Abstract

Potato has been described by a writer as the world's greatest plant. In the western countries it is one of the most widely cultivated crops. It is used for food and for industrial purposes such as the manufacture of starch and industrial alcohol. About one-quarter of the food of people in Europe and European settlers outside Europe is comprised of potato. It is also a valuable food for animals. As a food plant it is only rivalled by wheat and rice, which are the most widely used food crops in the world. Potato leads the other crops in the world's total production of food crops. It is grown in all the continents, although about 90% of the world's crop is grown in the European countries. Germany and Russia are the largest producers being responsible for more than one-half of the world's production. The others in order of importance are Austria, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy. The cultivation of potatoes in the United States and Canada is increasing in importance. Potatoes are grown in Japan, India and Burma in Asia, in South and East Africa and in Australia to an appreciably large extent. One remarkable feature of potato is that it can be grown in almost any kind of soil. In Ireland, some of the soils on which potato is grown are said to be so sandy that straw and seaweed have to be used to keep the soil from being blown off the sets. Potato, no doubt, thrives best in well- drained friable soils, but, even clay soils and peaty soils can, by proper cultivation, be made to grow potatoes. It is said that there is scarcely an acre of barren waste free from stagnant water which cannot be made to grow potatoes.

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