Performance of Sweetpotato Foundation Seed after Incorporation into Commercial Operations in Louisiana

Because sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) is vegetatively propagated, viruses and mutations can accumulate readily, which can lead to cultivar decline. Sweetpotato foundation seed programs in the United States maintain the integrity of commercial seed stock by providing virus-tested (VT) foundation seed to commercial producers. A survey was conducted in Louisiana from 2007 to 2009 to examine the performance and quality of the foundation seed after it had been integrated into commercial sweetpotato operations. G1 seed [grown 1 year after virus therapy in the foundation seed production field at the Sweet Potato Research Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter), at Chase, LA] was used as a reference to compare the yield and virus incidence of growers' generation 2 (G2) and generation 3 (G3) seed roots (grown in the growers' seed production fields 1 or 2 years following the year of foundation seed production). Although yields of plants grown from G2 and G3 seed were 86.3% and 86.1% for U.S. No. 1 and 83.3% and 86.0% for total marketable, respectively, compared with the yields from G1 seed, they were not significantly different. Yield and virus incidence data suggest that seed quality may vary from year to year and from location to location. Results from this study suggest that producers are realizing yield benefits by incorporating VT foundation seed into their production schemes, but further benefits could be attained if ways to reduce re-infection with viruses can be found.