Potato structure: root, tuber, stem and leaves. The best varieties of potatoes: description and characteristics What type of potato does it belong to

Solanum tuberosum
Taxon: Solanaceae family ( Solanaceae)
Other names: tuberous nightshade, European potato, Chilean potato
English: potatoes

The Russian word "potato" comes from the German Kartoffel, which, in turn, comes from the Italian tartufo, tartufolo- truffle.

Botanical description

Perennial (annual in cultivation) herbaceous, bushy plant up to 60 cm high with a taproot, strongly developed root. Underground roots are white, forming fleshy edible tubers at the ends. Stems numerous, erect or ascending, faceted.
Leaves pinnately dissected, with several ovate leaflets. Potato flowers are large, white, purple, 2-4 cm in diameter, with a spike-shaped star-shaped corolla, collected in an inflorescence consisting of 2-3 curls. The fruit is a poisonous, spherical multi-seeded black-violet berry. seeds yellow color, very small. The color of potato tubers is different - white, yellow, red, purple.

Places of growth

potato like garden culture grows throughout Russia.

Collection and preparation

For medicinal purposes, flowers, potato shoots, its peel and underground tubers are used, which are harvested during their ripening period, on the waning moon from noon to sunset. One feature of potato tubers should be remembered: they must be stored in a dark place. Otherwise (if the tubers lie in the light, especially in the sun), they take green color and become poisonous, unsuitable for food, let alone for medicinal use.

The chemical composition of potatoes

According to some studies, potatoes contain a small amount of protein, which is extremely valuable, with a rich set of essential amino acids. Potato tubers on average contain about 76% water and 24% dry matter, including about 17.5% starch, 0.5% sugars (sucrose and sucrose), 2% proteins, about 1% mineral salts, trace elements: potassium - 426 mg/%, calcium - 8 mg/%, - 17 mg/%, phosphorus - 38 mg/%, - 0.9 mg/%; vitamins: thiamine - 0.01 mg/%, riboflavin - 0.07 mg/%, nicotinic acid - 0.67 mg/%, ascorbic acid - 7.5 mg/%. Amino acids are also found here: arginine, lysine, leucine, tyrosine, tryptophan, histidine, choline, acetylcholine, allantoin, xanthine, etc. Potato protein is called tuberin. It belongs to the group of globulins. All organs of the plant contain the steroidal alkaloid solanine. Most of all it is contained in the sprouts formed by the illumination of potatoes, flowers and peel.
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Pharmacological properties of potatoes

Fresh juice of potato tubers and starch obtained from potatoes are used as an enveloping anti-inflammatory agent in gastrointestinal diseases. Starch has a pronounced antiulcer effect, the basis of the mechanism of which is blocking the action of pepsin on the gastric mucosa.

The use of potatoes in medicine

Because potatoes are alkaline, they make a great addition to all vegetables, milk, and cheese.
Potatoes are introduced into the diet of kidney and heart patients: the high content of potassium determines its good properties, and hence the prevention of edema. Red and pink varieties of potatoes are considered especially effective.
Potato juice helps to reduce the secretion of acid by the gastric glands, slightly "muffles" the pain, accelerates the scarring of ulcers on the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. In addition, it somewhat weakens, which is extremely important for gastritis and ulcer patients, usually suffering from. It relieves belching well and helps with various dyspeptic disorders.
Potato starch is used in chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract as an enveloping, emollient and anti-inflammatory agent.
Potato starch is also used as a base for powders and filler for powders and tablets.
IN folk medicine drink potato juice for .
Potato juice lowers the level, therefore it is useful in the initial stage of diabetes.
Raw potato juice is used for gastric and duodenal ulcers. It inhibits the secretion of the stomach and has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Substances that have a positive effect on the human body with allergies, tachycardia, hypertension and painful shock have been found in the potato peel.

