Modern breeding methods integrate next-generation sequencing and phenomics to identify plants with the best characteristics and greatest genetic merit for use as parents in subsequent breeding cycles to ultimately create improved cultivars able to sustain high adoption rates by farmers. This data-driven approach hinges on strong foundations in data management, quality control, and analytics. Of crucial importance is a central database able to (1) track breeding materials, (2) store experimental evaluations, (3) record phenotypic measurements using consistent ontologies, (4) store genotypic information, and (5) implement algorithms for analysis, prediction, and selection decisions. Because of the complexity of the breeding process, breeding databases also tend to be complex, difficult, and expensive to implement and maintain. Here, we present a breeding database system, Breedbase (https://breedbase.org/, last accessed 4/18/2022). Originally initiated as Cassavabase (https://cassavabase.org/, last accessed 4/18/2022) with the NextGen Cassava project (https://www.nextgencassava.org/, last accessed 4/18/2022), and later developed into a crop-agnostic system, it is presently used by dozens of different crops and projects. The system is web based and is available as open source software. It is available on GitHub (https://github.com/solgenomics/, last accessed 4/18/2022) and packaged in a Docker image for deployment (https://hub.docker.com/u/breedbase, last accessed 4/18/2022). The Breedbase system enables breeding programs to better manage and leverage their data for decision making within a fully integrated digital ecosystem.

Root and tuber crop breeding is at the front and center of CIP’s science program, which seeks to develop and disseminate sustainable agri-food technologies, information and practices to serve objectives including poverty alleviation, income generation, food security and the sustainable use of natural resources. CIP was established in 1971 in Peru, which is part of potato’s center of origin and diversity, with an initial mandate on potato and expanding to include sweetpotato in 1986. Potato and sweetpotato are among the top 10 most consumed food staples globally and provide some of the most affordable sources of energy and vital nutrients. Sweetpotato plays a key role in securing food for many households in Africa and South Asia, while potato is important worldwide. Both crops grow in a range of conditions with relatively few inputs and simple agronomic techniques. Potato is adapted to the cooler environments, while sweetpotato grows well in hot climates, and hence, the two crops complement each other. Germplasm enhancement (pre-breeding), the development of new varieties and building capacity for breeding and variety testing in changing climates with emphasis on adaptation, resistance, nutritional quality and resource-use efficiency are CIP’s central activities with significant benefits to the poor. Investments in potato and sweetpotato breeding and allied disciplines at CIP have resulted in the release of many varieties some of which have had documented impact in the release countries. Partnership with diverse types of organizations has been key to the centers way of working toward improving livelihoods through crop production in the global South.

A main breeding target of the International Potato Center (CIP) has been the biofortification of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) with the essential micronutrients iron and zinc. This study assessed the broad‐sense heritability (H²) and genetic gains (ΔGs) achieved for iron and zinc concentrations in potato tubers and their relationships with yield components through three cycles of recurrent selection at the diploid level. Sixty genotypes comprising 17 Andean landraces from a base population called Cycle 0, 21 genotypes from Cycle II, and 22 from Cycle III were grown in field trials over 2 yr to compare micronutrient concentrations and agronomic performance. The effects of cycles and cycles × location interactions were both significant (P < .01) for all characters except tuber yield. High phenotypic and genotypic coefficients of variation along with high H² (0.81 ± 0.19 for both iron and zinc) suggested that these parameters were under the control of additive gene effects and could be effectively manipulated by recurrent selection. Large gains of more than 29% iron and 26% zinc were demonstrated. There were slight decreases in dry matter (DM) content of 2 and 5% in Cycles II and III, respectively. Iron concentration had the greatest positive direct effect on total number of tubers per plant, and zinc had a weak negative direct effect on average tuber weight. Selected iron‐ and zinc‐dense genotypes with high, positive general combining ability were identified for use in an interploidy (4x–2x) breeding scheme aimed at increasing the iron and zinc contents of stable, high‐yielding disease and stress‐resistant varieties.

