Solanum berthaultii

Description

Solanum berthaultii distribution map
Solanum berthaultii distribution map

Solanum berthaultii is native to central Bolivia.  It forms large plants, three feet tall or more.  The berries are green and speckled.  Tubers are round and white.  Most accessions produce tubers less than an inch in diameter, but some are much larger, reaching more than two inches.  Flowers blue to purple or sometimes white (Correll 1962). It grows in dry areas, primarily between 6500 and 8500 feet in elevation (2000 and 2600 m) (Ochoa 1990).

The specific epithet, berthaultii, honors French botanist Henri Berthault.  While there is no completely standardized pronunciation for scientific names, the most common way to pronounce this species is probably so-LAY-num BER-tol-ee-eye.

S. berthaultii is thought to be the wild ancestor of the domesticated Chilean potato (S. tuberosum group Chilotanum) and crosses between the two, using S. berthaultii as the female parent and Andean domesticated tetraploids as the male parent have produced long day adapted progeny with characteristics similar to Chilean potatoes (Hosaka 2018, as S. tarijense).

This species has been tentatively classified as not threatened on the IUCN Red List (Cadima 2014).

Resistances

S. berthaultii is of interest to modern potato breeders because its leaves are covered in glandular hairs that can immobilize small insects.  This feature could be valuable for controlling aphid infestations and thereby reducing the transmission of viruses.  Gibson (1971) reported that 30% of aphids were completely immobilized within 24 hours of introduction onto the leaves.  The same mechanism works to deter potato leafhoppers by gumming up their mouth parts, leaving them unable to feed (Tingey 1978).  Gibson (1983) found that the leaf hairs also exude a substance that mimics the aphid alarm pheromone and causes them to avoid the plants.

S. berthaultii appears to deter the Colorado potato beetle by emitting a semiochemical (signalling chemical) that the beetles can detect (Pelletier 1999).  On S. berthaultii, CPB lay fewer eggs (Wright 1985), the larvae take longer to develop, and larval mortality is higher than for S. tuberosum (Groden 1986).

This species can survive frosts down to 27.5 degrees F (-2.5 C) (Li 1977).  Vega (1995) found that this species is less frost tolerant than domesticated potato.  Because it grows in dry environments, it may also be a useful source of drought tolerance.

Some accessions of this species carries the Rpi-ber1 gene, which confers late blight resistance.

In a study of early blight resistance, Jansky (2008) found that S. berthaultii (as S. tarijense) was one of the top three most resistant species tested.

Condition Type Level of Resistance Source
Alternaria solani (Early Blight) Fungus Resistant Prasad 1980
Alternaria solani (Early Blight) Fungus Somewhat resistant Jansky 2008 (as S. tarijense)
Empoasca fabae (Potato Leafhopper) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant Tingey 1978
Epitrix harilana (Flea Beetle) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant CIP 1979
Globodera rostochiensis (Potato Cyst/Golden Nematode) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant Castelli 2003
Globodera pallida (Pale Cyst Nematode) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant Castelli 2003
Globodera rostochiensis (Potato Cyst/Golden Nematode) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant Rothaker 1961
Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado Potato Beetle) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant Machida-Hirano 2015
Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Colorado Potato Beetle) Invertebrate Resistant Pelletier 1999
Liriomyza huidobrensis (Potato Leaf Miner) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant CIP 1977
Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Potato Aphid) Invertebrate Not resistant to resistant Alvarez 2006
Meloidogyne spp. (Root Knot Nematode) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant Machida-Hirano 2015
Myzus persicae (Green Peach Aphid) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant Gibson 1971, Gibson 1983, Machida-Hirano 2015
Phytophthora infestans (Late Blight) Fungus Not resistant Gonzales 2002
Phytophthora infestans (Late Blight) Fungus Somewhat resistant Machida-Hirano 2015
Phytophthora infestans (Late Blight) Fungus Not resistant Bachmann-Pfabe 2019
Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Broad Mite) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant CIP 1977
Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid (PSTVd) Virus Somewhat resistant Machida-Hirano 2015
Potato Virus X (PVX) Virus Somewhat resistant Machida-Hirano 2015
Synchytrium endobioticum (Wart) Fungus Somewhat resistant Machida-Hirano 2015
Tetranichus urticae (Red Spider Mite) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant Gibson 1976
Tetranichus urticae (Red Spider Mite) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant CIP 1977
Thrips tabaci (Potato Thrips) Invertebrate Somewhat resistant CIP 1977

