Potato is the most widely consumed vegetable worldwide, and its total contribution to the US economy has been estimated at $100 billion per year

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Wisconsin System $3.809 million on July 1, 2026, under the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (Assistance Listing 10.309) to develop F1 hybrid potato varieties and associated production systems.

The award funds the Potato 2.0 Coordinated Agricultural Project, which addresses three interconnected objectives. Objective 1 covers breeding methodology, disease resistance selection, and variety development as a sociotechnical system. Objective 2 addresses production and certification of hybrid seed. Objective 3examines utilization of hybrid seed and predicted impacts on the seed system. Deliverables include optimized protocols for researchers and growers spanning genomic prediction, seed production, weed management, and planting density; economic analysis predicting profitability and seed system shifts; and outreach to industry stakeholders and the public.

The project runs through June 30, 2030, with place of performance in Madison, Wisconsin. The recipient is the University of Wisconsin System operating through its University of Wisconsin–Madison division. The Specialty Crop Research Initiative addresses critical needs of the specialty crop industry through research and extension grants on challenges of national, regional, and multistate importance in sustaining food and agricultural production systems.

The potato industry must continue to innovate to meet consumer expectations and sustainability goals, but rapid progress is limited by the tetraploid genome of cultivated potato and the economics of vegetative propagation. We believe F1 hybrid varieties, which do not currently exist in potato agriculture, are an appropriate technology to meet these challenges. Building on years of prior research, the potato 2.0 cap will bring together academic and industry experts from many disciplinary and institutional backgrounds to address multiple components of the production system and its socioeconomic context. Objective 1 addresses breeding methodology, selection for disease resistance, and variety development as a sociotechnical system. Objective 2 addresses the production and certification of hybrid seed. Objective 3 addresses the utilization of hybrid seed and its predicted impacts on the seed system. Expected outcomes include optimized protocols for researchers and growers, covering everything from genomic prediction and seed production to weed management and planting density. Economic predictions about the profitability of potato 2.0 and potential shifts in the seed system will stimulate long-range planning by growers, processors, and others involved in potato variety development. A robust outreach plan will ensure project results and implications reach industry stakeholders and the wider public.