Where are the latest potato production areas distributed?
The potato is also known as tudou, yangyu, didan, etc. It originated in the Andes region of South America, and its history of artificial cultivation can be traced back as early as 8000 to 5000 BC in southern Peru. The Lake Titicaca area above 3800 m in the Andes may be the earliest place where potatoes were cultivated. It is still difficult to determine exactly when and from where it was introduced to China. Let us take a look below at where potatoes are produced!
Where are potatoes produced?
China's main potato-producing areas are Dingxi City in Gansu, Guyuan City in Ningxia, the southwest, Inner Mongolia and the northeast. Dingxi City in Gansu Province, with its unique geographical environment and natural conditions, has become one of the best potato-growing areas in China and even the world. It has become one of the country's three major potato-producing areas and the country's largest virus-free seed potato breeding base, an important national commercial potato production base and potato product processing base, and is known as the “Hometown of Chinese Potatoes”, supplying large quantities of potatoes to provinces and cities across the country every year.
Potato growing conditions
Potatoes have high yields, are rich in nutrients, and have strong adaptability to the environment. They are now found all over the world. Tropical and subtropical countries can even cultivate them in winter or in cool seasons and obtain relatively high yields. They prefer cool conditions, and the formation and growth of their underground tubers require a loose, airy, cool and moist soil environment. The suitable temperature for tuber growth is 16-18°C. When the soil temperature is higher than 25°C, tuber growth stops. The suitable temperature for stem and leaf growth is 15-25°C, and growth stops above 39°C.
Potato growth cycle
1. Dormancy period: After potatoes are harvested, if they are placed in an environment suitable for sprouting but do not sprout for a long time, this is physiological natural dormancy. Tuber dormancy begins at the moment when the tip of the stolon stops polar growth and the tuber begins to swell. The length of this period is related to the storage quality of the tubers, to whether they can emerge in time after planting, and therefore to the level of yield.
2. Sprouting period: From bud emergence to seedling emergence is the sprouting period, during which the first section of the main stem grows. The center of growth during the sprouting period is bud elongation, root formation and stolon formation. Nutrients and water mainly come from the seed potato and are supplied in the order of stems and leaves and roots. The speed and quality of growth are constrained by the seed potato and the environmental conditions required for sprouting.
3. Seedling period: From emergence to the flattening of the sixth or eighth leaf, when the growth of one phyllotactic cycle is completed, this is called “tuanke”. “Tuanke” is the growth of the second section of the main stem, and this is the potato seedling period. The seedling period lasts a relatively short time, only about half a month whether in spring or autumn cropping.
4. Tuber initiation to rapid growth period: From tuanke to the unfolding of the twelfth or sixteenth leaf is the potato's vigorous growth period. At this time the main stem begins to shoot up rapidly, the main stem leaves have all formed, and branches and branch leaves expand. The root system continues to expand, and tubers swell to the size of pigeon eggs. In the vigorous growth period there is a turning stage of the growth center.
5. Tuber formation period: After the potato's vigorous growth period is completed, it enters the tuber formation period, in which tuber growth is dominant. During this period, stem and leaf growth gradually decreases, basal leaves begin to turn yellow and fall, organic nutrients from all parts of the plant are continuously transported to the tubers, and the tubers swell faster accordingly, especially fastest in the 10 days after flowering. The length of the tuber formation period is constrained by climatic conditions, diseases and variety maturity, and is generally 30-50 days.