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Potato


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Potatoes are the tubers of the potato plant not the fruit which is toxic to humans. Potatoes are very high in starch and carbohydrates which are both essential in a healthy diet.

The potato plant can reproduce in a couple of ways. The fruit of a potato plant contains hundreds of seeds which can be planted and these seeds are called true seeds. Another way is the tuber starts to grow new roots and shoots and can be also be planted. These tubers are called seed potatoes when they are ready to plant. Seed potatoes actually produce a plant with the same genetic code as the parent plant where as true seeds create genetically different offspring as the flower is pollinated with pollen from other plants.

The humble potato has existed in the Americas for over 10000 years and was cultivated by South American farmers at least 7000 years ago. There are known to be over 5000 varieties of potato and genetically they are all derived from one single potato variety. By selective breeding virtually all modern potatoes varieties have been created by humans although it is believed around 100 natural varieties exist still in South America.

The potato was first brought to Europe around end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. They quickly caught on in Ireland and Spain as a viable crop and by the 19th century were central to diets all across Europe. In the middle of the 19th century a fungus like disease called potato blight started to spread throughout the european potato crops and once it hit Ireland a major disaster occurred. One third of the Irish were dependent on potatoes in their diet and this led to around 1 million people starving to death.

Since that time humans are have been careful in their breeding of potatoes and many varieties resistant to virtually all disease have been created. Even if there are potato diseases that come and go many varieties are resistant to different diseases as well which helps to protect the huge crops that are now cultivated.

Nutritional Information 100g of an average Potato:-
Calories70 kcal
Carbohydrates15.9g
Protein1.9g
Fat0.1g
Fibre2.6g


Potato in other languages:-

Cebuano:patatas
Chinese:mǎlíngshǔ, tǔdòu
马铃薯, 土豆
French:f pomme de terre
German:f kartoffel
Greek:f πατάτα
Indonesian:kentang
Italian:f patata
Japanese:jagaimo
ジャガイモ
Nederlands:c aardappel
Norwegian:m potet
Polish:m ziemniak
Portuguese:f batata
Spanish:f patata
Swedish:c potatis
Tagalog:patatas
Turkish:patates