Fecha de publicación: 01/01/2025 Fuente: Food Bioactives Abstract
Sweetpotato, Ipomoea Batatas L., is widely considered as a staple food in many developing countries especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It has storage roots that are rich in starch, micronutrients (especially Fe and Zn), and vitamins A and C. Partly due to its polyploidy, heterogeneity and outcrossing nature, it can be cultivated in a wide range of environments. Sweetpotato additionally comes in a variety textures, colors, flavors, and nutritional profiles thus appealing to many different groups of people. Conventional breeding of sweetpotato to improve nutritional and quality traits has only been moderately successful over the years due to several factors. This is manly true in areas like SSA which are characterized by low adoption of high β-carotene orange-flesh types. The biggest challenge has been to understand, measure and combine cultural preferences for taste and quality with nutritional components. In this work, we look at efforts to measure quality preferences, and accelerate the breeding process of sweetpotato by tapping into new breeding technologies and genomic-assisted breeding approaches.