Spuds in Space

Potatoes represent an

industry of several billion

dollars to the American

farming community. In

addition to their

well-known, wide-

spread use in fast

foods and snack items,

potatoes are the lead-

ing produce items in

cash sales.

Current commercial potato varieties are important staples in many regions and cultures. Next generation varieties seek improvements in:

* Disease resistance

* Pest resistance

* Starch Content

* Storage quality

The space environment enhances genetic engineering procedures. This may help in the development of new commercial

varieties of

potatoes. Be-

cause genetic engineering done in spacemay produce results faster than simi-

lar work done on Earth, new varieties may reach the fields sooner, perhaps

at less cost. This could generate a more immediate and significant return for both farmers and consumers.

Potato tubers grown during the 16 day AstrocultureTM

USML-2 experiment.

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