Opportunities to Breed Diverse Sweetpotato Varieties for California Organic Production

Travis Parker (), Kristyn Leach, C. Scott Stoddard, Laura Roser, Antonia Palkovic, Troy Williams, Sassoum Lo, Paul Gepts, Don La Bonte, Ga Young Chung and E. Charles Brummer
Additional contact information
Travis Parker: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Kristyn Leach: Namu Farm, Winters, CA 95694, USA
C. Scott Stoddard: University of California Cooperative Extension, Merced County, Merced, CA 95341, USA
Laura Roser: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Antonia Palkovic: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Troy Williams: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Sassoum Lo: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Paul Gepts: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Don La Bonte: AgCenter School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA
Ga Young Chung: Department of Asian American Studies, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
E. Charles Brummer: Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Sweetpotatoes are a major crop in California, ranking sixth in value among organic commodities in the state. In recent years, there has been growing consumer interest in diverse specialty varieties, particularly purple types and those associated with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, some of which are currently imported into the state. In this study, we screened 45 diverse sweetpotato varieties and breeding lines under California organic conditions in a preliminary characterization of their agronomic performance. We then conducted culinary evaluations with a tasting panel of students primarily identifying as Asian/Asian American to determine the preference for each type in terms of flavor and culinary appeal. Our results indicated that major tradeoffs exist among existing germplasm, with no variety or line excelling across all agronomic and culinary traits. These results suggest that sweetpotato breeding could be an effective mechanism to combine superior agronomic traits of major commercial classes with the high culinary quality of diverse materials that are not adapted to California organic production. These results provide a strong justification for the value of sweetpotato breeding to ultimately promote a more profitable, sustainable, and just food system in the region.

Keywords: sweetpotato; Ipomoea batatas; organic; crop biodiversity; Asian; Pacific Islander; AAPI; breeding; culinary; agronomic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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