POTATO BREEDING AND VARIETY DEVELOPMENT IN THE EASTERN U.S IS ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH AN INTEGRATED, SEVEN-STATE (FLORIDA, MAINE, NORTH CAROLINA, NEW YORK, OHIO, PENNSYLVANIA, AND VIRGINIA) EFFORT TOGETHER WITH USDA-ARS POTATO BREEDING. OUR FOUR COLLABORATING POTATO BREEDING PROGRAMS AND ASSOCIATED COOPERATING RESEARCHERS CONDUCT MULTI-SITE AND -DISCIPLINARY SELECTION AND VARIETY DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH ACROSS THE EASTERN SEABOARD. BREEDING PRIORITIES ARE DETERMINED FROM STAKEHOLDER INPUT. OUR OVERALL GOAL IS TO DEVELOP ATTRACTIVE, PRODUCTIVE, BROADLY ADAPTED AND HEAT STRESS-TOLERANT, PEST- AND DISEASE-RESISTANT POTATO VARIETIES THAT CAN BE GROWN BY SMALL AND LARGE POTATO PRODUCERS TO ENHANCE MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES, FARM SUSTAINABILITY AND PROFITS. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE: 1) DEVELOP IMPROVED NEW POTATO VARIETIES WITH BROAD ADAPTATION AND HEAT TOLERANCE; 2) DEVELOP IMPROVED NEW POTATO VARIETIES WITH INCREASED PEST AND DISEASE RESISTANCE; 3) ENHANCE INFORMATION DELIVERY VIA OUR WEB-BASED DATABASE, COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS, AND OTHER EXTENSION ACTIVITIES. OUR PROJECT UTILIZES CONVENTIONAL AND MARKER-ASSISTED BREEDING AND SELECTION TO DEVELOP HIGHLY PRODUCTIVE NEW VARIETIES WITH RESISTANCE TO HEAT AND OTHER IMPORTANT ABIOTIC STRESSES AS WELL AS PLANT DISEASES SUCH AS LATE BLIGHT, SCAB, POTATO VIRUS Y (PVY), EARLY BLIGHT, PINK ROT, BACTERIAL SOFT ROT, AND GOLDEN NEMATODE. GENOMIC SELECTION IS NOW BEING INTEGRATED INTO OUR PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE GENETIC GAIN FOR KEY TRAITS. OUR SELECTION PROCEDURES UTILIZE DIVERSE EASTERN GROWING CONDITIONS TO SELECT POTATO GERMPLASM WITH BROAD ADAPTATION, RESISTANCE TO PESTS, HEAT STRESS, AND STRESS-RELATED DEFECTS. OUR PROGRAMS CONTINUE TO ADOPT UNIFORM DATA COLLECTION AND DISTRIBUTION TECHNIQUES TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS AND AMONG RESEARCHERS.