Potato and Sweetpotato Breeding and Genetics Programs

Department of Horticultural Science
Project Leader: Dr. G Craig Yencho
Researcher and Extension Associate: Mark Clough
Graduate Student: Per McCord

Internal heat necrosis (IHN) is a physiological disorder of potato causing the meat of the potato to a granualar splotchy turn brown. If enviromental conditions are right and in NC they often are, expession of this disorder causes loss in revenue to the grower as the tubers expressing symptoms are non-marketable. Our program is working to understand the expression of this disorder as well as attempting to develop varieties that have high yield and marketable traits and do not express symptoms.