Solanum tuberosum

Solanum tuberosum, common name potato (America, the Canary Islands and southern mainland Spain) or potato (rest of Spain), is a herbaceous species belonging to the genus Solanum of the Solanaceae family, native to the region comprising the southern highlands of Peru. It was domesticated in the highlands and in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca by the inhabitants of this region for about eight thousand years. In the XVI century it began to be transferred to Europe by the Spanish conquerors who considered it a botanical curiosity and not a food plant. Its consumption grew, although at first as a forage and garden plant for its flowers; its gastronomic use spread throughout the world from the XVIII century thanks to the agronomic writings of the Frenchman Antoine Parmentier and the settled Irishman in Spain Enrique Doyle, until becoming one of the main foods of the human being.

Illustration of Solanum tuberosum in Amédée Masclef, Atlas des plantes de France1891.

Origins of the words «potato» and «potato»

Ceramic of the Mochica culture that represents potato tubers. Larco Museum, Lima, Peru.

In the highland Aymara, the terms ch'uqi and amqa are used to designate the potato, the latter related to the verb amqa- ("to collect") and restricted mainly to tubers taken from the ground. Within the Quechua family of languages, two terms are used to designate the potato. The first corresponds to akshu, present in central variants of the Quechua languages, in the case of Ancashino or Huanca, although it is also found in some other varieties, such as Cajamarquino. On the other hand, the root papa is used in both southern Quechua and northern Quechua (including the Chachapoyan variant). In Mapudungun, the Mapuche language, the potato is designated with the word poñü.

In Spanish, the word «papa» is a loanword from the Quechua term papa, with the same meaning. From the cross between sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), a word native to the island of Hispaniola, and potato, the result is “potato”, a name that, due to the Similar shapes, it was initially applied by the conquistadores to both potato and sweet potato. "Potato" appears in writing for the first time around 1540. For its part, "potato" is used in 1606 with the meaning of sweet potato and only from the XVIII century with the meaning of potato. Thus, in most of Spain they are called potatoes, except in the Canary Islands and Western Andalusia, where the word potato predominates, as in the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries.

Many countries learned about the potato through Spain, and for that reason they also adopted the term potato. Thus the name is potato in Italian, Greek, Basque and some varieties of Catalan; patate in popular French; potatoes in Tagalog; potatoes in Turkish; بطاطس [patatis] in Arabic; potatoes in English; potet in Norwegian; sweet potato in Portuguese; pataca in Galician and Asturian; patana in Occitan; práta in Gaelic and potatis in Swedish. The French, on the other hand, when naming this plant, highlighted two facts: its apple-like texture and its characteristic underground development. For this reason they called it pomme de terre ("earth apple"). This is where the Esperanto names terpomo were derived; aardappel in Dutch, and the various variants of Erdäpfel in southern German dialects (in Austria, Switzerland and southern Germany). A third group of languages owes the common name of this species to the resemblance of ancient potatoes to truffles. In Aragonese, for example, it is trunfa and in northern Catalan dialects it is called trumfa. When the Spanish brought the first potatoes to Italy in the XVI, the northern Italians called them tartufoli («truffles»). Such is, through the intermediate form Tartuffel, the origin of the German term Kartoffel and all its derivatives: cartof in Romanian; kartof in Bulgarian; Картофель [kartófel] in Russian; kartoffel in Danish; kartul in Estonian; kartafla in Icelandic; kartupelis in Latvian and קארטאפל [kartofl] in Yiddish or Judeo-German. From the German Grundbirne ("earth pear") derive the terms krompir from Croatian, kumpir from Turkish, brambory from Czech, peruna from Finnish and jordpäron from Swedish. In Valencian the word creïlla is used, a word that is not used in other Catalan dialects and that originates from the similarity in shape with the criadillas.

Description

Sheet composed of the potato.

S. tuberosum is a herbaceous, tuberous plant, perennial through its tubers, deciduous (since it loses its leaves and aerial stems in the cold season), with an erect or semi-decumbent stem, which can measure up to 1 m in height.

Leaf

The leaves are compound, with seven to nine leaflets (imparipinnate), lanceolate in shape, and arranged spirally on the stems. They are bifacial, both epidermis are composed of sinuous-walled cells in superficial view. They present hairs or trichomes on their surface, to a variable degree depending on the cultivar considered. The trichomes can be uniseriate, glandular and with a more or less spherical multicellular head.

Stem

They have three types of stems, one aerial, circular or angular in cross section, on which the compound leaves are arranged, and two types of underground stems: rhizomes and tubers.

Solanum tuberosum, aspect of the basal part of the plant, showing the aerial stems, rhizomes, tubers and roots. In black, the "mother" or "seed" tuber that gave origin to the plant.

Aerial stems

These stems, which originate from buds present in the tuber used as a seed, are herbaceous, succulent and can reach 0.6 to 1 m in length; In addition, they are green, although exceptionally they can present a purplish red color. They can be erect or decumbent, and it is normal for them to gradually lean towards the ground as the plant matures. The internodes are elongated in subspecies andigena and rather short in subspecies tuberosum. In the final stage of their development, the aerial stems may become relatively woody in its basal part.

Brokens Solanum tuberosum growing on the tuber. These shoots will produce the aerial stems of the plant. Small adventite roots are observed at the base of the shoots.

Rhizomes

These rhizomatous stems are formed by more or less long lateral shoots that arise from the base of the aerial stem. They grow alternately from subnodes located on the aerial stems and have horizontal growth under the soil surface. Each rhizome, meanwhile, through a thickening at its distal end, generates a tuber.

Tubers

The third type of potato stem is underground and thickened as an adaptation to function as a nutrient storage organ, the tuber.

Dad's tuber. Watch them. eyes and slow them down. on the surface.

rhizomes present a sub-apical meristematic zone, from where the tubers originate through a radial thickening, product of the elongation of the parenchymatic cells and the loss of their polarity. During tuber formation, longitudinal stolon growth stops and parenchyma cells in the cortex, medulla, and perimedullary regions undergo division and elongation. In mature tubers, there are few conductive elements and no continuous vascular cambium. The tubers are covered by an exodermis that appears when the epidermis breaks, which thickens over time. On its surface there are "eyes", depressions to protect the vegetative buds that originate the stems, which are arranged in a helical fashion. In addition, there are holes that allow breathing, called lenticels. The lenticels are circular and their number varies by surface unit, tuber size and environmental conditions. The tubers, in short, are made up externally of the periderm, the lenticels, the nodes, the buds and, finally, by a fragment or a scar coming from the union with the rhizome from which they originated; internally, the cortex, the reserve parenchyma, the vascular ring and the medullary tissue can be distinguished. The tubers can present an elongated, rounded or oblong shape; its color, meanwhile, can be white or yellow (pulp), purple, brown or reddish (the skin).
The tubers that emerge at ground level acquire a greenish color in the part where they receive sunlight by the superficial accumulation of chlorophyll —green in color, like the leaves and stems— responsible, as in most vegetation, for photosynthesis, thus maximizing the absorption of CO2 from the air, by assimilation of its carbon atom and release of its two oxygen into the atmosphere. The green part of the potato exposed to sunlight must be removed when preparing it for food, due to its toxicity.

Root

Potato tube that develops at the end of a rhizome

The root system is fibrous, branched and extended rather superficially, being able to penetrate up to 0.8 m deep.
The plants originated from tubers, because they come from buds and not from seeds, lack radicle; its roots, which are of an adventitious nature, originate from underground buds. These roots are located in the portion of the stems between the seed tuber and the soil surface; for this reason, the tuber must be planted at such a depth that it allows an adequate formation of roots and rhizomes.

