Morphological and Nutritional Characterization of Tubers of 24 Genotypes of Native Potato

The potato as a basic food of the population, has a great diversity of varieties and genotypes, that in their great majority are little cultivated, as is the case of native potatoes. To potentiate the crop and contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, the morphological and nutritional characterization of tubers of 24 genotypes of potato was carried out. The Gower similarity coefficient was used for the analysis of mixed data (qualitative and quantitative variables). The hierarchical classification analysis made it possible to group the genotypes into four groups with similar characteristics. Group 1 was characterized by short dormancy times and percentages of dry matter less than 20 g/100g, rare forms of tubers, deep eyes and magnesium contents distinguished group 2, group 3 evidenced presence of secondary colorations in tuber flesh and calcium and zinc contents; finally, group 4 identified two genotypes with opposite characteristics. The knowledge of the morphology of the tuber and its nutritional properties contribute to promote the crop, its use and preservation.