The Humble Potato

1
The Humble Potato
Janita Dixon Catherine North Frank
Perkins Charlene Walker
Fun Fact 2008 was the International Year of the
Potato
2
History
In the ancient ruins of Peru, archaeologists
found potato remains that date back to 500 B.C.
The Incas grew and ate them and also worshipped
them. They even buried potatoes with their
dead. Pre-Columbian farmers first discovered and
cultivated the potato some 7,000 years ago. They
were impressed by its ruggedness, storage quality
and its nutritional value. Spanish Sailors also
found later that eating potatoes while on ship
prevented scurvy. Charles Darwin found wild
potatoes growing on the Chonos Islands in great
abundance as he passed through in 1834. The
Aymara Indians in the Andean Mountains developed
over two hundred varieties on the Titicaca
Plateau at elevations above 10,000 feet. They
were the innovators of the freeze- dried potato,
or chuño. Peruvian Potato God Fun Fact
Throughout Latin America, the potato still goes
by the Quechua name PAPA.
3
History cont.
Western man did not come in contact with the
potato until as late as 1537 when the
Conquistadors came through Peru. And it was even
later, about 1570, that the first potato made its
way across the Atlantic to make a start on the
continent of Europe. There it was met with
resistance due to ingrained eating habits, the
tuber's reputation as a food for the
underprivileged and perhaps most importantly its
relationship to poisonous plants. The potato is
a member of the nightshade family and its leaves
are, indeed, poisonous. A potato left too long in
the light will begin to turn green. The green
skin contains a substance called solanine which
can cause the potato to taste bitter and even
cause illness in humans. Such drawbacks were
understood in Europe, but the advantages,
generally, were not. About 1780 the people of
Ireland adopted the rugged food crop. By the mid
1800's the Irish would become so dependent upon
this crop that its failure would provoke a
famine. The 1840's saw disastrous potato blight.
This terrible disease was caused by a fungus
known as Phytophthora infestans. The Potato
Famine in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 would cut the
population by half (through both starvation and
emigration). An effective fungicide was not found
until 1883 by the French botanist, Alexandre
Millardet. "Only two things in this world are
too serious to be jested on, potatoes and
matrimony. Irish saying.
4
History cont.
Some of the first potatoes in Idaho were planted
by a  Presbyterian missionary, Henry Harmon
Spalding (1804-1874). Spalding established a
mission at Lapwai in 1836 to bring Christianity
to the Nez Perce Indians. He wanted to
demonstrate that they could provide food for
themselves through agriculture rather than
hunting and gathering. His first crop was a
failure, but the second year the crop was good.
After that, the potato growing ended for a number
of years because the Indians massacred the people
of a nearby mission causing Spalding to leave
the area. In the mid 1850s most Americans
considered the potato as food for animals rather
than for humans. As late as the middle of the
19th Century, the Farmer's Manual recommended
that potatoes "be grown near the hog pens as a
convenience towards feeding the hogs." It was
not until the Russet Burbank potato was developed
by American horticulturist Luther Burbank (1849
-1926) in 1872 that the Idaho potato industry
really took off. Burbank, while trying to improve
the Irish potato, developed a hybrid that was
more disease resistant. He sold the rights to the
Burbank potato for 150.00 and by the early
1900s, the Russet Burbank potato began appearing
throughout Idaho. Fun Fact McDonald's is the
largest buyer of potatoes in the United
States.
5
The Washington Potato

• Washington State is the second largest producer
  of potatoes in the U.S., producing 23
• of all U.S. potatoes and nearly 1/3 of all U.S.
  potato exports.
•  
• The Washington State potato industry creates
  20,000 jobs in the state.
• Washington potatoes have the highest yield per
  acre in the world up to 60,000
• pounds per acre
•  
• The climate is ripe for sustainable agriculture
  across Washington State.  Since 2004,
• organic acreage has increased 86, and
  Washington now boasts the third highest
• number of organic farm operations in the
  country.
• The Columbia River Basin has long warm days and
  cool nights, creating a longer
• growing season than any other area. Because
  the potato plant is absorbing more sun,
• it produces more potatoes.
• In the Skagit Valley growing region the mild
  marine climate and the rich soil create
• perfect conditions for many varieties of
  potatoes including the red, yellow and blue.