Potato medicines

Potato juice helps with headaches - because of the acetylcholine contained in it, which has a hypotensive effect. With a headache, lower the elbow to the hot water both hands and hold them until the pain stops, adding hot water. Tie thin slices of raw potatoes to the forehead.
Potato juice, squeezed from tubers ripened in September-October, should be taken for 2-3 weeks 2-3 times a day, 100 ml each (with tolerance - up to 200 ml) for uterine myoma.
Fresh potato juice mixed with skimmed milk, sour cream is used to get rid of freckles and cracks from exposed parts of the skin.
Raw potato juice cleanses the entire body well. Mixed with carrot juice and celery juice, it helps a lot with digestive disorders, nervous disorders - for example, with sciatica and goiter. In these cases, daily consumption of 500 ml of carrot, cucumber, beet and potato juice very often gives a positive result in a short time, provided that all meat and fish products are excluded.
Juice squeezed from fresh raw tubers is taken 2-3 times a day for half a glass half an hour before meals for gastritis with high acidity, gastric ulcer and duodenal ulcer.
Raw potato tubers, crushed on a grater, are considered a good healing agent for burns, eczema and various other skin lesions. The pounded mass is simply applied to the affected areas of the skin.
With a medium-sized potato, peel, cut into small pieces and slowly chew one by one.
Potato is effective tool cleansing the joints of toxins and is considered a good remedy with polyarthritis. To do this, within 3 days you need to eat 2-3 kg of potatoes, boiled with peel in plenty of water. Potatoes are mashed in broth and eaten with the peel. Do not take any other food during this time. To eat potatoes with skin, you need to cook it for a long time.
Mashed potatoes or gruel from raw potatoes relieve swelling, if applied to them 3 times a day in the form of compresses.
Steam from boiled unpeeled (in uniform) potatoes as inhalations treat respiratory diseases, accompanied by cough, runny nose and headache.
To lengthen the session, i.e. not to let the pan cool down quickly, the patient throws some kind of cloth cover over his head, covering the pan as well. The treatment effect is quite high, because here both the volatile secretions of potatoes and the heat of water vapor act as therapeutic factors. It is important only after the inhalation session not to go out into the cold.
Warming up with potato steam is very useful for sciatica and sciatica.
Pour 1 liter of water with one medium-sized potato, one medium-sized onion and an apple, cook until the water is reduced by half. Drink 3 times a day for 1 tsp. with chronic cough.
Potatoes with a greenish thick layer are peeled, which are finely chopped. A crushed, fresh, mushy mass is applied as a compress to damaged ligaments, muscles, tendons.
Cut long potato sprouts into small slices of 0.5 cm and dry in a dark, well-ventilated area. Put 200 g of these sprouts in a glass mortar, pour 200 ml of 70% alcohol, close tightly, insist in a dark place for 8 days, periodically shaking the contents, strain, squeeze. Store in a dark cool place. For various oncological diseases, take 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals (in 1/2 cup warm water drip tincture, starting with 1 drop, bring the intake to 25 drops and continue to take them in this amount).
Dry the potato flowers in the shade. Brew in 0.5 liters of boiling water 1 tbsp. l. flowers, insist in a thermos for 3-4 hours. Drink 1/2 cup 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals for various malignant neoplasms. The course of treatment - 4 liters of infusion.
A decoction of flowers is used to lower blood pressure and stimulate respiration.

Contraindications

In the light, under the skin of tubers, glycoalkaloids accumulate, which can cause poisoning for humans and animals; during cooking, these compounds partially pass into water.
Potato berries containing solanine are also poisonous. This alkaloid is formed in leaves, young shoots, fruits and skins, especially during long-term storage. Children who have eaten potato berries experience severe poisoning, scratching in the throat, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and hand trembling. When providing first aid, it is necessary to wash the stomach, before the doctor arrives, give them sour or fresh milk or egg white.
It is impossible to prepare juice from tubers that have turned green and contain sprouted eyes - this is very dangerous.
In cases where livestock graze in potato fields and animals eat green leaves and fruits, they may experience vomiting, severe poisoning, convulsions, and disturbances in the functioning of the cardiac and respiratory systems.
Poisonous substances are formed only in this greenish surface part of the tuber, not penetrating into the depth at all. Therefore, you should not throw away green potatoes, it is enough to cut off only the green parts (they, as a rule, occupy a small fraction of the total mass).
The white shoots of potatoes are also poisonous, so when cooking potatoes “in their uniforms”, the shoots must be broken off.

A bit of history

There are about 200 wild and cultivated potato species, growing mainly in South and Central America. There are two main cultural species: Indian (since ancient times grown in Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia) and Chilean (homeland - Central Chile), which are widespread in countries with temperate climate. Potatoes began to be cultivated about 14 thousand years ago by the Indians of South America, and they were brought to Europe around 1565. Potatoes came to Russia thanks to Peter I, who sent a bag of tubers from Holland in 1698. As a result of the violent tsarist measures to introduce potato crops in 1834-1844, unrest among the peasants of the Vyatka and Vladimir provinces, the regions of the Urals, the Lower and Middle Volga regions took place.

