Posted on 05/18/2007 3:48:45 PM PDT by blam
Source: American Society of Agronomy
Date: May 16, 2007
Biotechnology Solves Debate Over Origin Of European Potato
Science Daily — Molecular studies recently revealed new genetic information concerning the long-disputed origin of the "European potato." Scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of La Laguna, and the International Potato Center used genetic markers to prove that the remnants of the earliest known landraces of the European potato are of Andean and Chilean origin. They report their findings in the May-June 2007 issue of Crop Science.
Americans each eat about 140 pounds of potatoes a year in fresh and processed forms. (Credit: Photo by Scott Bauer; courtesy of USDA/Agricultural Research Service
"European potatoes," the cultivated potatoes first appearing in Europe and later spreading worldwide, were first recorded outside of the Americas in 1567 on the Canary Islands Archipelago. Today, scientists believe that the remnant landraces of these early potatoes still grow in on the Canary Islands.
For years, researchers have debated the birthplace of the European potato. While some scientists hypothesized that landrace introductions originated in the Andes, others believed that the introductions came from Chile. While there are multiple lines of evidence to support each theory, the Andean introduction hypothesis stems from the belief that the Canary Islands landraces are solely of Andean origin. Although almost all current European potatoes have Chilean traits, the Andean hypothesis supposed that these potatoes arose from crosses with Chilean potatoes as breeding stock after the Irish potato famine in the 1840s.
Using molecular markers, the scientists found that the Canary Island landraces possessed both Andean and Chilean types, as well as possible hybrids of the two.
"In combination with other historical, molecular, agronomic, and crossing data, these findings support a hypothesis of multiple early introductions of both Andean and Chilean germplasm to the Canary Islands and to Europe," said Dr. David Spooner, co-author of the Crop Science study.
Spooner and others speculate that the early European potato was selected from Chilean introductions before the 1840s because they were better able to reproduce in long-day conditions, in contrast to Andean potatoes that were short-day adapted.
"The results of these studies are of interest not only to evolutionists but also for breeders. Years of effort were made to artificially recreate the European potato from Andean landraces yet it may have originated from Chile," said Spooner. "If the true origin of the European potato was from Chile, rather from the Andes, it shows the value of plant evolutionary studies to understand and complement breeding programs".
Spooner and other scientists now plan to further investigate the origin of the European potato from DNA extracted from herbarium specimens of cultivated potatoes collected in Europe before 1845.
"The results of these studies are providing data to rewrite the history of the cultivated potato and will aid breeders to better interpret the true pedigrees of our modern potato," said Spooner.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American Society of Agronomy.
Ah. Well, the potato came to Europe after Columbus...
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Maybe not fibbing, but they were definitely chiving us.
No, they floated, because all potatoes are tubers.
[rimshot!]
I sour cream ashore with my own eyes.
[rimshot!]
Interesting. Never realized there was such a debate.
Hmmmmmm........
Interesting........
But
IF Dr. David Spooner is in any way related to the Rev. William Archibald Spooner perhaps his conclusions are more that just a mite questionable.....
IMHO
Could be nucking futs.
nice post. thks
Yukon gold it what you want... ;’)
I can die happy knowing that this question has been answered.
I’ve had my ‘eyes’ peeled on this half-baked potato controversy for years.
That's a tomato! (YOWZA!)
Tuber, or not tuber: that is not the question; but, rather, whether tis butter to hill, or to furrow. As for me, and my house, we tire and retire till the vine dieth upon the last straw.
You say tomato,
I say potato..
That’s clever! Do the tires help bump off pests?
No, not really; but they do provide early season heat.
They save space, and also make hilling & harvesting easy: as the vine grows, add another tire to the stack, and start filling it with straw. No soil pressure on the developing taters, so they form better.
When the vines die, unstack & remove the straw for the compost pile or for tilling under, and the potatoes are right there for the taking.
Other people build slat-sided boxes to do the same thing, adding 1X6 or 1X8 boards to the box frames as the vines grow.
The tires are also good for squash & tomatoes, mainly for the extra heat they provide.
Several gardening books cover it.
It also keeps the tires out of land fills; and now that we get charged “disposal fees” for leaving the old tires at the shop when they’re replaced, we keep them instead, and put them to use.
That’s a keeper!
(Obligatory)
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