6
The Organic Potato

• U.S. Congress adopted the Organic Foods
  Production Act (OFPA) in 1990.
• Organic farming is based on a system of farming
  that maintains and replenishes soil
• fertility without the use of toxic and
  persistent pesticides and fertilizers.  
• A recent study states the sale of organic
  potatoes is on the rise.
• Due to the high organic matter in the soil,
  there are considerably less pests such as
• wire worm and nematodes.
• The elimination of polluting chemicals, done in
  combination with
• soil building, protects and conserves water
  resources.
• Idaho has 13 growers who produce about 350
  acres of organic potatoes,
• Organic farmers commonly plant companion
  crops that discourage
• pests and rotate crops to different locations
  from year to year to
• interrupt pest reproduction cycles.

Mike Heath, Organic Farmer
7
The Potato Monoculture

• Monoculture is defined as
• The cultivation of a single crop on a farm or in
  a region or country.
• A single, homogeneous culture without diversity
  or dissension.
• The Irish potato famine was due in large part to
  their crop being a monoculture. As Tom
  Athanasiou states in his book Divided Planet,
  monocultures will always be vulnerable to sudden
  and fatal pestilence.
• Besides increased susceptibility to pests,
  monoculture has other disadvantages
• Depletes soils of much needed nutrients
• Can lead to soil erosion
• Useful insects are killed along with pests
• Can lower crop yields
• Use of fertilizers can alter nearby waterways
• It exhausts soils
• Crops must obtain their nutrients from
  fertilizers since
• soil does not have enough naturally occurring
  nutrients that plants need.
• Fun Fact Biological diversity among crops is the
  key to a successful, viable harvest.

8
Potato Varieties
There are thousands of different potato varieties
that can be found around the world.   Potatoes
are generally divided up into five main groups,
based on common characteristics, and those are 
russets, reds, whites, yellows and
purples. Examples of a few interesting types
Blue Tomcat The darkest of all the purple
potatoes with a mealy, flavorful flesh. A farm
favorite. Papa Casho Also known as the Hot
Dog potato for its resemblance to the shape and
size of hot dogs. The flesh is pink and white
striped and stays moist when roasted with
olive oil and salt. Lions Paw Called the
Puma Maqui in Spanish, this potato is named for
its unique shape. Outstanding flavor, especially
when sliced and roasted. The flesh has the flavor
and consistency of cream. Russian Banana A
medium-size yellow skin tuber thats waxy
qualities make it superb for potato salad.
Russett Burbank Named after Luther Burbank.
The standard for excellent baking and
processing quality. The potato most used for
commercial french fries.
9
The Nutritious Potato

• Is just 110 calories.
• Has nearly half of the Daily Value for Vitamin
  C.
• One of the best sources of potassium and fiber
  in the produce
• section.
• A medium-size potato (one third pound or 150
  grams) has only
• about 110 calories
•  
• The potato is a good source of Vitamin B6 and
  has long been
• known to be a storehouse of minerals.
•  
• Although the potato appears to be a bulky
  vegetable, it is 80
• percent water (just a little less than in
  milk).
• The potato has been criticized for being "just a
  starch." But the
• carbohydrates in potatoes are important to a
  good diet.
• (Carbohydrates are the body's primary source of
  fuel for energy.)

Fun Fact The potato is the second most consumed
food in the U.S., trailing only milk products.
10
The Potato Beetle
The Potato Beetles name is derived from the leaf
beetle and the blister-beetle family. It is also
known as the Colorado Potato Beetle and the
Three-Lined Beetle. It was not considered a
problem until the mid 1800s when the growing of
potatoes became popular. Colorado Beetle The
Colorado Beetle was the chief reason for the
development of insecticides. It is a significant
pest of potato crops. It is approximately 10
mm (0.4 inches) long, with a bright yellow-
orange body and 5 bold brown stripes along the
length of each of its elytraa, and it can
easily be confused with its close cousin and
look-alike, the false potato beetle.
Three-Lined Beetle A slender insect with a
complex life history. By carrying a load of its
own chemically noxious excrement on its back,
the larva defends itself against predators. They
can be very difficult to get rid of in ones
garden gardeners are often forced to pick them
off the leaves by hand.
Fun Fact Colorado potato beetles are very
prolific they can lay as many as 800 eggs.
11
Insecticides Used by Potato Farmers
Guthion, Imidan, Endosulfan, Permethrin, Pydrin,
Furadan, Di-syston, Phorate, Temik, Endosulfan,
Meta-Systox-R, Monitor, Comite, Methomyl,
Dimethoate, Beleaf, Parathion, Sevin, Sevin-bait,
Malathion, Oberon, Thiamethoxam, Methoxychlor,
Thimet, Dasanit 15 G, Dyfonate, Parathion,
Diazinon, Clothianidin, Penncap-M, Mocap 10G,
Phorate, Dasanit, D-D, Telone C-17, Telone II,
Vorlex, Terrocide 15D, Terrocide 30D and
Vapam. Caution All pesticides are poisonous to
warmblooded animals to some degree! All to fight
off Seedcorn Maggots, Millipedes,
Leatherjackets, Wireworms, Gray Garden Slug,
White Grubs, Colorado Potato Beetle, Green Peach
Aphid, Intermountain Potato Leafhopper, Potato
Aphid, Thrips, False Chinch Bugs, Twospotted
Spider Mites, Grasshoppers and Blister Beetles
and more.
Fun Fact Inorganic farmers often keep potatoes
growing near their home for their own use so
they dont have to eat the crops they grow to
sell.
12
The Quotable Potato

