The taro improvement programme in Samoa: sharing genetic resources through networking

TL;DRAbstract

The outbreak of taro leaf blight (TLB) in 1993 devastated taro production in Samoa. In response, several exotic taro cultivars from Palau, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Philippines, reported to have tolerance to TLB, were introduced to meet local production demand. The cultivars were highly recommended and were instrumental in establishing the TLB horizontal resistance breeding programme in Samoa. However, despite their positive impact the need to introduce more diversity to enrich a potentially narrow genepool was recognized. Several exotic cultivars of South East Asian origin were later introduced via the Secretariat of the Pacific Community - Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) in 2004 and were incorporated into the breeding programme to support the generation of breeding lines; they were characterized by improved disease resistance, good palatability and drought tolerance. Unlike previous breeding cycles, progeny from the crosses between taro of Asian ori

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