Potato
Research Project: Potato
The potato originated in the South American Andes, but its heartland of wild genetic diversity reaches from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern Brazil, northward into Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. Potato was first cultivated between 3 and 7 thousand years ago, some scientists believe they may have grown wild in the region as long as 13,000 years ago. Potato is the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat in terms of human consumption. More than a billion people worldwide eat potato, and global total crop production exceeds 300 million metric tons. Located in Lima, Peru The international potato center maintains the largest collection of potatoes in the world, including more than 7,000 accessions of native, wild, and improved varieties. Potatoes can grow from sea level up to 4,700 meters above sea level from southern Chile to Greenland. Potatoes are produced in over 100 countries worldwide. Potato is vegetative propagated, meaning that a new plant can be grown from a potato or piece of potato, called a “seed”. The new plant can produce 5 through 20 new tubers, which will be genetic clones of the mother seed plant. Potato plants also produce flowers and berries that contain 100-400 botanical seeds. Potatoes can have white, yellow, pink, red, purple, and even blue flesh color. Yellow is primarily due to the presence of carotenoids concentrations, red, purple, and blue color have anthocyanin’s. Both are antioxidants and believed to play an important role in preventing cancer and diseases related to ageing. Potato varies in color, size, shape, starch content and taste.
According to Dr. Hector Flores, "the most probable place of origin of potatoes is located between the south of Peru and the northeast of Bolivia. The archaeological remains date from 400bc and have been found on the shores of Lake Titicaca, Peru. There are many
The potato originated in the South American Andes, but its heartland of wild genetic diversity reaches from Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern Brazil, northward into Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States. Potato was first cultivated between 3 and 7 thousand years ago, some scientists believe they may have grown wild in the region as long as 13,000 years ago. Potato is the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat in terms of human consumption. More than a billion people worldwide eat potato, and global total crop production exceeds 300 million metric tons. Located in Lima, Peru The international potato center maintains the largest collection of potatoes in the world, including more than 7,000 accessions of native, wild, and improved varieties. Potatoes can grow from sea level up to 4,700 meters above sea level from southern Chile to Greenland. Potatoes are produced in over 100 countries worldwide. Potato is vegetative propagated, meaning that a new plant can be grown from a potato or piece of potato, called a “seed”. The new plant can produce 5 through 20 new tubers, which will be genetic clones of the mother seed plant. Potato plants also produce flowers and berries that contain 100-400 botanical seeds. Potatoes can have white, yellow, pink, red, purple, and even blue flesh color. Yellow is primarily due to the presence of carotenoids concentrations, red, purple, and blue color have anthocyanin’s. Both are antioxidants and believed to play an important role in preventing cancer and diseases related to ageing. Potato varies in color, size, shape, starch content and taste.
According to Dr. Hector Flores, "the most probable place of origin of potatoes is located between the south of Peru and the northeast of Bolivia. The archaeological remains date from 400bc and have been found on the shores of Lake Titicaca, Peru. There are many
Cited: Messer, Ellen. Potato (White). 1. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge World History of Food, 2000. 187. eBook. . Jolly, Rajan. "Benefits of Potatoes." Hubpages. Scoot Bauer, 12/03/2011. Web. 12 Apr 2012. . Irwin W., Sherman. Twelve diseases that changed our world. Washington, DC: ASM Press, 2007. Print. Mintz, S. (2007). Digital History. Retrieved 04/13/2012 from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu Chapman, Jeff. "The Impact of the Potato." The origin of the potato. N.p., 12/02/2010. Web. 14 Apr 2012. .