Heider B. auteur aut IRD Struelens Quentin auteur aut IRD Faye E. auteur aut IRD Flores C. auteur aut IRD Palacios J. E. auteur aut IRD Eyzaguirre R. auteur aut IRD de Haan S. auteur aut IRD Dangles Olivier auteur aut IRD text journalArticle eng text/pdf born digital access Stable and sufficient food supplies are increasingly threatened by climatic variability, in particular extreme heat events. Intraspecific crop diversity may be an important biological resource to both understand and maintain crop resilience to extreme conditions. Here using data from a mass field experiment screening for heat tolerance in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), we identify 132 heat-tolerant cultivars and breeding lines (6.7%) out of 1,973 investigated. Sweet potato is the world's fifth most important food crop, and mean conditions experienced by sweet potato by 2070 are predicted to be 1 to 6 degrees C warmer, negatively impacting most genotypes. We identify canopy temperature depression, chlorophyll content and storage root-flesh colour as predictors of heat tolerance and, therefore, as potential traits for breeding consideration. These results highlight the role of intraspecific biodiversity for the productivity and resilience of food and agricultural systems in the face of climate change. Mass field testing of heat tolerance in 1,973 cultivars of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) from 50 countries identifies tolerant cultivars and reveals tolerance-predictive traits for breeding consideration. The work highlights the role of intraspecific diversity for future crop resilience. specialized 076 021 11 1 64-69 2021 1758-678X https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010079829 10.1038/s41558-020-00924-4 1758-678X [F B010079829] https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010079829 https://www.documentation.ird.fr/intranet/publi/2020/10/010079829.pdf Accès réservé (Intranet de l'IRD) IRD - Base Horizon / Pleins textes 2020-11-12 2025-02-24 fdi:010079829 fre