Improving Potato Quality: A Problem of Definition and Measurement

The intended end uses of new cultivars determine the quality criteria that need to be added as breeding objectives to yield in the production environments. Nutritional value will be important for the potato as a staple food; cooking quality, texture, taste and flavour will be important for the potato as a vegetable sold for cash; processing quality will be defined by the manufacturers of French fries, chips (crisps) and other processed products and the composition of the potato starch will determine its value for different uses in the starch industry. This chapter considers the challenges of translating these breeding objectives into selection criteria and methods of measurement for use on the tubers from assessment plots and yield trials, both immediately after harvest and after storage. Tuber appearance and freedom from internal defects are also selection criteria. Mineral and vitamin biofortification, beneficial phytochemicals, steroidal glycoalkaloids and acrylamide formation are also considered.