From the first stages of development, and until the moment when the formation of tubers begins, the roots present rapid growth.

Inflorescence and flower

Inflorescence in preantesis

Potato plant inflorescence and flowers

S. tuberosum: flower, detail.

The inflorescence in a panicle or cyme which is born at the terminal end of the stem and the number of flowers in each one can range from one to thirty, the most usual being between seven and fifteen. The number of inflorescences per plant and the number of flowers per inflorescence are highly influenced by the cultivar. At about the time the first flower is expanded, a new stem develops in the proximal leaf axil, which will produce a second inflorescence.

The flowers are 3-4 cm in diameter, with five petals joined at their edges that give the corolla the shape of a star. The five anthers are united to form a tube around the pistil and have a length of 5 to 7 mm. The stigma is usually excerted beyond the anther ring. The corolla can be white or a more or less complex mix of blue, wine and purple depending on the type and amount of anthocyanins present.
The anthers are bright yellow, except in male-sterile clones where they are pale yellow or greenish-yellow. The stigmas are usually green, although some clones may have pigmented stigmas. The protrusion of the stigmas above the anthers can range from essentially absent to the style as long as the anthers. The protrusion of the style outside the anther column does not occur until the day before the opening of the flower. The flowers on the branch closest to the base of the plant are the first to open, and generally open two or three per day. The flowers remain open for two to four days, resulting in each inflorescence displaying five to ten open flowers at the same time during peak flowering. Stigma receptivity and duration of pollen production is about two days. Fertilization occurs approximately thirty-six hours after pollination.

It is difficult to classify this species by its mode of reproduction, since, although it produces seeds by self-fertilization (behavior typical of autogamous species), it exhibits inbreeding depression (characteristic typical of cross-pollinated species). Regardless of the above, the seeds that are produced in the fruits obtained by open pollination are a mixture of self-pollination with cross-pollination, the former being the most numerous.

Fruit and seeds

Fruits

The fruit of the potato plant is a berry, similar in shape to a tomato but much smaller, which can have a round, elongated, oval or conical shape. Its diameter generally fluctuates between 1 and 3 cm, and its color can vary from green to yellowish, or from reddish brown to violet. The berries have two locules and can contain approximately between two hundred and four hundred seeds. The berries are grouped in terminal clusters, which gradually droop as the fruit develops.

The seeds are very small, flattened, kidney-shaped, and can be white, yellow, or yellowish-brown.

Taxonomic subdivisions

Morphology, distribution and origin of subspecies

Distribution map of subspecies Solanum tuberosum:
S. t. andigenum in gold and
S. t. tuberosum brown.

It belongs to the subsection Potatoe of the genus Solanum, which is distinguished from the other subsections of the genus because the species that it groups have true tubercles formed at the end of rhizomes. The Tuberous Series, in turn, is characterized by its imparipinnate or simple leaves, its rotated or pentagonal corolla and its rounded berries. The species S. tuberosum differs from the other species of the same taxonomic series by presenting the articulation of the pedicel in the middle third, the lobes of the calyx short and arranged in a regular manner, the leaves frequently arched, the leaflets always ovate to lanceolate, about twice as long as wide, and tubers with a well-marked dormant period.

Solanum tuberosum is divided into two subspecies:

• S.t. andigena: The subspecies S.t. andigena is cultivated but restricted in certain regions of Central America and South America. It is native to the Andes; it is distributed from Venezuela to the north of Argentina, making axis in the mountain ranges of Peru.

• S.t. tuberosum: The subspecies S.t. tuberosum is widely cultivated worldwide (North America, Asia, Europe and Africa). It is native to Chiloé Island, Chonos Archipelago and adjacent areas of Chile.

Morphological differences between the two subspecies of S. tuberosum are very small and are listed in the following table. The main difference between the two subspecies is that S.t. andigena depends on a short photoperiod to tuberize. In addition to these morphological differences, both subspecies are clearly differentiated at the genetic level, both at the chloroplast and nuclear genome levels.

Regarding the genetic origin of both subspecies, it is now clear that the great genetic diversity of the subspecies S.t. andigena (with countless described landraces and great diversity at the nuclear and chloroplast genome level) is the original subspecies and the one that gave rise to S.t. tuberosum. The differences at the chloroplast DNA level are of sufficient magnitude to be used as a genealogical marker to unequivocally determine how the subspecies S.t. tuberosum. Thus, it has been documented that there are five chloroplast genotypes for the subspecies S.t. andigena (referred to as A, C, S, T and W), while the subspecies S.t. tuberosum presents only three types (A, T and W). The type most frequently found in the subspecies S.t. tuberosum is the "T", characterized by a deletion of 241 base pairs. Chloroplast DNA studies of a large number of varieties of both subspecies led to the conclusion that the subspecies S.t. tuberosum originated from the subspecies S.t. andigena after the latter crossed with a wild tuberous species found in southern Bolivia and northern Argentina, Solanum tarijense.

Other species or group of cultivated cultivars

Some potato varieties.

In addition to Solanum tuberosum, several other tuberous species of Solanum have been domesticated, selected and cultivated for hundreds of years. Solanum phureja, for example, is a diploid species grown in the mountainous valleys of South America. It is clearly distinguished from the other cultivated potato species because it does not exhibit tuber dormancy (that is, the tuber sprouts immediately after formation, without a period of rest or dormancy).. This feature allows varieties of S. phureja can be immediately replanted in those areas with mild climates where continuous cultivation throughout the year is possible.

Other cultivated diploid species are Solanum stenotomum, S. × ajanhuiri and S. goniocalyx. The first of these is cultivated in the same region as S. phureja. The second is a very resistant species that is cultivated in the highlands of Bolivia, where its tuber is used to produce tunta or chuño blanco, the result of freeze-drying and subsequent washing of the tubers. Finally, S. goniocalyx (syn.: S. stenotomum ssp. goniocalyx) is grown in the lower valleys of Peru, where it is known as yellow potato.

In addition to these diploid species, some triploid clones are cultivated, which are the result of interspecific hybridization between a tetraploid species and another diploid, are sexually sterile and are preserved indefinitely by vegetative propagation. Solanum × juzepczukii, known as "bitter potato", is an example of this type of species. It is considered to be the result of hybridization between a tetraploid species (S. acaule) and a diploid cultivated species. Subsequently, hybridization of S. juzepczukii with S. tuberosum ssp. andigena gave rise to another hybrid species, pentaploid, sterile and bitter, called Solanum × curtilobium. These two species are cultivated in certain areas of the Altiplano region of Peru and Bolivia. Another cultivated triploid species is Solanum × chaucha, which is not bitter.

The species mentioned are often morphologically indistinguishable from one another, which, added to their hybrid ancestry, multiple origins, and evolutionary dynamics, has led some taxonomists to propose that they be considered as 8 cultivar groups within the same species: Solanum tuberosum. The cultivar groups are the following: Ajanhuiri, Andigenum, Chaucha, Chilotanum, Curtilobum, Juzepczukii, Phureja and Stenotomum.

Other species that are also called "potato"

Some species cultivated for their edible tubers or roots are also called "potato" although they are not related to Solanum tuberosum. Some examples are the so-called “papa lisa” which is the tuber of Ullucus tuberosus, the “oca” (Oxalis tuberosa) and the “yam” (several species of the genus Dioscorea). In Bolivia, for its part, there is also the so-called "papa balusa" (Colocasia esculenta).

Varieties

Experts have developed thousands of varieties, many of which are becoming obsolete due to the appearance of others with greater yield and adaptability, so that only a few dozen are consumed. Varieties can be differentiated by the color of the epidermis and pulp, resistance to diseases, duration of the crop cycle, and nutritional requirements, among other characteristics of productive relevance. Irrelevant traits for production, but which serve to identify cultivars, are the color of the flowers, the roughness of the epidermis and the depth of the eyes.

