Author
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Spooner, David |
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Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 9/27/2005 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: There are about 200 wild species of potatoes and 1-7 cultivated species, depending on the author. This book chapter describes the taxonomy, geographic distribution, and number of different chromosome numbers (ploidy) of wild and cultivated potatoes. It also describes the botany and general anatomy of potato tuber. It then briefly reviews the history of introduction of the potato into the United States, and current efforts to collect germplasm (living plant parts) that are stored in repositories and used to improve commercial potatoes. Technical Abstract: This book chapter, published in a revision of the Potato Association of America's Handbook entitled "Commercial Potato Production in North America, describes the taxonomy of cultivated potato in the genus Solanum. It describes the differences between wild and cultivated potatoes and the number of species in each group. It lists the different ploidy levels (number of chromosome sets) and distribution of wild and cultivated potatoes. It also describes the botany and general anatomy of potato tuber. It then briefly reviews the history of introduction of the potato into the United States, and current efforts to collect germplasm (living plant parts) that are stored in repositories and used to improve commercial potatoes. |
