Potato
Family Solanaceae
Solanum tuberosum, the potato (S. tuberosum 1), is a herbaceous annual, 30-100 cm high, with pinnate leaves and red, purple or white (S. tuberosum 2) flowers, 2.5 cm across, with yellow anthers joined laterally. The fruit is a green or yellowish berry resembling the tomato, about 1.5 cm across. The plant produces many rhizomes, which become swollen at the tip to form edible tubers, the potatoes, containing 78% water, 18% starch and 2% proteins. There are hundreds of varieties of potatoes (S. tuberosum 3), (S. tuberosum 4). Propagation of a variety is by ‘ seed potatoes’ , derived from disease-free stocks and planted in spring. Potatoes are very susceptible to a large number of diseases and therefore cultivation is under strict rules.
Distribution
Wild potatoes are native in the Andean regions of South America, with its maximum variability around Lake Titicaca. The Inca’ s grew them, together with maize. The potato reached Europe about 1570 and it took a long time before its value as human food was recognised. It was in Ireland that it was first grown in quantities to provide extra food to the poor population. However, in 1845 blight brought about a famine, leading to the death of a million people and emigration of about the same number to the US in 1851. Resistant varieties were later obtained from South America. On the European continent Frederick the Great tried to promote potato cultivation in Prussia in 1774, but with little success as it was regarded as the food of the poor. Only from the 19th century onwards it became more important as a food crop. Irish emigrants took the potato to New England in 1791. The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines; the Dutch on Java and missionaries took it to East Africa.
Use
Today the potato is one of the most important foodstuffs (S. tuberosum 5), especially in the temperate regions (S. tuberosum 6), (S. tuberosum 7), (S. tuberosum 8). They may be served boiled, steamed, fried, roasted or baked, or as an ingredient of stews, soups and pies. They are also made into chips, flour and dried mashed potatoes. Potato starch is economically very important and is used in numerous foodstuffs, in the paper industry, in the production of synthetic fibres in the textile industry and many others.
Yields vary from 7.5-40 ton per ha annually, with an average of about 25 tons for Europe. The biggest producers are China, Russia, India and the US.