Where is the land of potatoes?

Tengzhou, the hometown of potatoes in China.

Wild potatoes are native to the Andes in South America and are planted by local Indians. /kloc-In the 6th century, Spanish colonists brought it to Europe. 1586, the British defeated the Spanish in the Caribbean, collected tobacco and other plant seeds from South America, and brought potatoes to Britain. The climate in Britain is suitable for potatoes, which are taller and easier to manage than other grains. 1650, potatoes have become the main food crops in Ireland, and began to spread in Europe. /kloc-In the 0/7th century, potato has become an important food crop in Europe. 17 19 was brought back to the United States by Irish immigrants and began to grow in the United States. 1840, potato late blight broke out in Europe, and the Irish economy, which was completely dependent on potatoes, was the most affected and suffered from famine. Nearly one million people starved to death and millions of immigrants fled to the United States. In17th century, potatoes had spread to China. Because potatoes are very suitable for planting in cold areas where the original grain yield is extremely low and only naked oats can be planted, they quickly spread in Inner Mongolia, Hebei, Shanxi, northwestern Shaanxi and other places. High-yield crops such as potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes imported from the United States have become the main food for the poor and played an important role in maintaining the rapid population growth in China.

Origin and production

The main potato producers in the world are the former Soviet Union, Poland, China and the United States. The main potato producing areas in China are southwest mountainous area, northwest, Inner Mongolia and northeast. Dingxi, the "potato capital of China", has become the largest producer of virus-free seed potatoes, the third largest potato planting area, the largest refined starch processing capacity and the first-class market circulation and marketing system in China. The climate, soil quality, rainfall and other conditions in Dingxi City are suitable for potato growth. The produced potatoes are large in size, high in quality, round in color, smooth in skin, mellow in taste, high in dry matter content and resistant to transportation and storage. The annual planting area is stable at about 3 million mu, reaching 3.5 million mu in 2008, and the output is 5.3 million tons: anding district, Dingxi City is the county (district) with the largest planting area, the largest total output, the largest fresh sales and the largest processing capacity of potatoes in China. In 2009, the potato planting area in the whole region reached 6.5438+0.04 million mu, accounting for more than half of the crop planting area in the whole region. The potato industry has truly become a strategic leading industry that runs through the primary, secondary and tertiary industries, radiates to thousands of households, coordinates urban and rural development, drives farmers to increase their income and leads the regional economy. Dingxi City successfully held the China Dingxi Potato Industry Development and Economic and Trade Fair for many years, which greatly improved the popularity and influence of the potato industry. From the perspective of industrial system, potato has formed the most complete industrial chain in Dingxi City. Improved varieties, processing, storage, transportation and marketing have all developed rapidly, and the supporting intensive processing system, marketing system and virus-free seed potato supply system have made new and greater contributions to agricultural efficiency and farmers' income.