Sweetpotato is a crucial crop to guarantee food security in sub‐Saharan Africa, and drought events are considered one of the most critical factors affecting sweetpotato productivity in this region. In this study, airborne imagery based on reflectance (NDVI, CI_red‐edge) and canopy temperature minus air temperature (dT) indices was used to characterize sweetpotato genotypes under drought treatments in Mozambique. Two field experiments established in rainy/hot (Trial A) and dry/cool (Trial B) seasons were assessed. In Trial A, 24 genotypes were subjected to early‐ (ESD), mid‐ (MSD) and late‐season (LSD) drought stress treatments and compared against a control. In Trial B, 120 genotypes were subjected to LSD only. The percentage of reduction in vine weight (PR_VW) under drought was related primarily to temporal variation of NDVI and CI, regardless of drought treatment and seasons. dT in relation to control (dT_Amp) was associated with PR_VW in ESD‐Trial A and LSD‐Trial B, whereas under LSD‐Trial A, dT_Amp was related to total fresh storage root weight (TRW). During the rainy/hot season, higher TRW reduction was promoted under ESD; however, under LSD, it was possible to identify productive genotypes able to withstand drought stress, highlighting their relevance for drought‐tolerance selection purposes.

Sweetpotato is a highly heterozygous hybrid, and populations of orange-fleshed sweetpotato (OFSP) have a considerable importance for food security and health. The objectives were to estimate heterosis increments and response to selection in three OFSP hybrid populations (H₁) developed in Peru for different product profiles after one reciprocal recurrent selection cycle, namely, H₁ for wide adaptation and earliness (O-WAE), H₁ for no sweetness after cooking (O-NSSP), and H₁ for high iron (O-HIFE). The H₁ populations were evaluated at two contrasting locations together with parents, foundation (parents in H₀), and two widely adapted checks. Additionally, O-WAE was tested under two environmental conditions of 90-day and a normal 120-day harvest. In each H₁, the yield and selected quality traits were recorded. The data were analyzed using linear mixed models. The storage root yield traits exhibited population average heterosis increments of up to 43.5%. The quality traits examined have exhibited no heterosis increments that are worth exploiting. The storage root yield genetic gain relative to the foundation was remarkable: 118.8% for H₁-O-WAE for early harvest time, 81.5% for H₁-O-WAE for normal harvest time, 132.4% for H₁-O-NSSP, and 97.1% for H₁-O-HIFE. Population hybrid breeding is a tool to achieve large genetic gains in sweetpotato yield via more efficient population improvement and allows a rapid dissemination of globally true seed that is generated from reproducible elite crosses, thus, avoiding costly and time-consuming virus cleaning of elite clones typically transferred as vegetative plantlets. The population hybrid breeding approach is probably applicable to other clonally propagated crops, where potential for true seed production exists.

The current study was aimed at identifying mega‐environments in Ghana and evaluating adaptability of superior sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] genotypes from a targeted breeding effort. Three sets of genotypes were evaluated in multi‐environment trials (MET). Twelve sweetpotato varieties were evaluated across nine environments representing the main agro‐ecological zones in Ghana. MET analysis was conducted using a stage‐wise approach with the genotype × environment (G × E) table of means used as a starting point to model the G × E interaction for sweetpotato yield. Emphasis was given to the genetic correlation matrix used in a second‐order factor analytic model that accommodates heterogeneity of genetic variances across environments. A genotype main effect and G × E interaction of storage root yield explained 82% of the variation in the first principal component, and visualized the genetic variances and discriminating power of each environment and the genetic correlation between the environments. Two mega‐environments, corresponding to northern and southern trial sites, were delineated. Six breeding lines selected from the south and eight breeding lines selected from the north were tested and compared to two common check clones at five locations in Ghana. A Finlay–Wilkinson stability analysis resulted in stable performances within the target mega‐environment from which the genotypes were selected, but predominantly without adaptation to the other region. Our results provide a strong rationale for running separate programs to allow for faster genetic progress in each of these two major West African mega‐environments by selecting for specific and broad adaptation.