Where do potatoes come from?

Potatoes, also known as potato seeds, yam eggs, potato, potato and so on. It is the most important food crop used as human staple food in the world except grain, and mainly eats its underground tubers. Widely planted all over the world, thousands of varieties have been cultivated. Strong adaptability to soil, but it requires a cool, cold and dry climate. Although it can grow in hot and humid areas, the varieties will degenerate after one generation, so it is necessary to introduce new potato varieties from cold areas frequently.

history

Wild potatoes are native to the Andes in South America and are planted by local Indians. Spanish colonists brought it to Europe in the16th century. 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. 1719 was brought back to the United States by Irish immigrants in the 7th century and began to be planted in the United States.

Image reference: upload.wikimedia/ * */Mons/Thumb /8/86/ Potato _ Harvest _ by _ Carl _ Larson _% 281853-19180px-potato.

Picture reference: zh. * * */Skins- 1.5/mon/images/Magnify-clip . png。

The Swedish painter Carl Larsson's work "Harvest Potatoes"

1840, a potato epidemic broke out in Europe, and Ireland, which was completely dependent on potatoes, suffered the most and faced a great 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.

diversification

Image reference: upload.wikimedia/ * * */Mons/Thumb/A/AB/Patents/180px-patents.

Picture reference: zh. * * */Skins- 1.5/mon/images/Magnify-clip . png。

Different varieties of potatoes

There are hundreds of varieties of potato in the country of origin, and new varieties are being cultivated all over the world. At present, there are thousands of varieties in the world, some of which are suitable as staple food and some as vegetables. People have cultivated many new varieties according to different uses, such as white, red and purple. The underground tubers are round, oval and oval, and the epidermis is red, yellow, white and purple. Generally, the "bud eye" on the tuber is used for cutting and sowing. If it is planted with seeds, it will mutate soon, so it is very easy to appear new varieties.

Image reference: upload.wikimedia/ * * */Mons/Thumb/112/Potato _ Plant/180 px- Potato _ Plant.

Picture reference: zh. * * */Skins- 1.5/mon/images/Magnify-clip . png。

Potato plant

nutrition

Potatoes contain a lot of carbohydrates, as well as protein, minerals (phosphorus, calcium, etc. ) and vitamins. It can be used as a staple food, as a vegetable, as an auxiliary food such as French fries and potato chips, as well as starch and vermicelli, and can also be used for brewing wine or as feed for livestock.

Potatoes contain some toxic alkaloids, mainly solanine and mucormycol, but the toxic substances will decompose after being cooked at a high temperature of 170℃. Wild potatoes are highly toxic, and solanine poisoning can lead to headache, diarrhea, convulsions, coma and even death. However, the toxicity of common cultivated potatoes is very low, and there are few potato poisoning incidents. Cultivated potatoes generally contain less than 0.2 mg/g of alkaloids, and generally more than 200 mg will be poisoned, which is equivalent to eating 3 kg of raw potatoes at a time. If potatoes are exposed to light during storage, they will turn green and toxic substances will increase; The purple eyes of germinated potatoes can also cause the accumulation of toxic substances, which is prone to poisoning incidents. Pay attention when eating.

Image reference: upload.wikimedia/ * * */Mons/Thumb /d/D7/ Potato _ blossom.jpg/180px-Potato _ blossom.jpg.

Picture reference: zh. * * */Skins- 1.5/mon/images/Magnify-clip . png。

Potato flower

shop

After harvest, potatoes can be stored until the following autumn. Generally speaking, they should be covered with straw and stored in dark, cold and dry conditions. They should be antifreeze in winter and avoid germination in spring. If they want to germinate, they must be dried or exposed to the sun.

Image reference: upload.wikimedia/ * * */Mons/Thumb /a/A0/ Tractor _ in _ Potato _ field/180 px- Tractor _ in _ Potato _ field.

Picture reference: zh. * * */Skins- 1.5/mon/images/Magnify-clip . png。

Farming potato fields with tractors, reference: zh. *** /w/index？ Title =% E9% A9% AC% E9% 93% 83% E8% 96% AF&; Variant =zh-, USA,