Welcome to a presentation on the topic of breeding sweet potato in a Swedish context with Nélida Leiva Eriksson, senior lecturer at the Division of Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology, Lund University.

Every Friday of every month, Biotech Heights invites you to a breakfast and lecture on a topic of relevance to biotechnology, the food sector and materials! This seminar series is a collaboration with the LTH Profile Area Food and Bio.

Abstract: Breeding Sweetpotato for Swedish Conditions: Integrating Field Selection, Biotechnology, and Citizen Science

Sweetpotato consumption is rising in Sweden, but domestic production is limited by cool summers, long summer days, and a lack of adapted cultivars. This project combines breeding, controlled-environment phenotyping, functional genomics, tissue culture, and citizen science to develop nutritious, high-yielding varieties for Swedish conditions. The goal is to give farmers and home growers robust local varieties that diversify production and strengthen food self-sufficiency.

More than 5,000 unique seedlings from the International Potato Center in Peru were field-tested at Borgeby in 2025 with Hushållningssällskapet Skåne, and over 400 promising genotypes were selected for further trials. By 2029, we aim to release three to five varieties combining stable yields, good root shape, robustness, disease resistance, and diverse flesh colours, skin colours, and textures. Field adaptation is also assessed through 60 citizen scientists from Skåne to Kiruna. In 2025 and 2026, each grower received 60–100 slips for testing across diverse climates, soils, and management conditions.

Adaptation to northern photoperiods is a key focus because sweetpotato is naturally short-day adapted. RNA sequencing from early maturing genotypes are being tested to identify candidate genes for developing daylength-neutral sweetpotato through breeding or genome editing. To improve nutritional quality, growth-chamber studies of iron uptake under different pH and iron supplies are being analysed using RNA sequencing. Field profiling of iron, magnesium, zinc, and calcium will guide selection of nutritionally superior genotypes. To enable CRISPR/Cas editing of candidate genes identified by transcriptomics, protocols for in vitro culture, micropropagation, and somatic embryogenesis are being established. We are also optimising protoplast isolation and regeneration.

Together, these activities create an integrated pipeline from genetic diversity and mechanistic discovery to field validation and cultivar development. The project will advance knowledge of photoperiod adaptation and mineral uptake while delivering practical breeding material for northern cultivation. Combining research-station trials with nationwide grower observations captures environmental variation and supports varieties that can expand Swedish sweetpotato production, resilience, nutrition, and local food supply.

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