Modern cultivars are usually round in shape, with yellow or pink skin, white or yellow flesh, and shallow eyes. In the countries of origin of the crop, traditional varieties with these shapes are also known, but there are also many others with purple, blue or two-tone skin, bluish, violet or yellow flesh and elongated, curved or almost spherical shapes.

Due to "nouvelle cuisine," there is renewed interest in unusually colored potatoes to add novelty or garnish to dishes, and cultivars that bring back the old characteristics are coming onto the market.

Some traditional varieties of Peru

Tubes of a Peruvian variety of potatoes with purple skin and pulp

Peruvian black potato tubs obtained in a supermarket in Lima, Peru. Note the intense yellow color of your pulp.

It is estimated that in Peru there are more than five thousand varieties of native or Creole potatoes. A large part of them cannot be cultivated outside the Peruvian Andes because they require particular climatic and agroecological conditions.

Solanum tuberosum ssp andigena. The cultivars of this pope subspecies are native and typical of Peru and Bolivia. They have been distributed to other places in the world, such as the "papapa colorada" of the Canary Islands, whose tubers are shown in the image.

Some of the traditional varieties of Peru are:

Yellow

Due to its texture, rich in dry matter, it lends itself to purée. It is also eaten boiled with sauces, baked, wrapped in aluminum foil; or in a typical Peruvian dish, called the Lima-style cause. In Colombia it is known as criolla or yellow potato; It is eaten cooked, fried, pureed, roasted and in sancochos, it is the main and characteristic ingredient of ajiaco santafereño, a typical dish from Bogotá. In Venezuela it is called Colombian potato.

White

It is the most consumed potato in the world due to its ease and great use, it can also grow in any soil and in any season of the year. Its use is multiple and very varied since it can also fulfill the same functions as other varieties of potatoes, it is mainly used in French fries, potato chifles, potato water, potato flour; potato bread and potato oil. It is also used almost frequently, like the pink potato, in the preparation of the stuffed potato; and it can also be used like the yellow potato (although less frequently) in the preparation of the cause and the puree. The function of this potato cannot be replaced by another, because there are certain foods that can only be made with this type of potato, because they do not have the same ease; a clear example is French fries (if they are made with another type of potato, the flavor and the result is not the same).

Canchan

Also called "pink" because of the color of his skin. It is used for locro or huatia, and is appropriate for preparing papa rellena. This variety is resistant to blight and is adapted to the conditions of the Central Sierra, up to 2700 meters above sea level, and on the central coast of Peru.

Colored

Variety widely distributed in the Canary Islands; It is a counterpoint to the white potato of typical consumption in Spain. It is usually served with sauces, such as red mojo, picón mojo or green mojo. With this potato the pipián is made. "Red potato" It is also one of the common names of an Andean tuberous root also known as oca (Oxalis tuberosa).

Huamantanga

For many it is the star of tubers. It is produced only in the Peruvian highlands, so its presence in other markets is seasonal. It has the color of the white potato but the texture of the yellow potato and is eaten parboiled or in stews. Once cooked, it peels very easily.

Black

The mariva potato is known by this name, although it has also been baptized in the markets as "tomasa negra". This potato is floury, slightly sweet and has a very pleasant flavor. It is used in almost all forms: stewed, boiled, fried and pureed. It is ideal for making stuffed potatoes because it browns very well. This variety has also found notable diffusion in the Canary Islands, more specifically in Tenerife, La Palma and La Gomera, although also occasionally in the other islands. It comes mainly in the form of "papas arrugadas", that is, potatoes cooked in water with plenty of salt, accompanied by mojo picón (red or red mojo) or cilantro mojo (green mojo).

Perricholi

It is very similar to the white potato and like it, it is sweet and full of water, which is why it is suitable for frying. Poultry shops prefer it because it does not darken once peeled and it is the potato that is used industrially. This name was given in memory of the Lima theater actress Micaela Villegas, misnamed "La Perricholi".

Peruanita

Potato with bicolor skin and extraordinary flavor. It is very appropriate to make it boiled with salt and a touch of butter. If you want, you can wrap it in aluminum foil, but it's better to boil it because its thin skin can be eaten as is.

Rosada

Also called northern. It has pink skin, and its pulp is similar to that of the white potato. It is used in the preparation of stuffed potatoes, they can also be eaten boiled, especially in broths and soups.

Tarma

Its skin is similar to the peruanita but its flesh is not yellow but cream-colored. Usually used in the preparation of the dish causa a la limeña for its creamy and velvety texture. It is also very well baked, grilled and fried. It can be used in the lomo saltado.

Tomasa

It is a black-eyed potato similar to "yungay", when its skin is a little rough it is very rich when parboiled. It is a variety that is not cultivated much anymore, but it can still be found in areas such as the Huancavelica and Ascensión valleys.

Yungay

It is a potato with a texture very similar to the yellow potato but with much less degradation, it can be stored for a long time without spoiling, as well as being very versatile in the kitchen

Traditional varieties of Chile

Chiloé Archipelago in Chile is the cradle of about 300 varieties of native potatoes, all belonging to the subspecies Solanum tuberosum ssp. tuberosum. In the image are shown the tubers of 5 of such varieties together with a modern cultivar (the largest of clear skin on the right of photography).

Variety "Cabrita", Chiloé

Variety "Guadacho", Chiloé

Variety "Michuñe", Chiloé

Variety "white owl", Chiloé

A few native varieties only from the Chiloé region, where at least 300 varieties are known, are listed and described below, as a sample of the diversity that potatoes can present. The descriptions mainly contemplate the color of the skin and pulp, the shape of the tuber in both its longitudinal and cross sections, and the characteristics of the eyes.

Asoberana

Tube with pinkish skin, slightly scurfy skin texture. Medium and scanty eyes. Long and prominent eyebrow. Shallow navel. Elongated oval tuber shape, flattened cross section. Yellow pulp.

Cabrita

It has a tubercle of variegated purple to purple skin, yellow in and around the eyes. The skin texture is smooth. The eyes are deep set and very abundant. The tubers are irregular in shape with rounded cross section. The color of the pulp varies according to the area considered, from purple to yellow.

Black rubber

Tubercle with purple, very dark blue, almost black skin, smooth skin texture. Deep eyes, very abundant. Elongated and flattened eyebrow. Very elongated tuber shape, irregular contour, rounded cross section. Flesh color: wide purple periderm, lightly pigmented cream rind. From the vascular ring to the medulla, a purple mottling is observed that fades towards the center of the marrow.

Camota

It has a variegated skin tubercle; purple purple, yellow in and around the eyes. The skin texture is smooth and the eyes are abundant. The shape of the tubercle is rounded with a round cross section and the umbilicus slightly sunken. The flesh color is yellow with intense purple pigmentation on the periderm and part of the bark and purple variegation from the vascular ring to the pith.

Heaven

The tuber has very pale purple skin, with a more intense shade on the eyes and crown: the texture of the skin is slightly dandruff, that is, somewhat rough. The eyes are shallow and scanty. The shape of the tuber is rounded and with a flattened cross section. The navel is sunken and the pulp is white.

Huicaña

It has purple, very dark blue to almost black skin tubercles. The eyes are deep set and few. The shape of the tuber is rounded misshapen with irregular outline, rounded cross section. The periderm is thick, dark purple in color, the bark is cream in color and from the vascular ring towards the medulla an intense purple mottling is observed, concentrated towards the eyes.

