Phenotypic Evaluation of Twenty Heat Tolerant Potato Lines for Variety Development

Abstract

Twenty heat-tolerant potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) lines were evaluated during the 2021-2022 winter season at the Regional Wheat Research Centre (RWRC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Rajshahi, to identify superior lines for variety development under heat and drought-prone conditions. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The study assessed both qualitative and quantitative traits, focusing on plant growth, maturity, and yield parameters to determine the effect of heat stress on performance. Plant height, stem number per plant, and plant maturity at 70, 80, and 90 (indicates advanced plant maturity) days after planting (DAP) were recorded, along with tuber weight per hill, tuber weight per line, and overall yield per hectare. The evaluation revealed significant variation among the lines, highlighting differences in growth and productivity under the tested environmental conditions. Among the twenty lines, TB19-23 demonstrated superior performance, with the highest plant height at 60 DAP (54.33 cm), advanced plant maturity at 90 DAPS (score 3.00 on a 1 - 5 scale), highest tuber yield per line (4.00 kg), yield per plant (0.8133 kg), and overall productivity (53.36 t/ha). These results indicate that TB19-23 possesses promising agronomic traits for heat and drought tolerance and could be considered a candidate for further breeding and variety development programs in the Rajshahi region and similar environments. This study provides valuable insights for selecting heat-tolerant potato lines to enhance productivity under abiotic stress conditions, contributing to the development of resilient potato cultivars suitable for changing climatic scenarios in Bangladesh.