In addition to employing top potato scientists, the Center houses a gene bank with more than 4,000 selections of potato varieties, wild potato relatives and ancient potatoes cultivated thousands of years ago in the Andes, dating back to the Incas.
The ongoing discussions stem from May 2015, when UI plant science professor Mike Thornton and Bob Haggerty, international programs director with UI’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, visited Peru as part of a trade mission facilitated by Idaho Gov. Butch Otter. Thornton believes partnering with the center, located in the region where potatoes originated, would be a boon for UI’s potato breeding efforts.
Mike Thornton:
“If you’re looking for new sources of genes to solve potato problems — like late blight, or potato cyst nematode, you name it — that is the most likely place you’re going to find those resources.”Thornton joined UI Extension potato storage specialist Nora Olsen and Joe Kuhl, an associate professor specializing in biotechnology, this spring on a six-day return trip to the center and nearby potato farms. The UI officials were scheduled to meet again with center personnel Aug. 2 during the Potato Association of America meeting in Michigan.
The center works closely with native growers, who conduct variety trials on their small farms to evaluate material. Kuhl said partnering with the center would also provide UI access to “individuals with intimate knowledge of the material that goes well beyond what might be available in a database.”
In return, Thornton believes UI provides a diverse set of potato scientists with knowledge in virology, food science, agronomy and other facets of the industry.
Mike Thornton:
“I think we’ve got as good of a scientific group as anywhere in the world, so I think we can help them.”
