POTATO GERMPLASM COLLECTING EXPEDITION TO THE GUAITECAS AND CHONOS ARCHIPELAGOS, CHILE, 1990

A joint Chilean, Italian, and United States potato (Solanum tuberosum) germplasm collecting expedition was conducted in the Guaitecas and Ch onos Archipelagos, south of Chiloe Island, between March 4 - March 21, 1990. The expedition resulted in 30 collections of Solanum tuberosum and 1 collection of Fragaria chiloensis L. Twenty-three of the potato collections were along the salt-water-swept shores of the islands. The se beach populations, unlike the indigenous landraces in southern Chil e, are self-perpetuating populations and provide useful new germplasm for researchers interested in the origin of cultivated potatoes and in the origin of Solanum tuberosum in Chile.