The Potato

Paper Summary:

Potatoes are the world's most widely grown vegetable. However, this status is being challenged by other carbohydrate staples around the world due to changing diets and quality perceptions. This paper examines the basic biology of the potato, agriculture and cultivation and market access.

From the Paper:

"In order to achieve maximum yield potential with acceptable quality, it is important to select the most appropriate combinations of potato genotypes, environmental conditions and management practices. Maximum yield is not necessarily a desirable goal - the impact of achieving maximum yield on the tuber quality and marketability of the crop must be considered. Sometimes the factors influencing the quality of the tubers, conflict with those involved in maximising the yield. Conditions required to ensure a high yield include: a frost free growing season, warm days (>18oC) and cool nights, periods of low humidity to facilitate control of leaf disease and well drained soils. The canopy of the potato plant above the soil needs to be kept alive and functional for approximately 95 days after the start of tuber initiation. ie: growth needs to be maintained for 95 days so that young, photosynthetically active tissue is maintained."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fresh Potato Quality, Promotion and Marketing - what's been happening?, 2001, Henderson, A. , Agriculture Victoria, Victoria, Australia
• Managing Bacterial Soft Rot in Washed Potatoes, 2001, Morgan, B. and Wicks, T., SARDI, Adelaide, Australia
• One hundred tonnes of tubers per hectare - how to get it (using new cultivars and management systems) and the constraints, p142-147, Williams, C.M.J, 1993, National Potato Research Workshop, Tasmania, Australia
• Potato R & D in Great Britan - comparisons and opportunities for Australia, 2000, Wale, S., Scottish Agricultural College, Aberdeen, UK
• Quality Assurance and Product Description - Useful or Not, Coleman, E., 2001, Queensland Horticulture Institute, Queensland, Australia.

More papers on The Potato:

• Essay # 60056 : "The Potato Eaters"
• Essay # 143572 : "Analyzing The Affect Of Climate On The Irish Potato Famine Of 1846 And 1847"
• Term Paper # 120544 : "Irish Potato Famine"

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