The potato (Solanum tuberosum), also earth apple or food potato mentioned, is a kind of useful plant in the kind night shade (Solanum) and the family of the night shade plants (Solanaceae) is added. It is related to tomato, Paprika and tobacco, not however with the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas).

It forms their seeds in a tomato-similar berry, which is ungeniessbar for humans. Apart from the sexual Vermehrung it spreads by its underground tubers vegetativy. The latters are also what is meant with potatoes in the German linguistic usage: the edible branch tubers.

Like all night shade plants the potato plant contains poisonous alkaloids (for example Solanin, syn. Solanidin). The consumption of aboveground parts of the plant leads to symptoms of intoxication. This applies also to the impulses growing out of from the tubers.

World-wide annually about 300 million tons of potatoes are harvested. The potato is thereby in large parts of the world an important basic food. In Central Europe it is even the principal reason food.

Origin

The oldest traces of the game potato were found on the patagonischen island Chiloe, one estimate its age on 13,000 years before Chr.

The potato originates from the South American Anden. There learned the Spaniards in the first half 16. Century of the Inka the vegetable dad (from Quechua: the tuber) know. At Europe arrived, first on the Kanari islands and at Andalusien, it was called Patata - the English name of potatoes or the French pointed name patate reminds this very day of just as the old German designation Batate, which designates today the sweet potato. The common German name potato reminds against it of Italian tartufolo, with which the plant at the beginning were compared. The French expression pomme de terre means however earth apple - also a name common in South Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

To Europe the potato was imported first because of the beautiful bloom and sumptuous leaves as pure ornamental plant and taken up as rare plant to botanische gardens. Center 16. Century emerges it in the Netherlands, in Italy and in Burgund. In Germany it emerges for the first time under the government Karl V.

The cultivation on a large scale began 1684 in Lancashire, 1717 in Saxonia, since 1728 in Scotland and 1738 in Prussia and since 1783 in France.

Spreading

To major items see culture history of the potato

When, how and through whom the potato to Europe it came, is until today not exactly clarified. Generally is considered 1555 as the year, in which the potato came from the Anden to Spain. Long time was admired the legendary English sailor Sir Francis Drake as a first importer of the potato to Europe. It is more probable that a contemporary Drakes, which introduced famous sailors and discoverers walter Raleigh (1552-1618) the potato to Ireland. The agricultural use began only in the second half 18. Century. In Prussia Friedrich the large one with regulations help the potato to break-through outside of tropical, arctic and subarctic climate zones the potato today is world-wide cultivated. After their culture in Europe had become generally accepted and the potato a basic food had become, Europeans brought it everywhere also, where they seized late foot. In the supermarket today beside the native potatoes also such are offered from Sicilies, by the Kanari islands, from Egypt or from South Africa. On Teneriffa or on larva Irish Republican Army potatoes grow under palms and beside banana gardens. There a harvest is twice in the year possible, the export effected primarily into the states of the European union. For reasons of the yield potatoes in the alpine region are cultivated only rarely up to two thousand meters height, sometimes but a Bergwanderer beside a can see still another planting place, which serves also few lines a Kohl and Kartoffelstauden of the self-sufficiency of the Almbauern.

World production 2002

The world-wide largest potato producer is the People's Republic of China with 66,573 million tons. Afterwards follow Russia (32.871 millions t), India (24.082 millions t), the USA (20.856 millions t), the Ukraine (16.620 millions t), Poland (15.524 millions t), Germany (11.492 millions t), white Russia (7.421 millions t), the Netherlands (7.363 millions t), France (6.877 millions t), Great Britain (6.375 millions t) and Turkey (5.200 millions t). These twelve states produce approximately 71% of the entire world harvest of the yearly 2002.

In Germany the cultivated area removed only 293,000 hectares in the past years strongly and amounted to 2004 opposite 548.000 in the year 1990. The harvest quantity rose 2004 to 12,6 million t, opposite 9,2 millions t in the previous year. Germany is besides most important importing country for early potatoes, which come predominantly from France and Egypt. Important export countries are beside France the Beneluxstaaten and for potato products also Germany.

World production 2005

According to Food and Agriculture Organization amounted to in the year 2005 the world production 322 million tons of potatoes. The prominent cultivation countries are:

Trade

The meaning of the potato as basic basic and feeds decreased in the last decades strongly. Into the retail trade the potato arrives usually washed in handy packings at 1-2.5 kilograms or in bags at 5-25 kilograms during the whole yearly in different sorts, whereby those is for a long time not reached variety of the origin continent South America. Depending upon season both regional, domestic and imported good are offered.

The per-capita consumption lay 2002 in Germany with 68,4 kg per year, of it 30 kg for products of potato. 1992 amounted to consumption still 74.1 kg.

Articles in category "Potato"

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