This comprehensive guide to potato production systems management contains 20 chapters and more than 350 color photographs. Beginning with the history of potato culture, it spans all aspects of potato production, pest and planting management, storage, and marketing. Written by a team of over 35 scientists from North America, this book offers updated research-based information and serves as a unique, valuable tool for researchers, extension specialists, students, and farm managers. More than a description of principles, it contains practical analytical tools, charts, and methods to create guidelines for best production practices and cost estimates. Some key areas include: Potato Growth and Development, Potato Variety Selection and Management, Seed and Planting Management, Seed Production and Certification, Field Selection, Crop Rotation, and Soil Management, Integrated Pest Management for Potatoes, Potato Nutrient Management, Irrigation Management, Tuber Quality, Economics and Marketing, Production Costs, among others. Potato Production Systems should be a valuable reference for successful culture of the "noble tuber."
Potato is a crop grown on all inhabited continents of the globe. It is included in the top five crops of the world, used as staple food in several countries, and the number of people daily consuming the potato may surpass one billion. Despite the high quantities of seed potato produced worldwide, there are yield gaps due to challenges such as abiotic stresses, pests, climate change and poor production practices. A region-wide critical analysis of yield declining factors can help formulate management strategies that can improve potato yields. Bridging yield gaps in potato will ultimately ensure the role of this crop in securing current and future food security. Potato Production Worldwide presents information on this global crop from its history, morphology, and taxonomy to the growth and development of the potato crop, including the latest strategies in addressing today's biotic and abiotic challenges. This book identifies the reasons for yield gaps in various potato production regions of the world, as well as presenting the best production practices, pest management strategies and approaches to deal with climate change from the perspective of potato production. Chapters provide important insights into potato production cultures and approaches in the major potato production countries. Potato Production Worldwide will be a valuable resource for researchers, scientists and students seeking a comprehensive view of successful potato production. - Provides comprehensive information on the origin, history, taxonomy, morphology, ecophysiology, growth and development of the potato - Addresses production practices, including irrigation, nutrient management, harvesting and post-harvest techniques - Explores the impact of Abiotic stresses (drought, chilling, salinity etc.) and their management
This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This book provides a fresh, updated and science-based perspective on the current status and prospects of the diverse array of topics related to the potato, and was written by distinguished scientists with hands-on global experience in research aspects related to potato. The potato is the third most important global food crop in terms of consumption. Being the only vegetatively propagated species among the world’s main five staple crops creates both issues and opportunities for the potato: on the one hand, this constrains the speed of its geographic expansion and its options for international commercialization and distribution when compared with commodity crops such as maize, wheat or rice. On the other, it provides an effective insulation against speculation and unforeseen spikes in commodity prices, since the potato does not represent a good traded on global markets. These two factors highlight the underappreciated and underrated role of the potato as a dependable nutrition security crop, one that can mitigate turmoil in world food supply and demand and political instability in some developing countries. Increasingly, the global role of the potato has expanded from a profitable crop in developing countries to a crop providing income and nutrition security in developing ones. This book will appeal to academics and students of crop sciences, but also policy makers and other stakeholders involved in the potato and its contribution to humankind’s food security.
Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is grown in over 100 countries throughout the world. As a staple food, potato is the fourth most important crop after rice, wheat, and maize, and has historically contributed to food and nutrition security in the world. Global interest in potato increased recently as world food prices soared, threatening the global food security and stability. Unlike major cereals, potato is not a globally traded commodity, and prices are usually determined by local production costs. Thus, potato is increasingly regarded as a vital food-security crop and as a substitute for costly cereal imports. With such importance, the 29 chapters in the edited book address the issues of sustainable potato production. This book begins with an introduction on sustainable potato production and global food security, and then presents eight case studies selected globally and covering different issues relevant to sustainable potato production in both developed and developing countries.
Currently, climate change due to global warming induced mainly by land use changes (i.e., intensified agriculture and deforestation) is one of the biggest problems that humanity must urgently address. Thus, promoting models of sustainable agricultural production that ensure food security, environmental conservation and livelihoods for local populations is needed. In this context, humanity has the great challenge of integrating agriculture, ecosystems, environment, and people in the sustainable development scheme, especially with the focus on food systems that maintain a sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Fortunately, there are currently important advances in knowledge and technologies for the management of agrobiodiversity and agricultural crops of great economic and social relevance (i.e., wheat, corn, potatoes, cassava), which will be essential for future scenarios of environmental change. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is the third most consumed crop that contributes to global food security. The potato continues to be recommended as a key food for human consumption, especially in the face of current population growth, related to problems with food supply, nutrition, and food security, and also climate change challenges globally. Understanding how abiotic (i.e., climate, nutrients) and biotic (i.e., pests and diseases) factors and management (i.e., genetic resources, planting) determine production and crop growth patterns has been an important issue in potato crop research. Researchers on potato crops aim to improve agricultural resources management, breeding and seed potato production, post-harvest practices, storage, supply chain, and food security. There are also significant knowledge and technological advances in sustainable potato production systems that have remarkably improved potato yields. This book aims to publish an overview about the current state of the art for sustainable potato production systems and achieving global nutrition and food security targets. The chapters of the book deal mainly with theoretical and practical fundamentals on seed potato production, crop growth and production, postharvest and storage of potato tubers. This integrative and comprehensive review is an important contribution to the knowledge of potato crop management and conservation of potato cultivars in the current context of global climate change, hunger, and poverty.