Magellan

Pink skin tubercle, stronger eye pigmentation, slightly dandruff skin texture. Medium eyes, few. Very noticeable elongated eyebrow. Oval tuber shape, flattened cross section. Pale yellow pulp.

White owl

It has a tubercle with white or light yellow skin and a smooth skin texture. The eyes are deep set and very abundant. The shape of the tuber is very elongated and with an irregular outline, the cross section is cylindrical. The color of the pulp is pale yellow. The variety "Michuñe blue" It presents the same morphological characteristics but the skin is purple, from blue to almost black. Finally, the variety "Michuñe" it has tubercles with red skin.

Ñocha

Variegated skin tubercle; pink, large yellow eye area, smooth skin texture. Deep eyes, very abundant. Elongated and flattened eyebrow. Tuber shape very elongated and irregular in outline, round cross section. Pale cream-colored pulp, vascular ring with purple pigmentation that extends to the cortex and pith. Towards the medulla the pigmentation is more diluted.

Pachacoña

They are potatoes with tubercles with white to light yellow skin and a slightly purple umbilicus, sometimes this pigmentation may be absent. The skin texture is slightly dandruff. The eyes are shallow with a slight purple pigmentation and abundant.
The tubercle is rounded and slightly flattened in cross section. Navel slightly sunken. The periderm is light yellow in color penetrating 1 to 2 mm. towards the cortex, the rest is deep purple with light sectors mainly in the medulla.

Other landraces

In Argentina other ancient varieties are known, for example the small "paparuna" used to offer to the deity Pachamama.

Domestication

The history of the domestication of the potato, as well as its subsequent diffusion, is slowly being assembled through the joint consideration of the findings made by different scientific disciplines. Thus, the interpretation of archaeological and paleobotanical remains is added to the data provided by the genetics and biogeography of the cultivated potato and its wild relatives, as well as the analogies that ethnobotanists can make through observations on the crop, potato processing and storage that many indigenous communities carry out today.

In order to start agriculture, it is essential to establish a stable population of hunters, fishermen and gatherers, located in regions with abundant resources available for hunting or fishing. This is precisely the case of the primitive human settlements that developed the Tiahuanaco culture in the Lake Titicaca basin, where in addition to fishing they found auquénidos.

In the central region of Peru, in the Chilca Canyon south of Lima, the anthropologist F. A. Engel (1970) found fossil potatoes with an estimated age of 10,500 years and a verified age of 7,000. Later, it was found, illustrated and described a collection of 21 potato tubers from 4 different archaeological sites located in the Casma Valley of Peru, which are 4,000 to 3,200 years old.

The hunting and domestication of the auquénidos (guanaco, llama, alpaca and vicuña) was the previous step towards the domestication of the potato due to the manure of these animals that accumulated in the corrals in which they were locked up. The first generations of hunters and domesticators of these animals, undoubtedly, must have observed with amazement the exuberant growth of the different species of wild plants during the only annual period of rains (December to March), particularly near the rotted manure heaps. In the corrals, with a limited and protected area, it was easier for the whole family to observe and appreciate the plants that grew there. Under these conditions it is highly probable that the wild potato species Solanum brevicaule, tolerant to frost and abundant foliage in full bloom, would not go unnoticed. The foliage of this species dries up immediately after the ripening of its fruits, so it would be difficult to observe. However, even if the plants had gone unnoticed during their dormant period, the tubers would have remained stored in cold, dry soil throughout the winter (June to August).

After the rest period (from May to September), the tubers start sprouting stimulated by the first summer rains and at the same time using their water reserve (75 to 80%). The shoots emerge from the ground when there is no other vegetation on the surface yet, making them very easy to distinguish and harvest. These tubers harvested after sprouting are called "q'ipa papa" in aimara and can be used for seed or for consumption. Possibly in this way artificial selection began until larger tubers and better quality were obtained, such as those of the first cultivated potato (Solanum stenotomum).

The art provides further testimony to the central role played by the potato, and to the antiquity of the products processed from its tubers, in pre-Columbian cultures. In the ceramics of the Moche culture of northern Peru (1st to 7th centuries) potato tubers or chuños are shown or represented, as well as in urns of the Wari culture of the Nazca Valley (7th and 8th centuries) and in Inca vessels, later.

The primitive cultivated varieties of potato (indigenous or creole potatoes) are widely distributed throughout the Andes, from western Venezuela south to the northwestern Argentina and the Chiloé and Chonos archipelagos in southern Chile. As previously mentioned, these varieties exhibit great diversity both in their morphology, chromosome numbers, and physiology, which has raised a great deal of controversy among researchers about their taxonomic ordering that has not yet been definitively resolved.

Solanum gourlayi, a wild piping species of potato, member of the complex Solanum brevicaule currently considered the immediate wild ancestor of the cultivated potato.

Likewise, the wild species from which Creole potatoes derive has long been in dispute. However, all these hypotheses are centered on a group of 20 wild species that are very similar to each other and which, currently lacking a universally accepted taxonomic treatment, have been arranged in the so-called Solanum brevicaule. The Solanum brevicaule complex is distributed from central Peru to northwestern Argentina and its members are morphologically very similar to Creole potatoes. Domestication from this wild species complex involved selection for greater vigor during the vegetative stages, but mainly selection for subterranean traits such as shorter runners, larger tubers, and reduced bitter taste due to the presence of high contents of glucosinolates in tubers.
Cladistic and phenetic analyzes carried out using a large amount of DNA information taken from all members of the S. brevicaule and a representative sample of landraces have indicated that all cultivated varieties form a monophyletic clade derived from the Peruvian members of the complex. These "species" peruanas are not perfectly defined and taxonomic studies indicate that it could be a single species, which, as a principle of priority, should receive the name Solanum bukasovii. These genetic studies indicate that the potato was originally domesticated over a wide area of southern Peru from a single wild species. From that site, the potato spread north and south, spreading throughout South America.

Over time, this distribution of the potato throughout all of South America induced the creation and development of new centers of genetic diversity, such as the Chiloé archipelago in Chile (known as Papa chilota), from which almost all the varieties grown in Europe come from, and the one from the region of Bogotá, Colombia.

Expansion of potatoes and their derivatives worldwide

Antoine Parmentier.

Cultivated potatoes were first seen by the Spanish in the La Grita valley, in the province of Vélez (Colombia) in 1537. This was reported by the Spanish conquistador, chronicler and historian Pedro Cieza de León in his work Crónica del Perú published in Seville in 1553, who also added that he himself saw it in Quito (Ecuador), as well as in Popayán and Pasto (Colombia). Cieza de León described it this way:

Of the natural maintenance outside of corn, there are two others that have the main bastimento among the Indians: the one call potatoes, which is in the form of earth turms, which then remains as tender on the inside as a cooked chestnut; it has neither shell nor skin I covet more than what the earth's turm has; for it is also born under the earth, like it; it produces this fruit an herb no more or less than the poppy.

It is believed that the potato was brought from ancient Peru to Spain in 1554 as a curiosity. It is estimated that potatoes were planted in Gran Canaria as early as 1560, since only a few years later they began to be exported from that island to Europe, specifically going to some points on the Atlantic coast: (Flanders and France) an area with which Gran Canaria maintained an active trade. The first existing news about potato exports from Gran Canaria dates from the year 1567. This reference (according to professors Fernando Bruquetas and Manuel Lobo) was published in an article from the Provincial Historical Archive of Las Palmas, specifying that the destination was the port of Antwerp, in Flanders, where three barrels full of "potatoes" were sent along with different products. The other destination was the port of Le Havre in France, where the French merchant, Juan de Molina, sent two barrels of potatoes to his brother and his consignee in 1574.
In 1573, the persistent droughts and consequent famines that occurred between 1571 and 1574 in Seville, pushed the treasurer of a charity center in the city to buy "the new tubers" which, due to the little acceptance they had in the market, were sold at ridiculous prices. So they began to plant them in the hospital garden to provide food for the sick. In this way, what the refined people rejected became excellent food for the indigent hospitalized. The friars of the hospital, in view of the magnificent results obtained, dedicated themselves to planting potatoes and around Seville began to see the white flowers of the new crop, which during the first half of the century xvii spread throughout Spain and its crops were mainly consumed by soldiers and poor people.

