TESTING YIELD OF DIPLOID POTATO BREEDING LINES FOR CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT

A yield trial was conducted with diploid potato breeding lines for thr ee consecutive years to test whether these genetic resources could be suitable as diploid cultivars in contrast to the tetraploid cultivars, A plot size of 10 single hills/replication with three replications wa s employed using a completely randomized block design at Lima in an ir rigated desert field, The trial was from 1991 to 1993 in ''winter seas on'' (June to September) at Lima with a growing period of ninety days. Single-hill means were used for a two-way analysis of variance for ye ars and for genotypes. Although a variation existed among years, some diploid genotypes demonstrated significantly higher yields than tetrap loid check varieties, Considering ethnic attractiveness and potential for culinary quality as well as adaptation and yield components, some of the diploid breeding lines tested could be used as diploid cultivar s to fulfill demands of local ethnic markets.