Distinguishability of Homogeneity Stability in sweet potato genotypes

The sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.)) is a herbaceous, perennial plant belonging to the Convolvulaceae family, native to Central America. It is a cosmopolitan plant of worldwide importance. The evaluation of Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability is an important step for the protection of cultivars, aiming to assess whether the selected genotypes meet technical requirements. These must be clearly distinguishable, with relevant homogeneous characteristics in the population, including standard features and uniformity, to maintain their traits. The objective was to carry out Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability assessments in sweet potato genotypes for the purposes of registration and protection of cultivars. The trial was set up in an area belonging to UNESP, on the Jaboticabal campus, from September 2022 to December 2023, in a randomized block design with three repetitions. Five experimental genotypes and five sweet potato cultivars were evaluated: Cerat25-01, Cerat35-11, Cerat51-30, Cerat60-22, Cerat60-25, Amélia, Brasilândia Roxa, Beauregard, Gaita, Princesa, and Rubissol. The useful area of the plot corresponded to 40 plants, with 30 central plants being evaluated, and harvesting was performed 90 days after planting. The variables assessed included root shape, flesh color, number of lobes in the leaf, and anthocyanin pigmentation in the internode. Data analysis was conducted using the Genes Software through mean tests. In both the genotypes and the cultivars, there was no significant difference in the means, indicating standard behavior of the genotypes and cultivars. The general shape characteristic of the root was such that 99% of the genotypes showed a table market shape and 1% showed an industrial market shape. Of these, 54% had orange flesh and 46% had white and yellow flesh. Among the evaluated genotypes, 73% had between five and seven lobes and 27% had no lobes. Regarding anthocyanin pigmentation in the internode, 18% of the genotypes had a medium-to-strong presence of pigmentation and 82% had no pigmentation. The results obtained highlight the differences between genotypes and cultivars, meeting the requirements of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) for intellectual protection.