indices for genotype screening.