Costa Rica

Costa Rica has a well-established potato industry concentrated mainly in the country’s highland areas, where the cool climate and suitable soils provide favorable conditions for tuber development. The main production zone is the province of Cartago, particularly the high elevation areas around Oreamuno, Alvarado and the slopes of Volcán Irazú. In 2023, Costa Rica had about 3,104 hectares under potato, with approximately 58% of the national area located in the highlands of Cartago, producing about 47,292 tonnes in that sector.

Potato production in Costa Rica serves an important domestic food market, with production occurring across different parts of the year. The country has developed and evaluated varieties for fresh consumption, processing quality, disease tolerance, drought adaptation and yield. Varieties and breeding materials associated with Costa Rican production include Floresta, Granola, Única, Elbe-UCR, Palmira, Nosara, Maleke and INTAFrit. The INTA breeding and evaluation program has also worked with germplasm from the International Potato Center (CIP) and Mexican breeding programs to identify varieties suited to local conditions. Nosara and Maleke recorded yields above 35 t/ha in evaluation trials, while INTAFrit was particularly notable for processing quality, with dry matter above 20%.

The highland potato sector faces several production challenges, particularly diseases, nematodes, changing weather conditions, production costs and market fluctuations. Late blight, bacterial wilt and the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida are among the important biological constraints. Research at San Juan de Chicuá near Volcán Irazú has specifically examined G. pallida, while recent Costa Rican research has focused on integrated management and improved cultivars. INTA's Dr. Carlos Durán research unit in Oreamuno, Cartago, continues to support potato research, plant material production, cultivar evaluation and adaptation to climate variability.

Potato became part of Costa Rica's agricultural landscape during the colonial period. Historical information from Costa Rica's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock indicates that by 1561, European settlers had access to seeds and planting materials for crops including potatoes, alongside wheat, barley, oats, beans, fruits and other introduced crops. Over subsequent centuries, potato production developed particularly in the cooler highland environments, where the crop was better suited to local climatic conditions.

Modern potato research in Costa Rica has increasingly focused on developing varieties adapted to the country's highland production systems. The breeding and evaluation work expanded through collaboration among Costa Rican research institutions, the University of Costa Rica, INTA and international germplasm sources. The University of Costa Rica's plant biotechnology breeding program has worked on potato improvement since 1997, while INTA has evaluated and released cultivars suited to local production. More recent developments include Elbe-UCR, made available to the potato value chain in 2015 and Palmira, released by INTA in 2021. These efforts reflect Costa Rica's continuing shift toward locally adapted varieties with improved yield, quality and resistance to production constraints.