Evaluation of Photoperiod Sensitivity of Introduced Potato New Lines from International Potato Center

Purpose The aim of this study was to enrich the germplasm resources of superior potato with low sensitivity to photoperiod and strong adaptability to the environments in various cropping seasons in Yunnan.Methods Twelve accessions from International Potato Center were cultivated in laboratory during different lighting time (8 hours and 16 hours) to evaluate photoperiod sensitivity with principal components analysis method. On the basic of photoperiod sensitivity evaluation, the accessions were employed to evaluate the adaptability at Shuangjiang, Jianshui and Kunming in Yunnan Province.Results The photoperiod sensitivity to various traits was different. Among them, the weight of tubers > the number of stolons > the number of tubers > the length of stolons > plant height > the weight of stolons > the weight of stems and leaves > branch. Photoperiod sensitivities of these accessions were also different, D11, D102, D100 and D158 were relatively more sensitive to photoperiod, whereas the D14, D48, D9, and D71 were relatively less sensitive. And D71, D48 and D14 were screened as yield increasing accessions in all three test point.Conclusion Three accessions, D71, D48 and D14, which were less sensitive to photoperiod and had superior production performance in Shuangjiang, Kunming and Jianshui, could be useful germplasm in production and character improvement. Correlation analysis indicated that photoperiod sensitivity score could provide reference information for adaptability evaluation.