Potato and Tuber Crops

True Potato Seed Technology

• Traditionally, seed tubers have been used to plant potato crop. This practice, especially for developing countries is a major limiting factor because seed tuber represents 40-70% of a crop production cost.
• Two tonnes of costly, perishable seed tubers are needed to plant one hectare
• The seed producing areas are located in the north of the country where seed tuber production is taken up during low aphid incidence.
• Hence, the seeds from north are to be transported over long distances to other potato growing areas leading to escalation cost.
• In some areas adequate cold storage facilities are also lacking.
• These problems have led the development of an alternate technology, which envisages the use of botanical seed or the true potato seed (TPS).
• This technology has gained significance because of its several advantages, (Gaur and Pandey, 1993).