Conspiracy faces

Potatoes are used to conspire faces. Take a knife and drive it around the face in a clockwise direction, saying: “Mug, mug, you are not pretty here. Aspen is waiting for you in the forest at the edge, mug, you will be very beautiful on the aspen, you will sing, have fun and burn. And leave the servant of God (name) alone. Amen. Amen. Amen". You can't touch your face with your hands!
saying three last words, baptize the face three times, then, take two potatoes, grate them. The patient should put this mass on his leg or other sore spot, bandage it and go to bed.
If the plot is read in the morning or afternoon, the patient should change the bandage with potatoes at night.

Photos and illustrations

Today, potatoes occupy a significant niche in the diet in many parts of the world. Due to its nutritional value, relative cheapness and wide distribution, this vegetable is often called the "second bread". Despite the apparent simplicity, the structure of the potato is much more complicated, and a detailed consideration of this issue will be useful for many agricultural producers and ordinary summer residents.

How potatoes conquered Europe and Russia?

Potatoes are native to Central and Latin America. Spanish discoverers began to import potatoes into Europe at the end of the 16th century. At first, European kings and nobility appreciated only the flowers of the plant, which they used as decorative ornament. Peasants zealously rejected this vegetable because they were ill-informed about the nutritional properties of the tubers themselves. Frequent poisoning with potato fruits and berries often led to the fact that, in a fit of anger, the peasants simply uprooted the plants and burned them in the fire. The pleasant aroma of baked tubers obviously made people taste them. So, gradually, the attitude of Europeans to a new vegetable has changed dramatically.

Potatoes appeared in Russia during the time of Peter I. The tsar, as a lover of everything European, brought a small batch of potatoes from Holland and ordered them to be handed over to the peasants for cultivation. Lack of necessary knowledge had bitter consequences, similar topics that happened before with the peasants in Europe. In addition, many clergy persuaded illiterate people about the inadmissibility of growing a foreign fruit and equated it with a sinful act.

plant structure

Potato belongs to the nightshade family. This is a perennial plant, however, for the purposes of agricultural production, potatoes are grown as an annual crop. The generally accepted method of reproduction is planting tubers, however, experts also use seeds for selective work. The biological features of potatoes, as a crop, are the specific formation of the root system, tubers and the aerial part of the plant.

root system

The root system of potatoes is of two types. A plant grown from seed has an embryonic taproot with a large number of small roots. Secondary roots are also laid at the base of the stem. A potato grown from a tuber has a fibrous root system consisting of sprout, stolon and stolon roots.

The usual depth of the potato root system is 25-40 cm, that is, the root mass is mainly located at the depth of the arable layer. In some cases, the roots can go to a depth of 80 cm or more. Late varieties have a more developed root system than early counterparts.

Interesting facts: you can increase the yield by deepening the arable layer, for example, up to 70 cm. Thus, the number of tubers will increase significantly.

In addition to the usual roots in the underground part of the plant, there are stolons - shoots growing from the mother tuber. In the process of development, stolons grow and young tubers begin to form on young shoots. Stolons are easy to distinguish from roots: they are lighter in color and thicker.

Tuber

Many people believe that the tuber is the fruit of the potato. In fact, the tuber is part of an underground stem or stolon, and to be more precise, the tuber is a modified shoot. The plant accumulates in it starch, sugar and other useful substances necessary for further development.

Potato tuber has a peculiar structure and appearance. On the smooth and dense surface of the tuber, there are always so-called "eyes", small black dots and scars.

The eyes are the buds from which the stems of the plant sprout. The structure of the eyes is quite interesting: near the main kidney in each of the eyes there are always several more additional kidneys that are activated in case of damage to the main one. Each tuber can have from 4 to 15 eyes. They are located on the upper half of the tuber.

The structure of the potato tuber also includes lentils - small points through which gas exchange occurs in the tubers. The formation of lentils occurs in parallel with the formation of the peel. If there is too much moisture in the soil or the soil is clogged, then loose neoplasms appear on the lentils. white color to help absorb air. An increase in the size of lentils is a bad signal, indicating that gas exchange is disturbed in the tuber or it is affected by the disease.

