Sweetpotato genetic resources: today and tomorrow

Description

The sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) is the sixth most important food crop on a global scale. While China accounts for about 80% of global production, Nigeria, Uganda, Indonesia and Tanzania are also large producers of sweetpotato. The chapter examines the origin and dispersal of sweetpotato, including archaeological data for the early distribution of the crop, before moving on to considering its general botany. The chapter considers in vitro germplasm storage in sweetpotato genebanks, as well as issues of quality control. The chapter looks at the importance of managing sweetpotato crop wild relatives (CWR) and examines plant quarantine and phytosanitary issues and the status of genebanks under international treaties. The chapter considers a number of specific issues associated with sweetpotato germplasm. Finally, the chapter looks at the application of next-generation sequencing to sweetpotato and its CWR, before looking ahead to future trends in this area.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Origin and dispersal 3 Archaeological data 4 General botany 5 Sweetpotato genebanks/germplasm collections 6 In vitro germplasm storage 7 Quality control 8 Management of sweetpotato CWR 9 Plant quarantine/phytosanitary issues/IPR 10 International treaties 11 Sweetpotato germplasm 12 NGS applications to sweetpotato and its CWR 13 Conclusion and future trends 14 Acknowledgement 15 Where to look for further information 16 References