Glykoalkaloid content

Tingey (1982) found that accessions of S. berthaultii had different TGA compositions, with 51 of 65 accessions having primarily solamarine and the remainder primarily solanine and chaconine.  The lower limit of TGA detected was 5 mg / 100 g and the upper limit was unstated.  Gregory (1981) counted the TGA levels in S. berthaultii foliage as undetectable, which does not necessarily correlate with the tuber content.  Van Gelder (1988) found 16mg / 100 g for this species.  It seems that S. berthaultii varies quite a bit in TGA composition.  In my experience, tubers taste bitter more often than not and sometimes very bitter.

Images

Solanum berthaultii plant
Solanum berthaultii plant
Solanum berthaultii plant
Solanum berthaultii plant
Flower of the wild potato species Solanum berthaultii
Solanum berthaultii flower
Flower of the wild potato species Solanum berthaultii
Solanum berthaultii flower
Tubers of the wild potato species Solanum berthaultii
Solanum berthaultii tubers
Tubers of the wild potato species Solanum berthaultii
Solanum berthaultii tubers

Cultivation

I have found seeds of this species easy to germinate using the standard conditions for S. tuberosum.

Towill (1983) found that seeds of this species stored at 1 to 3 degrees C germinated at 52% after 12 years and 4% after 23 years.

Bamberg (2017) found a 275% increase in seed set in this species with supplemental applications of liquid fertilizer at four and seven weeks after potting.

This species typically has five to six months of dormancy.

Breeding

Gibson (1979) found that sticky tipped leaf hairs are a single-gene, dominant trait in S. berthaultii.

Crosses with S. tuberosum

Gibson (1974) reported that four crosses of S. tuberosum x S. berthaultii produced aphid trapping hairs and that one of the plants produced substantially more of these hairs than either parent.  Gibson (1979) found that, in reciprocal crosses between S. berthaultii and diploid S. tuberosum, first generation progeny did not develop sticky leaf hairs, but some crosses made from among the progeny did, suggesting that there is an additional recessive gene at work.

Female Male Berry Set
Seed Set Germ Ploidy Source
S. berthaultii (including S. tarijense) S. tuberosum None None Jackson (1999)
S. tuberosum 4x S. berthaultii Moderate Minimal Jackson (1999)

Crosses with other species

Jackson (1999) found 0-13% 2n pollen for varieties of this species.

Female Male Berry Set
Seed Set Germ Ploidy Source
S. berthaultii S. brevicaule (as S. alandiae) High High Ochoa (1990)
S. berthaultii S. brevicaule 6x (as S. oplocense) Yes None Ochoa (1990)
S. berthaultii (as S. litusinum) S. candolleanum Yes Yes Ochoa (1990)
S. berthaultii S. chacoense Yes Yes Ochoa (1990)
S. berthaultii (as S. tarijense) S. infundibuliforme Moderate Low Ochoa (1990)
S. brevicaule (as S. alandiae) S. berthaultii High High Ochoa (1990)
S. brevicaule 6x (as S. oplocense) S. berthaultii Yes None Ochoa (1990)
S. commersonii
S. berthaultii (as S. tarijense)
Yes No Hawkes 1969
S. infundibuliforme S. berthaultii (as S. tarijense) High High Ochoa (1990)

References

Solanum berthaultii at Solanaceae Source

Solanum berthaultii at GRIN Taxonomy

Solanum berthaultii at CIP