Scars, vaguely resembling eyebrows, are atrophied scaly leaves that appear on early stage tuber development. It is in the axils of these leaflets that buds later form.

The rind of the tubers themselves can be smooth, reticulated, or flaky, depending on the particular cultivar. The thickness of the periderm depends not only on the species, but also on weather and climatic conditions, the quality of the soil and fertilizers. For example, the use of phosphorus-based fertilizers significantly thickens the peel, while potash fertilizers, on the contrary, make the periderm thin.

Stem

The stalk of a potato is formed from the bud of a tuber. Since there are always several buds, the stems also grow from 2-3 pieces or more, depending on the variety and size of the tuber itself. Several stems form a bush. In cross section, they have a faceted shape (3-4 faces), much less often the stem looks rounded. Often bushes reach a height of 80-90 cm, however, such luxurious plants often give a poor harvest, because all the strength goes into the development of the bush. Usually, this happens when there is an overabundance of fertilizers in the soil.

Each stem has wing-like appendages along its entire length.

Leaves

Each variety of potato has its own characteristics, including the number, size and shape of the leaves. An experienced gardener can easily determine the variety by the appearance of the green mass. The leaf of the potato is discontinuous-unpaired pinnately dissected. On the main rod, between paired lobes, smaller lobules are usually formed, and between them, in turn, there are even smaller lobules.

There are three degrees of dissection: weak, medium and strong. On a slightly dissected sheet, there is one pair of lobules, but there are no lobules at all. On a strongly dissected leaf there are more than 2 pairs of lobules and many lobules.

The structure of the leaves also differs in the way the lobes, lobules and lobules are placed. If they are superimposed on each other, creating the appearance of a continuous sheet, then this type is called dense. If the distance between the elements of the sheet is large enough, then we have a rare leaf type.

Flower

As you know, several centuries ago, a potato flower attached to clothes was considered a sign of belonging to the aristocracy.

Potato flowers have a rather complex structure. The inflorescence has the form of a complex curl and can be spreading or compact. Peduncle, pedicel and flower form an inflorescence. In addition to these components, in the inflorescence of some varieties of potatoes there are upper leaves.

The flower itself, the structure of which we are considering, consists of 5 sepals collected in a cup, 5 petals forming a corolla, 5 stamens and a pistil. The flower may have narrow, broadly awl-shaped and long leaf-shaped sepals.

The flower can be white, blue, purple or other colors. After flowering, the fruit ripens - a green poisonous berry, reaching a diameter of 2 cm. The structure of the berry is quite simple: it is divided into two nests, each of which contains many small flattened seeds.

Despite the relatively low content of nutrients in potatoes, this root crop occupies an important place in the diet of many peoples. The advantages of the vegetable are the relative ease of cultivation, a decent yield, and, of course, the excellent taste of the potato.

botanical name- potato or tuberous nightshade (Solanum tuberosum), belongs to the genus of nightshade (Solanum) of the nightshade family (Solanaceae).

Origin- South America.

Lighting- light-loving.

The soil- air and water permeable, slightly acidic.

Watering- moderate, does not tolerate waterlogging.

predecessors- cabbage, cucumber, lettuce, table root crops.

Landing- tubers, parts of tubers, rarely seeds.

Description of potatoes

Perennial herbaceous tuberous plant, cultivated as an annual crop. It is a shrub up to 1 m high, with 4-6, sometimes 6-8 stems, the number of which depends on the variety and size of the planting tuber.

The stems are bare, ribbed, part of them immersed in the soil produces long lateral processes called stolons. At the ends of the stolons, modified thickened shoots develop, tubers, which are the productive organ of the plant used for food.

potato tubers

A potato tuber is an overgrown kidney, consisting of cells filled with starch, covered on the outside with a thin layer of cork tissue. On the surface of the tuber are axillary buds, the so-called eyes, from which young shoots develop. On one tuber, depending on the variety, there are from 3 to 15 eyes, each of which contains several buds. One of them is called the main one and germinates first, the rest remain dormant. If the potato sprouts formed by the main bud are damaged, dormant buds wake up, but weaker shoots form from them.

To absorb air and evaporate moisture on the surface of the tubers there are special organs called lentils.

Tubers, depending on the variety, can be round, oblong, oval, with white, pink, red-violet skin, white, cream or yellow flesh.

