Development of Nutritionally Rich Orange- Fleshed Sweet Potato Lines: A Way to Increase Consumer Acceptance in Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Sweet potato is a staple food in several tropical countries. It is one of the world’s highest yielding cropswith the total production per unit area exceeding that of rice. Traditionally, sweet potato varietiesproduced and sold in Andhra Pradesh, have a pale and white coloured flesh, but new biofortifiedorange flesh sweet potato varieties (OFSP) have been introduced that contain high concentrations ofβ-carotene (pro-vitamin A). However, these varieties reportedly possess lower percentage of total sugarsand dry matter content. A breeding programme was undertaken at Horticultural research station, Dr.Y.S.R Horticultural university, venkatramannagudem from 2013 to 2015 to develop new orange-fleshedsweet potato lines with high percentage of total sugars and dry matter to meet the end-users preferences.Genotypes of white and orange-fleshed sweet potato lines collected from different places were evaluatedfor beta carotene and total sugars. Based on the flowering habit and compatibility, parents wereselected for crossing. Variety ST14 (Female parent) found to be superior in beta carotene content (8.5mg/100 g) where as Kalinga (Male parent) was rich in total sugars (6.4%). Crossing programme wasconducted between these parents and seeds were collected from the dried capsules of ST-14. Out of55 seedling progenies, 14 orange fleshed genotypes were identified. Among the 14 F1orange fleshedgenotypes VRSP-1 (PASP1) was found to be superior in yield (40.7 t ha-1),β-carotene (6.3 mg /100 g)and total sugars (7.8 %).