It was then taken to Rome and, in 1588, was described by the naturalist Carolus Clusius as a "little truffle" or "tartuffoli". Thomas Hariot, around 1586, brought specimens from the Colombian coast to England.

By the end of the 16th century the potato was already a common food in Italy, Germany, Poland and Russia; not so in France. It would be the pharmacist and gourmet Antoine Parmentier who popularized potato consumption in that country at the end of the xviii century. Parmentier was known for banquets of him offering the potato as a food novelty.

Its cultivation was later adopted in Ireland in the 17th century century. In that century, Europe endured the effects of harsh winters that affected agricultural production; diseases and wars were added to this, which significantly reduced the labor available for the field. These hardships had a certain prolongation in the 18th century, to which were added the social and political instability of France. During the 19th century it became the basic food of the population —Napoleon I was able to gather and feed large armies thanks to the yield of potato as food

Almost all the varieties cultivated in Europe come from the Chiloé archipelago (Chile), where it was introduced in 1811 and was the predominant variety long before a potato late blight outbreak broke out in the British Isles, among 1846-1848, which destroyed all crops and started a process of food speculation that led to the "Great Irish Famine," which caused the death of around a million Irish people and the emigration of another million.

Cultivation

"Papa seed" or "minibuses", small tubers of no more than 3 cm of diameter used to perform the large commercial plantations of potato cultivation. In their absence medium tubercles or pieces of them are used to carry at least one "eyes" (i.e. a yolk).

Countryside cultivated in Alicante (Spain)

Until a few decades ago potato cultivation required a lot of labor and even today this is an indispensable requirement in many regions of the world. In the image, taken in 1940, children are seen working during the potato harvest on a farm in the United States. Aroostook County, Maine.

Today the potato harvest is machined in the large commercial farms of this crop.

Seed

If the seeds are sown without removing the mucilaginous substance that covers them, they will not germinate. But even if this substance is removed, the production obtained from potatoes sown by seed is very heterogeneous, because in a tetraploid plant the variability of the offspring is very high. For this reason it is preferred to carry out a vegetative multiplication, planting the tubers (the sowing of seeds is used almost exclusively to obtain new varieties).
The tubers that are going to act as "seed" They must not show lesions or symptoms of diseases and should preferably have spent some time exposed to indirect light so that they turn green and the stems do not detach easily. They are deposited in the soil in shallow furrows and close to the fertilizer, since they emit few roots.

Growing conditions

Growing conditions vary from variety to variety, but generally prefers humus-rich, loose, sandy soils with good internal drainage. Details about the needs or requirements of the potato crop are provided below.

Photoperiod

Regarding the response to day length or photoperiod, it depends on the subspecies and variety considered. The subspecies tuberosum requires a long photoperiod (more than 14 hours of light) to develop its foliar area and a short photoperiod (less than 14 hours) in its tuberization process (formation and thickening of the tubers). of light). Under short-day conditions (latitudes close to the equator) tuberosum plants show early tuberization, runners are short, and foliage remains reduced. Under long day conditions (above 25° north or south latitude) the opposite occurs. The andigena subspecies, on the other hand, tuberizes adequately under short-day conditions and when brought to long photoperiod conditions, the growth period becomes excessively long, flowers profusely, but does not tuberize or does so sparingly, that is, it produces small tubers.

Light

The interception of light by the crop depends on the light intensity, the architecture of the foliage (planophilous or erectophilous), the age of the leaves and the percentage of soil covered by the foliage. The photosynthetic process takes place when the sun's rays fall on all the green leaves and not on the bare soil. The gross assimilation of the potato in a full bright day (50,000 lux) at 18-20 °C is 1.92 g CO2 per m² of leaf area per hour, with a concentration of 0.03 % CO₂. This equates to a potential net yield of 1.23 g of dry matter. Older leaves photosynthesize less than very young ones. In crops with low planting density (less than 35,000 plants/ha) there is no competition between plants, but part of the light is lost because not all the soil area is covered with foliage. This stimulates a higher production per plant and a larger size of its tubers, but the yield per unit area will be lower than that with a higher density.

Temperature

The dormant tuber begins its sprouting and emergence slowly at 5 °C and is maximized at 14-16 °C. This is important when considering the planting season as planting should be started when the soil temperature has reached at least 7-8 °C. The photochemical response to temperature is closely related to light intensity. Thus, when the latter is high (above 50,000 lux) net photosynthesis is optimized at high temperatures. During the development of the crop, the plant forms its leaf area profusely at temperatures of 20-25 °C. Temperatures above 37 °C affect the photosynthetic process as they excessively increase respiration.

Crop development

Once the plant has emerged, and until the foliage covers all the available land, the net photosynthesis achieved is used for the general growth of the plant, both its aerial, root and stoloniferous parts. Said development is of high intensity in the use of nutrients. Agronomic practices tending to achieve a higher planting density, adequate supply of nutrients, timely supply of water, climate with temperatures of 18 to 25 °C and high light intensity, will favor optimal development of this stage. After emergence, the aerial part and the roots develop simultaneously. Tuber growth can start slowly 2-4 weeks after emergence and continues steadily over a long period.

Under favorable conditions, the growth of tubers can be 800-1000 kg/ha/day, the productive potential of the potato, especially in a cultivar with a long vegetative period, is greater than 100 tons/ha.

Irrigation

The irrigation systems most commonly used in potato cultivation are drip irrigation (labor intensive), sprinkler systems, rain cannons, and boom irrigation.

Pests and diseases

Tuberculosis poisoning caused by pathogen fungus Phytophthora infestans

Sintomas foliares of the "late of the Pope" caused by Phytophthora infestans

Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Myzus persicae, an aphid that can transmit virosis in potato cultivation

Aspect of a potato plant affected by a virosis

Potatoes are susceptible to various diseases caused by bacteria and fungi, such as:

Too late, Right. or mild of the Pope

Caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans; it destroys the leaves and the tuber in the last phase of its growth, manifesting itself in necrosis of the leaves, silvery spots and destruction of tuber tissues. He was responsible for the Great Irish Famine of 1840;

Early potato bowl

Caused by the fungus Alternaria solani; causes necrotic brown to black leaf spots of various sizes and with characteristic concentric rings, which may coalesce. In the tubers the lesions are dark, sunken, circular and irregular in shape. They may increase in size during storage.

Fusariosis

Caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. It is a typical disease of stored potatoes. The tubers have a white or slightly pinkish cottony mold. This fungus develops very well at temperatures between 15 and 20 °C and with ambient humidity above 70%. This disease is caused by injuries, wounds or cuts to the tuber. Due to its influence on drying, the tuber becomes mummified and the pulp acquires a grainy texture.

Black sarcasm

Caused by Rhizoctonia solani; common in fertile, acid and very humid soils or with lack of drainage. In rainy years its incidence increases. Black to dark brown sclerotae form on the surface of mature tubers. Other tuber symptoms include cracks, malformations, concavities, and necrosis at the stolon-joining end.