The root system of the plant is fibrous, located 20-40 cm from the soil surface, reaches its maximum development by the time of budding, and dies off when the tubers ripen.

Ground parts of potatoes: leaves (tops), flowers and seeds

potato leaves intermittently pinnate, dissected, depending on the variety, they can be from light green to dark green. They consist of a petiole, several pairs of lateral lobes and a final lobe, arranged in a spiral on the stem.

flowers white, pink or purple, with a spike-shaped corolla, collected from five petals fused together, form a corymbose inflorescence located at the top of the stem. The plant is self-pollinating, but there are also varieties with cross-pollination.

Fetus formed by autumn and is a dark green, greenish-white fleshy berry 2 cm in diameter when mature. The berry has the aroma of strawberries, but is poisonous because it contains the alkaloid solanine.

seeds very small, 1000 pcs. weigh about 0.5 g. They are rarely used for propagation, mainly for breeding purposes, although methods have been developed for growing potatoes from seeds in order to obtain a healthier seed.

All potato tops, like berries, contain the poisonous alkaloid solanine, which protects the plant from bacteria and some types of insects. Tubers exposed to light become green, accumulating chlorophyll, and solanine is also formed in them. These tubers should not be eaten.

The history of the appearance and use of potatoes

Potato- a South American plant that is still found in the homeland in the wild. Its history goes back over 14 thousand years. At first, tubers of species growing in nature were collected, later the vegetable was introduced into culture and became one of the staple foods of the indigenous people of South America. The Indians revered the plant as a deity, and even made sacrifices to it.

The first description of the potato available to Europeans was given by the Spanish conquistador and historian Cieza de Leon, who, in his Chronicles of Peru, published in 1553, provided information not only about appearance, but also about how to cook and store vegetables. He also brought the first specimens of tubers to Spain, after which the plant spread to other European countries.

The Latin name Solanum tuberosum (tuberous nightshade) was first given in 1596 by the Swiss botanist Kaspar Baugin, later borrowed by Carl Linnaeus. This is the scientific name of the vegetable, commonly used in different countries it was called differently: in Spain - papa, in Italy - "tartuffolli", for its resemblance to truffles, in England - Irish sweet potato, in France - "pom de terre", an earthen apple. The name "potato" may come from the German words "kraft" and "teufel", that is, the fruit of the devil's power.

Like many natives of the American continent, the plant has long been bred in botanical gardens as an ornamental. Until the middle of the 18th century, the vegetable was considered poisonous, at best it was used for livestock feed. In 1748, the French parliament, by its decision, banned the use of tubers for food on the basis that they allegedly cause various diseases including leprosy.

The merit of the discovery of the potato as a food product belongs to the French agronomist Antoine-Auguste Parmentier. Having fallen into Prussian captivity during Seven Years' War, he was forced to eat tubers for several years, and thus discovered that they were not only harmless, but had high taste and nutritional qualities.

Returning to his homeland, the scientist began to promote the vegetable as a food crop. Thanks to his efforts, in 1772, the potato was recognized by the Paris Medical Faculty as an edible plant. The date of the beginning of its widespread use as a food product can be considered 1795, when in the last months of the Paris Commune in the besieged starving Paris, tubers were grown even in the Tuileries garden.

In Russia, potatoes first appeared under Peter I, but became widespread during the reign of Catherine II. It was at this time that much was done to spread the culture, then called "earth apples", in peasant farms. There was a persistent prejudice against the vegetable among the people, caused both by its foreign origin and cases of poisoning with its poisonous berries.

To promote a new food plant, in 1765 a special decree of the Senate "On the cultivation of earthen apples" was issued, then scientific articles by the outstanding Russian agronomist and naturalist A.T. Bolotov appeared, devoted to the agricultural technology of growing crops.

Despite all the efforts of the government, until the middle of the 19th century, tubers were grown mainly in noble estates. Mass introduction of culture in Agriculture It began after the famine of 1839-1840, when the highest order was issued on the wide cultivation of potatoes, the allocation of land for it, and the appointment of monetary rewards to peasants to encourage its introduction.

And although new vegetable still met fierce resistance, expressed even in such extreme forms as the potato riots of 1834, 1840-1844, by the end of the 19th century, the area under cultivation increased 6 times, amounting to more than 1.5 million hectares. The plant becomes one of the main foodstuffs in Russia, the “second bread”, and at the beginning of the 20th century the country came out on top in the world in its production.