• "A diet that consists predominantly of rice
  leads to the use of opium, just as a diet that
  consists predominantly of potatoes leads to the
  use of liquor.
• Friedrich Nietzsche
• "Money is the root of all evil, and yet it is
  such a useful root that we cannot get on without
  it any more than we can without potatoes.
• Louisa May Alcott,  novelist (1832-1888)
• My idea of heaven is a great big baked potato
  and someone to share it with.
• Oprah Winfrey
• Judging foods without regard to price is a rich
  man's game, and yet poor people can be gourmets
  able to discern a good potato from a bad one.
• Mark Kurlansky, Choice Cuts' (2002)
• "What I say is that, if a fellow really likes
  potatoes, he must be a pretty decent sort of
  fellow.
• A. A. Milne (1882-1956), author
• If beef's the king of meat, potato's the queen
  of the garden world.
• Irish Saying

13
Potato Trivia

• The English word potato came from the Spanish
  word patata.
• Potato plants are herbaceous perennials, the
  culms dying back after flowering.
• Peru is the birthplace of the potato.
• New Yorkers eat the most potatoes, followed by
  residents of Ohio, Florida,
• Pennsylvania, and Texas.
• Americans eat more than 16 pounds of french
  fries every year.
• Thomas Jefferson first introduced french fries
  to the White House during his
• presidency.
• The average American eats 134 pounds of potatoes
  a year, or over 365
• potatoes per person per year - that's an
  average of more than one potato a day.
• China is now the world's largest potato
  producing country, and nearly a third of
• the world's potatoes are harvested in China and
  India.

14
Resources
Booklet Washington State Potato Commission. All
About Fresh Washington Potatoes, Moses Lake,
Washington, 12 pages Books Athanasiou, Tom,
1998, Divided Planet, the Ecology of Rich and
Poor. The University of Georgia Press, Athens,
Georgia. 385 pages Darwin, Charles. 1959, The
Voyage of the Beagle, Everymans Library, London,
England. 496 pages Pollan, Michael. 2002, The
Botany of Desire, Random House Publishing . New
York, New York. 271 pages Internet
http//cantaremusic.com/stories/potato_history.ht
m, picture of Peruvian Potato God http//encloped
ia2.thefreedictionary.com/potatobeetle,
information on Colorado Potato Beetle http//fair
immigration.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/washington
-state.gif, picture used in slide
5 www.healthypotato.com/nutritioninfo.php,
Media - Peel Back the Truth." Potatoes Goodness
Unearthed. U.S. Potato Board. 10 July 2009.
15
Resources cont.
www.mvproduce.com/spudfacts.html, "Potato
Facts." Moutain Valley Produce. 10 July 2009
www.ota.com, Organic Trade Association, article
by Lorraine Cavener, July 3, 2009, information on
slide 6 including picture of Mike
Heath potatos.wsu.edu/varities/vars-all.htm,
information on potato varieties. http//slwa.file
s.wordpress.com/2008/05/potato_heart_mutation.jpg,
for picture in slide 1 www.thumbsupfarms.com/im
ages/heirloom_potatoes, images used in slide
8 whatscookingamerica.net/History/PotatoHistory.
htm, history information http//en.wikipedia.org
/wiki/Monoculture , information and picture used
in slide 7 www.worldinfo.org , 2006. Amiya
Dingare, Columbia University , information on
slide 7