Notes of a Potato Watcher

by Lang, James; Zandstra, Hubert G.

• ISBN13: 9781585441549
• ISBN10: 1585441546
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-12-01
• Publisher: Texas A & M Univ Pr

Summary

The potato has a larger story to tell than its humble status suggests. In this account of the potato and its role in human history -- and the human future -- James Lang tells that story. Combining biology and social science, he describes the origins of cultivated potatoes; the many ways to propagate, store, and harvest potatoes; and the crop's potential for feeding a hungry planet. Along the way, Lang also muses on art and agriculture, reflects on famine and demography, describes village-based farmer field schools, and looks at the role the potato plays in China and other key areas of the world.

Native to the New World, the potato was first domesticated by Andean farmers, probably in the Lake Titicaca basin. Full of essential vitamins and energy-giving starch, the potato has proved a valuable world resource. Curious Spaniards took the potato back to Europe, from whence it spread worldwide. Today, the largest potato producer is China, with India not far behind.

From the many potato projects he studied, Lang learned a simple, direct lesson: how to address bas

Author Biography

James Lang is associate professor of sociology and former director of the Center for Latin American and Iberian Studies at Vanderbilt University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
List of Tables	x
Foreword	xi
Hubert G. Zandstra
Acknowledgments	xiii
Introduction	3	(4)
Part I. Beginnings	7	(22)
Art and Agriculture	9	(5)
Cycles	14	(4)
Columbian Exchange	18	(11)
Part II. The Potato	29	(22)
Potato Facts	31	(12)
The American Potato	43	(8)
Part III. The Andean World	51	(30)
Andean Agriculture	53	(8)
Lost Crops	61	(15)
Wild Potatoes	76	(5)
Part IV. Potato Projects	81	(52)
No Easy Answers	83	(8)
Rustic Beds	91	(11)
Potato Weevils	102	(11)
Watersheds	113	(6)
Multiplication	119	(14)
Part V. Food and Population	133	(26)
Potato Famine	135	(10)
Hungry Ghosts	145	(4)
Demography	149	(10)
Part VI. Potato Diseases and Pests	159	(30)
Late Blight	161	(9)
Tuber Moth	170	(7)
Natural Enemies	177	(8)
Freezing a French Fry	185	(4)
Part VII. Potato Seed Systems	189	(36)
Mother Plants	191	(9)
Tissue Culture	200	(3)
The Potato Revolution	203	(5)
True Potato Seed	208	(12)
Super Seed	220	(5)
Part VIII. Sweet Potatoes	225	(34)
Starch	227	(6)
Food Security	233	(8)
Farmer Field Schools	241	(10)
Feeding China	251	(8)
Part IX. Conclusions	259	(26)
Potato Lessons	261	(7)
The Patented Potato	268	(8)
The Macro Level	276	(9)
Appendix. Potato Websites	285	(2)
Notes	287	(42)
Bibliography	329	(24)
Index	353