Common sarna

Caused by Streptomyces scabies. It is a common tuber problem in all regions where potatoes are grown, except where the soils are very acid. The causative organism has been introduced into most potato growing soils. It affects quality but not performance.

Soft and "black legs" or "black foot"

Caused by the bacterium Erwinia carotovora. Black leg can appear at any stage of plant development when moisture is excessive. Black, slimy lesions often work their way up the stem from a soft-rotting seed tuber. New tubers sometimes rot at the end of the stolon. Young plants are generally dwarf and upright. Yellowing and upward curling of the leaflets may occur, often followed by wilting and death of the plant.

Murchera or Parda

Caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. It is the most serious bacterial disease of potato in warm regions of the world. It frequently restricts the production of this crop. Initial symptoms of mild yellowing are first seen on only one side of the leaf or one branch and not the next. Advanced symptoms are severe wilting and dryness, which precede the death of the plant.

Progress

Caused by Verticillium spp. Verticillium wilt can be a serious problem in tropical and subtropical regions and in irrigated deserts, where water deficiency can be severe. Verticillium albo-atrum is more severe in cooler regions with prolonged periods of hot, dry weather. Verticillium dahliae is present in the warmer mumps areas and is characterized by the formation of microsclerotia. The disease is characterized by a yellowing of the leaves, which begins at the base of the plant and can develop unilaterally, being restricted to the sides of the leaves, the stem or the plant. Later, the plant can wither leading to a premature death.

In turn, the potato can be attacked by several species of insects, mites and nematodes among which are:

• The Guatemalan moth, Tecia solanivorawhose larvae cause serious damage;
• The potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineatawhose larvae and adults are very harmful;
• The coleop larva Diloboderus abderus, known as white worm, isoca, padlock or torito;
• Cutting lizards, Agrotis ypsilon and Peridroma saucia;
• The pin, Epitrix fasciata;
• The green Saint Anthony, Diabrotica speciosa;
• The pins, Myzus persicae and Macroziphum euphorbiae;
• The try, Frankliniella schultzei;
• Worm wire, Conoderus spp.;
• The mine fly, Liriomyza huidobrensisEpicauta pilme
• The pope's gogo, Phyrdenus muriceus;
• The potato moth, Phthorimaea operculella;
• The paratrioza, Bacterioza cockerelli.
• The potato stack or stack. Epicauta pilme
• The golden nematode of the pope, Globodera rostochiensis. It is the most important pest in potato cultivation. It has an almost universal distribution in temperate areas where this tuber is cultivated. Its control is quite difficult, so the free countries of it maintain rigid quarantine regulations in order to avoid their introduction.
• The false knot nematode, Nacobbus aberrans . Attacked plants are weak; the symptoms in the roots consist in formations of guts successively as the accounts of a rosary.
• The pope's cyst nematode, Globodera pallida, important pest that can decrease yields up to 30%.

Finally, diseases caused by viruses are one of the factors that most affect potato production. Viruses are primarily responsible for the gradual degeneration of varieties, which mainly translates into yield loss. In some cases the viruses cause qualitative losses due to the reduction of the marketing value and conservation of tubers. The viruses that cause the greatest economic losses to this crop are, among others, the potato leafroll virus (PLRV, for "Potato leafroll Virus", a luteovirus), the virus mosaic virus (PVX, for "Potato X Virus") and severe mosaic virus (PVY, for "Potato Y Virus", a potyvirus). The magnitude of losses from these viruses can reach 90% for PLRV or 60% for PVX.

Uses

Potato is one of the most important crops in the world. For human consumption it is only surpassed by three cereals: wheat, rice and corn. However, potato tubers provide a yield per hectare several times higher than those obtained with cereal grains. Such tubers are used in animal feed and for human consumption in various processed foods, as a gelling agent, and in the production of alcoholic beverages. Likewise, potato tubers have a number of industrial applications, for example potato starch provides a coating for paper and textile products.

Use in food

Potatoes are easily digested and have high nutritional value. Potato tubers are approximately 78% water and 18% starch. The remainder is made up of variable amounts of proteins, minerals, and about 0.1% lipids. Potato contains several vitamins, including vitamin C, riboflavin, thiamine, and niacin. Among the different minerals found in potatoes, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium deserve to be mentioned due to their importance in human nutrition. Because it has a low amount of sodium, the potato is generally suggested in diets that require low sodium content. Potatoes eaten with the skin on are an excellent source of fiber. In fact, with 3 grams of fiber per serving, potatoes exceed fiber percentages found in other foods such as "whole" cereal grains. The percentages of the various constituents of a raw (peel) potato tuber are provided in the accompanying table. Despite popular notion, most of the nutrients are not found in the skin but inside the tuber. In any case, leaving the peel increases fiber consumption and, on the other hand, simplifies any preparation.

Apart from its nutritional value, potato consumption is a delight for millions of people around the world. It is the protagonist of various dishes of the regional cuisine of many countries. These tubers are stewed, parboiled, roasted, sauteed, fried. They are involved in purées, creams, soups, soufflés, croquettes, tortillas and doughs. In addition, various alcoholic beverages are obtained from the fermentation of the tubers, such as a variety of vodka, the Scandinavian aquavit, the Icelandic brennivín, the Japanese shōchū.

When it is overproduced, the surplus is used for animal feed.

Instant Puree

Puñado de chuño, prepared from potato tubers. As a reference of size, the image included a quarter dollar coin.

It is an industrial variant of the classic mashed potatoes, which is sold as a semi-finished product in the form of flakes or powder and that only needs hot water or milk for its preparation, just before being served. To make instant mashed potato flakes or powders, the already cut potatoes are scalded at a temperature of 70 °C and then cooled to 20 °C. In this way the structure of the potato is broken so that it can be easily mixed with the additives. Through this process, monoglycerides are added, which are responsible for improving the flavors on the palate, antioxidants such as ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) as well as citric acid so that it can be preserved, and finally dyes such as phosphates. It is heated to a temperature of 150 °C in this way the resulting mass turns into powder that is finally vacuum packed in a kind of envelopes. With respect to its nutritional quality, instant mashed potatoes are substantially equivalent to regular mashed potatoes. The biggest difference is the loss of vitamin C, so many manufacturers add it to compensate. There is a US patent (US 1025373) called Dried potatoes and processes for preparing them, filed in 1905 and granted in 1912, which precisely describes the method for preparing instant mashed potatoes. Before the Inca period and in Peruvian lands, a technique was developed to dehydrate the potato by a natural freeze-drying process, which allowed its storage in large quantities, for a long time, in relatively small spaces. In the time of the Inca Empire it was stored in tambos. The dehydrated potato in this way is known as chuño (from Quechua ch'uñu = "wrinkled") and is the oldest antecedent of instant mashed potatoes.

Toxic compounds present in potatoes

Chemical structure of the solenine.

A toxic compound present in potatoes is solanine (C₄₅H₇₃NO₁₅), a glycoalkaloid with a bitter taste, present on all green parts, including the potatoes themselves when they are still green or have been greened by exposure to sunlight, the fruits and seeds. They also contain α-chaconine, a nearby glycoalkaloid that is involved, like solanine, in the bitter taste. Inhibitors of animal digestive proteases are also present, although to a lesser extent. While a normal potato has 12–20 mg/kg of glycoalkaloid content, a tuber greenish due to insolation when it emerges on the surface can contain 250–280 mg/kg, and its own green skin can concentrate up to 1500 –2200 mg/kg. It is considered that the synthesis of all these compounds by the plant is an adaptive defense strategy against diseases, insects and herbivores.

Solanine intoxication is characterized by gastrointestinal (diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain) and neurological (hallucinations, headache) disturbances. The toxic dose is 2 to 5 mg per kilogram of body weight. Symptoms appear 8 to 12 hours after ingestion.

