And true enough, Harvey did emerge from the bedroom, his eyes still half-closed and the rest of his body dragging behind in an effort to get back to bed. (2001), South America: (English and Spanish): Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Eurasia: Armenia, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan. [82] The commercial storage and retrieval of potatoes involves several phases: first drying surface moisture; wound healing at 85% to 95% relative humidity and temperatures below 25 °C (77 °F); a staged cooling phase; a holding phase; and a reconditioning phase, during which the tubers are slowly warmed. Particularly in the United Kingdom, where there seems to be a great deal of confusion among consumers over whether the potato is a vegetable or just a starchy carbohydrate or both. A perfect example is the humble potato. Potato Head is an American toy that consists of a plastic potato and attachable plastic parts, such as ears and eyes, to make a face. How to use vegetable … [30] Thousands of varieties still persist in the Andes however, where over 100 cultivars might be found in a single valley, and a dozen or more might be maintained by a single agricultural household. Tuber bulking occurs during the fourth phase, when the plant begins investing the majority of its resources in its newly formed tubers. So leaves, buds, and seeds too come under this category. The most complex designs use vine choppers and shakers, along with a blower system to separate the potatoes from the plant. In this respect, potato tuber tissue is similar to, Potatoes have been delivered with personalized messages as a novelty. It comes from an annual plant that is grown for its edible root. 2003 May 7; 51(10): 2964–73, "United States Potato Board -Seed Potatoes", Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture, "Dutch saltwater potatoes offer hope for world's hungry", "NJF seminar No. ", Business BASF applies for approval for another biotech potato, BASF applies for EU approval for Fortuna GM potato, U.S.D.A. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. It was Mario Pei's 1949 The Story of Language that can be blamed for the word's false origin. A traditional Canary Islands dish is Canarian wrinkly potatoes or papas arrugadas. E raw cassava According to the Soil Association, the total copper that can be applied to organic land is 6 kg/ha/year. Potato crop yields are determined by factors such as the crop breed, seed age and quality, crop management practices and the plant environment. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are a root vegetable. [74] Other potato diseases include Rhizoctonia, Sclerotinia, black leg, powdery mildew, powdery scab and leafroll virus. [29], Most modern potatoes grown in North America arrived through European settlement and not independently from the South American sources, although at least one wild potato species, Solanum fendleri, naturally ranges from Peru into Texas, where it is used in breeding for resistance to a nematode species that attacks cultivated potatoes. [13][14] The name originally referred to the sweet potato although the two plants are not closely related. The GI of potatoes can vary considerably depending on the cultivar or cultivar category (such as "red", russet, "white", or King Edward), growing conditions and storage, preparation methods (by cooking method, whether it is eaten hot or cold, whether it is mashed or cubed or consumed whole), and accompanying foods consumed (especially the addition of various high-fat or high-protein toppings). Because of that, most people think that potatoes are vegetables. Well, it is a root alright. In 2010, the European Commission cleared the way for 'Amflora' to be grown in the European Union for industrial purposes only—not for food. Potato is a cool-season vegetable that ranks with wheat and rice as one of the most important staple crops in the human diet around the world. Stevenson, W.R., Loria, R., Franc, G.D., and Weingartner, D.P. For instance, sweet potatoes and yams are not on the nightshade vegetables list. Enriching and preserving the gene bank collection to make potatoes adaptive to diverse environmental conditions is seen as a pressing issue due to climate change. [27] More than 99 percent of all current varieties of potatoes currently grown are direct descendants of a subspecies that once grew in the lowlands of south-central Chile. [19] Potatoes are mostly cross-pollinated by insects such as bumblebees, which carry pollen from other potato plants, though a substantial amount of self-fertilizing occurs as well. Literally! Potatoes do not keep very well in storage and are vulnerable to moulds that feed on the stored tubers and quickly turn them rotten, whereas crops such as grain can be stored for several years with a low risk of rot. [40] In 2010, potatoes were bioengineered specifically for these pigmentation traits. They are believed to be probable carcinogens and their occurrence in cooked foods is being studied for potentially influencing health problems. This page was last edited on 30 December 2020, at 19:40. In France, the most notable potato dish is the Hachis Parmentier, named after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, a French pharmacist, nutritionist, and agronomist who, in the late 18th century, was instrumental in the acceptance of the potato as an edible crop in the country. SHARE. Insects that commonly transmit potato diseases or damage the plants include the Colorado potato beetle, the potato tuber moth, the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae), the potato aphid, beet leafhoppers, thrips, and mites. Many people believe that eating potatoes, especially chips or French fries, contributes to excessive sodium intake, but just 4% of average national sodium intake comes from all starchy vegetables, including all forms of potatoes, corn, and other starchy vegetables. In fact, they are actually what are known as tubers and grow beneath the surface of the soil. [67] These locations are selected for their cold, hard winters that kill pests and summers with long sunshine hours for optimum growth. Potato is perennial herbaceous plant with the underground stem, called tuber. But whether the potato is a fruit or a vegetable, or for that matter any fruit vs. vegetable questions are pretty much like the chicken-came-first-or-egg, family of questions. [72] Three successive plowings, with associated harrowing and rolling, are desirable before planting. In the north of Italy, in particular, in the Friuli region of the northeast, potatoes serve to make a type of pasta called gnocchi. It’s also quite possibly one of the most misunderstood vegetables around. A variant eaten and sold in Lancashire, especially Liverpool, is made with cooked and mashed potatoes. Eliminating all root-weeds is desirable in potato cultivation. In Germany, Northern and Eastern Europe (especially in Scandinavian countries), Finland, Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, newly harvested, early ripening varieties are considered a special delicacy. Kleinkopf G.E. The potato is rarely eaten raw because raw potato starch is poorly digested by humans. In the US, potatoes have become one of the most widely consumed crops and thus have a variety of preparation methods and condiments. So is it? Even cold weather makes potatoes more susceptible to bruising and possibly later rotting, which can quickly ruin a large stored crop. [37], Dozens of potato cultivars have been selectively bred specifically for their skin or, more commonly, flesh color, including gold, red, and blue varieties[38] that contain varying amounts of phytochemicals, including carotenoids for gold/yellow or polyphenols for red or blue cultivars.