BOLIVIA POTATO GERMPLASM COLLECTING EXPEDITIONS 1993, 1994 - TAXONOMYAND NEW GERMPLASM RESOURCES

We conducted joint Bolivia/The Netherlands/United States wild potato ( Solanum sect. Petota Dumort.) germplasm collecting expeditions in Boli via from February 1-April 15, 1993, and January 1-February 26, 1994. T he goals of the expeditions were to collect germplasm and gather data for continuing taxonomic studies of the approximately 43 taxa of Boliv ian wild potatoes accepted by current taxonomists. We made 223 collect ions, 135 as true seed collections, 54 as tubers, 19 only as herbarium collections. Two recent taxonomic treatments of Bolivian wild and cul tivated potatoes have clarified the taxonomy and distribution of these plants, but there are continuing disagreements between treatments reg arding species boundaries and interrelationships. These disagreements, and the variability we observed in natural populations, present probl ems for identifications. We summarize the state of germplasm collectio ns for Bolivia, provide our field data regarding the taxonomy of Boliv ian wild potatoes, provide recommendations for future collecting, and provide new chromosome counts for S. hoopesii, S. ugentii, and S. yung asense.