In potatoes, these glycoalkaloids are produced in small amounts (on average 0.075 mg per gram of potato), but their content increases under certain conditions (due to prolonged exposure to light or mechanical injuries). Commercial potato varieties have solanine levels controlled, and most have a solanine content of less than 0.2 mg/g, but those exposed to light and that have begun to green can show concentrations of 1 mg/g. g or larger, and in these cases a single unpeeled potato can contain a dangerous dose of solanine. Peeling and heat treatment (such as cooking or frying) partially destroy these toxic substances: deep frying at 170 °C is relatively effective (the decomposition of solanine by heat begins at above 200 °C), while microwaving is not so effective, and boiling is ineffective. Despite these more or less successful treatments, the flavor bitter can remain.

Industrial uses

Potato starch is increasingly being used in industry. Examples of its use in the manufacture of non-food products are packaging materials, wallpaper glue, laundry detergent and cosmetics, toothpaste, creams, facial powders, shampoo and pills. Despite these non-traditional uses, the paper industry is the one that most demands potato starch for making corrugated cardboard, wrapping paper and newsprint.

Its use as a model organism in research

The potato is an important model plant. Although other non-cultivated plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, offer certain advantages for research, such as the presence of simple, small genomes and short life cycles, they cannot provide answers to the most difficult questions. relevant from the point of view of agriculture. In this context, the potato presents several biological aspects that make it a very attractive model for study. Like many other crops such as corn, wheat or soybeans, the potato is a polyploid. The effect of polyploidy on crop productivity has not yet been determined, but its prevalence among cultivated species indicates that it should present clear advantages. The potato is an ideal polyploid, compared to other crops, since it is the result of the duplication of the same genome (it is said to be an autopolyploid) rather than the combination of different genomes (as occurs in allopolyploids, such as wheat), so it is less complex. Unlike Arabidopsis, the different potato clones are highly heterozygous, a characteristic that contributes to the great genetic diversity of this species and that may have been a preponderant factor in its survival and domestication. However, it is a rather particular heterozygous since it can not only accommodate two different alleles per gene locus but up to four due to its autotetraploid condition. This characteristic makes it possible to study not only the effect of an allele, but also the effect of different doses of a certain allele on the biology of the plant.

Genetically modified potatoes

Attempts to confer resistance to potato pests and diseases through transgenesis have not been commercially successful. In 1999, approximately 25,000 hectares of transgenic potatoes were planted in Canada and the United States, most of which expressed a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis that conferred resistance to insects (particularly " potato beetle", Leptinotarsa decemlineata). From that date on, the area cultivated with transgenic potatoes continuously declined until it disappeared. One of the reasons, perhaps the most important, is that the big industrialists in the potato marketing chain (the McCain company, for example) refused to buy, receive or process genetically modified potatoes after 1999. In research aimed at providing greater tolerance to "potato late blight", caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans, positive results have been achieved in the laboratory with genetically modified potatoes that express a derivative of the antimicrobial peptide dermaseptin B1, typical of the skin secretion (kambó) of the tropical tree frog Phyllomedusa bicolor; the same occurs with the advances obtained in other modified varieties that contain the barnase- barstar, from the genome of the bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, in which the enzyme barnase is expressed in infected plant cells (thanks to the fact that the gene was bound to a defense mechanism promoter plant nsa) in sufficient amounts to destroy them, and the enzyme barstar inhibits their action when in low doses, as occurs in healthy cells.

Another class of genetically modified potatoes are those that present modifications in their starch and, therefore, have industrial applications. Potato starch is made up of 20% amylose and 80% amylopectin. The latter is a high molecular weight, highly branched molecule with excellent adhesive properties. Amylose, on the other hand, is a smaller, linear molecule with gelling properties. This percentage of amylose in potato starch limits its usefulness for many industrial applications. The separation of the two components is not economically viable, so most of the starch for industrial use is chemically modified to reduce its gelling tendency. This chemical treatment uses energy and water in large quantities, making it an environmentally onerous process.
BASF company scientists have developed transgenic potatoes with 100% amylopectin in their starch which are called "Amflora". This modification has been achieved by means of antisense technology that prevents the expression of the GBSS gene ("Granule Bound Starch Synthase") essential for the creation of amylose from dextrose. Potatoes modified in this way cannot synthesize amylose so their starch contains only amylopectin. The residues from the industrial use of "Amflora" They can also be used to feed livestock.

World production

Main potato producers (2020) (tonnes)
ChinaChina	& fake fake fake fake fake anal 07078236596.78 236 596
India	& fake fake fake fake fake fake fake 05051300000. fake fake nightmare51 300 000
Ukraine Ukraine	' s fake fake fake fake fake nightmare.20 837 990
Russia Russia	& fake fake fake fake fake fake fake sex019607361.19 607 361
United States	& fake fake fake fake fake birth018789970. hypothesize fake dream018 789 970
GermanyGermany	' s fake fake fake fake fake fake brainstorm. fake fake fake brainstorm11 715 100
BangladésBangladés	& fake fake fake fake fake fake brainstorm brainstorm.9 606 000
France	& fake fake fake fake fake fake 08691900. fake fake fake fake brain08 691 900
PolandPoland	& fake fake fake fake fake blouse 07848600. fake blouse.7 848 600
NetherlandsNetherlands	& fake fake fake fake fake die07020060. hypothesize fake dream07 020 060
United KingdomUnited Kingdom	& fake fake fake fake fake fake hip05520000. fake fake fake fake dream0520 000
Peru Peru	& fake fake fake fake fake fake brainchild die05467041.5 467 041
CanadaCanada	& fake fake fake fake fake hipster hips05295484. fake fake fake fake brainstorm5 295 484
BelarusBelarus	& fake fake fake fake fake fake brainchild exposes the brainchild.5 231 168
Global total	& fake fake fake fake fake brainstorm 035907143. hypothesized fake nightmare035 907 143

Source

World market

The world potato market is undergoing major changes. Until the early 1990s, almost all potatoes were produced and consumed in Europe, North America, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Since then there has been a dramatic increase in potato production and demand in Asia, Africa and Latin America, where production rose from less than 30 million tons in the early 1960s to more than 100 million tons by the mid-1960s. of the 1990s. In 2005, for the first time, potato production in the developing world - some 161.5 million tons - exceeded that of developed countries (155.9 million tons). China has become the world's largest potato producer, and just under a third of all potatoes are currently grown in China and India.

Asia and Europe are the world's main potato-producing regions and in 2006 supplied 80% of world production. Although in Africa and Latin America the harvests were of a much smaller volume, the production was extraordinary. North America was the undisputed first producer of the continent, with more than 40 tons per hectare. Asia consumes almost half of the world's potato supply, but because of its huge population this means that consumption per person was just 25 kilograms in 2005. The largest potato consumers are Europeans. The lowest per capita consumption is in Africa and Latin America, but it is increasing.

Africa

Plántula

The potato arrived in Africa around the turn of the xx century. Production has grown steadily over the past decades, from 2 million tons in 1960 to an extraordinary 16.5 million tons in 2006. Potatoes are grown in a wide variety of conditions, from irrigated commercial farms in Egypt and South Africa, to the heavily cultivated tropical highlands of eastern and central Africa, managed mainly by smallholders.

Egypt is the largest potato producer in Africa. The potato was introduced to this country in the 19th century and its large-scale production began during World War I, because British officials in the colony encouraged the production of this crop to feed the soldiers. However, after the war, the poor quality of the imported seeds and the lack of experience of the farmers with this crop prevented its production from increasing.
This situation changed over time. Since 1961, irrigated potato production in Egypt, concentrated in the northern Nile delta, has grown at a rate of more than 5% per year. Between 1990 and 2007, annual production increased from 1.6 million tons to about 2.6 million tons, making Egypt the leading African producer of potatoes.

