The Potato Park

December 3, 2019 1:46 PM

Agri-park high in the Andes preserves the expertise to breed strains fit for a changing climate
posted by bq (2 comments total)

Related: A french fry shortage could be coming after weak potato harvest
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 1:56 PM on December 3, 2019

This article seems useful for spreading the idea that our food crops may/will not thrive under changing climate conditions. but "The plant’s green fruit looks more like a very small tomato than a potato" because we don't eat the fruit, we eat the underground tuber. And the plant is closely related to tomatoes. An important issue that the article doesn't mention is the potential toxicity of seed-grown potatoes. This summary of an academic article explains that new varieties can have high concentrations of glycoalkaloids, especially when traits from wild or primitive plants are introduced. This testing must get done somewhere before a new variety is sent to market but I wish the article explained this.
posted by Botanizer at 6:42 AM on December 4, 2019 [3 favorites]