Potatoes are a staple crop around the world. Covering all aspects of botany, production and uses, this book presents a comprehensive discussion of the most important topics for potato researchers and professionals. It assesses the latest research on plant growth such as tuber development, water use and seed production, covers all aspects of pest management and reviews postharvest issues such as storage, global markets, and of course, nutritional value and flavour.
This book provides basic knowledge on how to produce, multiply and use propagation material in seed potato production and supply systems world wide. Healthy, vigorous seed tubers are essential in potato production. Producing them used to be expensive and difficult. Multiplication rates in the field are low, seed-borne diseases are numerous and seed tubers lose quality during storage between growing seasons. Recently, novel methods of multiplication have revolutionised the seed potato industry. This has resulted in a diversity of seed production systems adjusted to the local potential and needs. This book summarises the current knowledge and assesses the efficient use of modern technology in different stages of seed production. It describes in detail what seed quality means, how (pre-)basic seed can be produced, how this can be multiplied, and how seed health is maintained. It also describes diverse examples of seed supply systems in different regions of the world. The book is aimed at agronomists, farm advisors, seed producers, breeders, and at those involved in seed policies, seed programme development and seed trade. Also recommended for (international) students in agronomy, horticulture and plant breeding.
Potatoes are a crucial food crop around the world, grown in nearly 150 countries. The Handbook of Potato Production, Improvement, and Postharvest Management compiles everything you need to know about potato crop production in one well-organized reference. Leading international authorities clearly discuss the biology, genetics, breeding, diseases, and effective approaches for improvement of crop and handling after harvest. This one-of-a-kind text explores, from interdisciplinary perspectives, every aspect of potato crop management from seed germination to end use while presenting the most current research available.
Models of crop growth and development were conceived originally for scientific purposes. Typically, they describe the mechanisms of crop production, development from emergence through tuber initiation to senescence determined by temperature and day-length. Growth is driven by solar radiation intercepted by the foliage. Yields are enhanced by the availability of water and nutrients and may be reduced by pests, diseases and weeds. The scientific models describing the processes involved are leaving the research institutes and increasingly are becoming a means of knowledge transfer for students, and most importantly, to growers and their intermediaries such as extensionists and consultants. Many decision support systems (DSS) have a mechanistic model core that assures their robustness and reliability. This book gives an overview of model-based DSS in potato production. Decision support systems are used by the processing industry to guide them to promising production areas and by breeders to identify the ideal genotype for such environments. Consultants and soil laboratories use them as well as farmers to optimize the use of nitrogen, water and chemicals to control insects, nematodes, late blight and weeds. The systems, making use of models and sensing techniques, improve yield and quality while allowing their users to improve the efficiency of use of resources, thus generating positive effects for profits and for the environment. The book also gives examples of new introductions of DSS and farmers responses. The book is intended for researchers wanting to bring their models to practice, students to learn bout DSS, intermediaries and growers to improve the performance of the potato industry or of other commodities for which potato serves as an example.
This important book on the culture of the potato presents scientific information for potato growers in an easily accessible format and clear language. Managing the Potato Production System contains all the information needed to harvest a bountiful crop. The book is written specifically for field production-oriented technicians and growers and makes the knowledge of production systems easy for readers to apply by providing essential background information, suggestions for incorporating the information into a total production system, and sample forms for collecting data to assist proper and timely decision making. Special sections on harvesting and storage emphasize techniques for protecting the quality of the crop while other chapters provide helpful information on reporting trends in marketing to aid future planning efforts. This easy-to-use guide directs producers to the most critical areas of production, storage, and marketing, helping them to control or influence factors that will result in a healthy, plentiful crop. This is a valuable reference to be consulted for solutions to specific problems or ways to take advantage of opportunities as they occur. Managing the Potato Production System is more than abstract theory; the systems described here have been proven in one or more actual cases of potato production. The strategies devised in this volume help potato producers grow an economically viable crop in a manner that can be sustained over generations with positive impact on the environment. The book concentrates on the interpretation of scientific findings about potatoes and production beginning with a discussion of the origin of the crop, its distribution, and history of its production in the United States. Other chapters feature explanations of the factors which affect potato production including the genetics of Solanum tuberosum in regard to variety (cultivar) improvement and the effect of potato breeding on production. Specific t
