The Northern Philippines Root Crops Research and Training Center (NPRCRTC) is promoting the transfer of potato micropropagation technology to private organizations, encouraging them to establish their tissue culture laboratories for producing their planting materials. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), NPRCRTC’s project focuses on improving the micropropagation system for potato cultivation, specifically utilizing advanced methods like microtuberization.
NPRCRTC has developed six popular potato varieties, including Bengueta, Igorota, Raniag, Cosima, Fina, and Granola, based on farmers’ preferences in Benguet. They currently produce 40,000 to 80,000 clean tissue-cultured planting materials, with half allocated for research and extension purposes and the other half for seed potato production or distribution to farmers.
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The center’s efforts align with the goals of the Potato Research and Development Center, a part of the Niche Centers in the Regions for Research and Development Program launched in 2019 by DOST. Clean seed potatoes are shown to significantly increase farmers’ yields and profits by up to 180% compared to using infected old seeds from previous seasons.
Although the technology offers substantial benefits, challenges such as high costs, the need for specialized skills, and cold seed storage requirements are among the drawbacks associated with its adoption.
