When potato is used as a staple food, nutrition and taste matter equally
In 2015, the national strategy for the development of potato staple food products and the potato industry was officially launched, which is of great significance for ensuring national food security, improving people's dietary structure and promoting social and economic development. Against the backdrop of problems such as limited room for yield increases in staple crops like rice, wheat and corn, growing pressure on the ecological environment and risks to food security, the national launch of the development of potato staple food products and the potato industry is a very important strategic choice. This strategic choice places higher demands on potato breeders.
As of 2015, China had bred more than 400 new potato varieties in total, including fresh-eating types, starch-processing types, types for fried foods and whole-flour processing, and specialty types, with considerable improvement in yield, quality, disease resistance and appearance traits, but fewer than 10 varieties were dedicated processing varieties, and almost no varieties had been bred for nutritional quality and taste flavor. After screening, some of the currently bred varieties will be used in the development of different staple food products, but they are still far from meeting the full needs of staple food products.
Potato breeding in China has always taken high yield, disease resistance and stress resistance as the main breeding objectives, and the types of bred varieties are relatively uniform, with a severe lack of all kinds of dedicated varieties suitable for staple food processing. Using potato as a staple food requires adjusting breeding indicators; in addition to yield, disease resistance and appearance traits, attention must also be paid to nutritional quality, taste flavor, specialization and the special requirements derived from dedicated products. The greatest advantage of potato as a staple food is its rich and balanced nutrition, so breeding varieties with richer and more balanced nutrition is very important. For potatoes that are directly steamed, boiled, roasted or used in cooking, taste and flavor are also very important indicators. The reason why "Huasong Potato" could become a domestic high-end potato brand in a short time is mainly that "Huasong Potato" focuses on nutritional quality and taste flavor as its main breeding objectives, and all Huasong potato varieties are very delicious potatoes. Huasong No. 7 is a yellow-skinned, yellow-fleshed potato and has been rated by the public as the most delicious potato; Huasong 88 is a red-skinned, red-fleshed potato with very good taste, beautiful tuber shape and antioxidant properties, with a shorter maturity period and higher yield than earlier red varieties; Huasong 66 is a black-skinned, black-fleshed potato with very good taste, beautiful tuber shape and antioxidant properties, and its yield exceeds that of the previous Black Beauty and Black King Kong on the market. With their beautiful tuber shape, rich nutrition and outstanding taste, Huasong series potatoes were quickly accepted and sought after by people.
The implementation of the strategy for the development of potato staple food products and the potato industry is both a challenge and an opportunity for breeders. As the state and enterprises further increase investment in potato breeding research, it is believed that more excellent new potato varieties will be bred one after another.