Egypt is also one of the world's leading potato exporters. In 2004, exports amounted to more than 380,000 tons of fresh potatoes, and 18,000 tons of frozen potato products, destined mainly for European markets. According to FAO estimates of potato production in Africa in 2007, three countries were the second largest producers in the region: Algeria, Malawi and South Africa.

North America

In North America, potato production is concentrated in the United States, which ranks 5th in world potato production. Since 1990 the United States and Canada have seen significant increases in yields per unit acreage, which today average about 39 tons per hectare in the United States. Both countries are large exporters of frozen potato products.

The first potato patch in North America was grown in 1719, and the first French fries were served in the White House, during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson some 80 years later. In 2007, the United States harvested 17.6 million tons of potatoes, making it the fifth largest producer in the world. Potatoes are grown in almost every state in the United States, although nearly half of commercial production is grown in Idaho, Washington, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Colorado, Oregon, Maine, Minnesota, California, and Michigan. The potato is one of the 20 most consumed vegetables in the United States. Each American consumes more than 54 kilograms of potatoes a year: boiled, baked, roasted, fried, scalloped, mashed, stuffed, and even raw.

In Canada, on the other hand, potatoes began to be cultivated earlier. Settlers were the first to cultivate it in New Brunswick, on Canada's Atlantic coast, in the mid-17th century. Today, Canada is the world's 13th largest potato producer, and in 2007 production reached almost 5 million tons. The potato accounts for one third of the agricultural turnover of vegetables, making it the most important vegetable in Canada. Since the early 1990s, Canadian potato production has grown to meet international demand for frozen potato products. In 2004, almost two million tons of raw potatoes were needed - 37% of the total harvest - to satisfy the demand for exports. These involve, almost entirely, frozen French fries, destined primarily for the US market.

Latin America

Although the potato originated in South America, Latin America is not the country that produces the most potatoes in the world: less than 16 million tons in 2007. For the majority of small farmers in the Andean region, the potato continues to grow. being a traditional crop, linked to family consumption more than to industrial production and where unknown varieties are used in the rest of the world.

In the case of producing countries, Peru almost always led the list in Latin America, except only for a time, such as between the years 2004-2007, in which the first potato producer was Brazil.

In Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, large-scale commercial production is increasing. By 2020, the Republic of Peru is the country with the highest potato production in the region. According to a report issued by the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Mindar) of that country, in 2019 and 2020, Peru ranked as the leading potato producer in Latin America, registering an annual production of 5.3 million tons. Likewise, it was ranked 14th in tuber production worldwide.

Asia and Oceania

The region of Asia and Oceania contains the main international potato producer: China, which represents more than 20% of the area and world production of this vegetable. Other Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, India, Iran, Japan and Turkey, are also among the world's top 20 potato producers. In this region is also the country that achieves the highest productivity per unit area: New Zealand with an average of 42 tons per hectare.

Europe

Vincent van Gogh, Potato eaters (1885), oil, 82 x 114 cm. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Although the exact date of the potato's introduction into Europe is unknown, it is likely that it arrived via the Canary Islands, where S. tuberosum since at least the mid-16th century (later records reveal that potatoes were supplied to patients at the Hospital de la Sangre, in Seville, in 1573). Although the potato was initially prized more for its flower than as a food crop, it was essential in Spanish agriculture for most of the century xx, with an annual production exceeding 5 million tons until the 1990s.

For most of the xx century, Europe was undisputedly the world's leading potato producer, an honor that now belongs to Asia. However, seven European countries continue to be among the top 10 producers in the world. Europe also boasts the highest consumption in the world (almost 100 kilograms of potatoes per person per year). A shift is taking place in many Western European countries from potato cultivation to industrial processing and production of seed tubers. The first producer in Europe is Russia. Legend has it that Tsar Peter the Great, on his trip to Western Europe in 1697, sent Russia the first sack of potatoes. But for more than a century, the new tuber was considered toxic and dismissed as the "devil's apple." When Russian farmers finally accepted the potato in the mid-19th century century, growth was explosive. By 1973 Russia was producing, along with the then Soviet republics of Belarus and Ukraine, more than 100 million tons of potatoes a year. Since then, the area under cultivation for potatoes has steadily declined, and Russia's annual production over the past 15 years has stabilized at 35 million tons.
Still, the Russian Federation remains a 'potato titan', second only to China. The average Russian consumes 140 kilograms of potatoes a year. More than 90% of Russian potatoes are grown on home plots and on private farms. Pests and diseases are a big problem, with up to four million tons lost annually to potato ladybug, late blight, and various viruses.

Acknowledgments

International Year of the Pope

The United Nations has officially declared 2008 the International Year of the Potato in order to "raise awareness of the importance of potatoes as food in developing countries".

National Potato Festival in Argentina

This party was born in February 1992 in Villa Dolores, Córdoba as an idea of the communal administration. A 1994 resolution (of the National Government) declared it of national interest and later it was incorporated into the annual calendar of events of the Argentine Republic.

Fiesta nacional de la papa en Bolivia

Since 1986, Bolivia, which is one of the main potato producers on the continent, has dedicated a festival to the potato in the town of Betanzos, Potosí.

National Potato Festival in Chile

The activity is organized by the Chilean National Potato Network, which brings together 3,500 farmers who work in this crop. It has been celebrated since 2001.

National Papal Day in Peru

By Supreme Resolution number 009-2005-AG, of the Ministry of Agriculture of Peru, since 2005 every May 30th is National Potato Day.

Taxonomy

Solanum tuberosum was described by Carlos Linnaeus and published in Species Plantarum, vol. 1 p. 185, 1753.

Etymology

• Solanum: generic name derived from the Latin word equivalent to the Greek στρνχνος (strychnos) to designate Solanum nigrum (the "Hierba mora") — and probably other species of the genus, including the eggplant — already employed by Plinius the Old in his Natural history (21, 177 and 27, 132) and, before, by Aulo Cornelio Celso in Re Medica (II, 33). It could be related to Latin Sun., "the sun", because the plant would be of some sunny sites.
• tuberosum: Latin epithet that means "with tubercle".

Accepted varieties

• Solanum tuberosum subsp. andigena (Juz. & Bukasov) Hawkes
• Solanum tuberosum f. ccompis (Bukasov) Ochoa
• Solanum tuberosum f. cevallosii (Bukasov) Ochoa
• Solanum tuberosum f. huacalajra (Bukasov) Ochoa
• Solanum tuberosum var. longibaccatum (Bukasov) Ochoa
• Solanum tuberosum f. pallidum (Bukasov) Ochoa

Sinonimia

• Solanum esculentum Neck.
• Lycopersicon tuberosum (L.) Mill.
• Solanum fonckii Phil. ex Reiche
• Solanum cultum(A.DC.) Berthault
• Solanum chiloense (A.DC.) Berthault
• Solanum diemii Brücher
• Solanum chilotanum shape magnicorollatum Lechn.
• Solanum chilotanum shape parvicorollatum Lechn.
• Solanum chilotanum var. Talukdarii Lechn.

Common names

Common name ('papapa' or 'patata') in Spanish

Criadilla, garden criadillas, crickets, potato American potato, Peruvian potato, potato, patatera, patato, trunfa, trunfera, turma from India.

In Peru it is also called chuno or chuño.

It is important to note that in Bolivia the name papa balusa refers to taro (Colocasia esculenta), so it should not be confused with the common potato.