Currently, the potato is an important agricultural crop, grown in temperate regions around the world and is an important part of the diet of the population of many countries, including Russia. The vegetable is used as a food, fodder and technical plant; starch and alcohol are made from it. Due to the high yield and unique set of compounds vital for the human body, a number of experts consider the culture to be the "food of the future."

The composition and useful properties of potatoes

The chemical composition of potatoes varies greatly depending on the variety and growing conditions, but in general, tubers contain about 75% water and 25% solids. Potato solids are carbohydrates, mostly starch (on average 16%) and sugars (2%), proteins (2%), fats (0.2%), fiber and pectins (1%), as well as vitamins and minerals .

Starch- the main nutrient of tubers, a complex carbohydrate that breaks down in the human intestine and turns into glucose, which in turn undergoes oxidation, releasing energy. The amount of starch is one of the important characteristics of potatoes, in various varieties it contains from 14 to 22%. It is not only easily digestible food product, but also a valuable raw material for the pharmaceutical industry.

Although there is little protein in tubers, in terms of its biological value it approaches animals, since it includes essential amino acids in the same quantity and ratio as milk protein. Another advantage of potato protein is the ability to improve the digestibility of animal proteins, which makes the vegetable very useful as a side dish for meat dishes.

Potato contains a small amount of fiber, besides, it does not irritate the gastric mucosa, so the vegetable can be used not only in children, but also diet food with gastritis, ulcers and colitis. Fiber and pectins contained in potatoes help to eliminate bad cholesterol from the body, improve intestinal microflora

Among the vitamins that make up the tubers, vitamin C should be especially noted (up to 20 mg per 100 g of product). The benefits of potatoes as a source of ascorbic acid in winter and spring are obvious. No wonder it was with the introduction of this vegetable into the diet that epidemics of scurvy stopped in European countries. Dishes from it are consumed by the population in large quantities, therefore, despite the decrease in the content of vitamin C during storage by about a third, potatoes largely cover the body's needs for ascorbic acid in the autumn-winter period.

The biological value of the plant as a source of mineral elements is high: potassium, sodium, iron, magnesium; as well as trace elements: copper, zinc, manganese, iodine, etc.

The role of tubers is important as a source of iron, which is responsible for blood composition, hemoglobin levels, copper, which helps lower sugar levels, improves blood counts, has an anticancer effect, and manganese, which promotes the utilization of fats.

The plant is a highly nutritious product, in terms of calories (73 kcal) exceeding most vegetables. simple technology cultivation, good yield, nutritional value, a wide range of vitamins, minerals and biologically active substances determine the important place of potatoes in the diet of the population of many countries of the world.

Potatoes occupy almost the main place in the human diet, yielding in consumption only to bread. But few people think about how complicated this plant is from a scientific point of view. It has unique features that are unique to it.

Biological features

The potato is one of the leading food crops. It occupies not only the 1st place among agricultural crops in protein production, but also has one of the most high levels fitness.

The homeland of potatoes is the tropical zone of the continent of South America. The first centers of origin are located in Bolivia and Peru, in the highlands of the Andes (altitude 2000-4800 m above sea level), as well as in the temperate zones of Chile (0-250 m above sea level).

Man introduced the potato into the culture more than 8000 years ago. Initially, the territories in which it was cultivated were in Southeast Peru and Northwest Bolivia. In Russia, this agricultural crop appeared during the reign of Peter I. It was this ruler who legalized the widespread cultivation of potatoes.

Aboveground part

The potato plant is a bush that consists of 4-8 stems. Branching depends on the ripening period. In early ripening varieties, as a rule, there is a weak branching at the base of the stem, and in late ripening - strong. A large seed potato, or rather a tuber, forms an escape with more stems than a small one.

Potato plants can also vary greatly in terms of the number of leaves. The foliage may be weak, but there are also such shoots when the stems are almost invisible behind the numerous leaves. According to the shape of the bush, varieties with compact bushes, sprawling and semi-spreading bushes are distinguished. Based on the position of the stems, erect, sprawling and semi-sprawling bushes are distinguished.

root system

As for the root system of potatoes, it is fibrous and, in fact, is a collection of individual stems. The penetration of roots into the soil largely depends on its type. But on average, the penetration depth ranges from 20 to 40 cm. In addition, in the arable layer, the roots grow to the sides by 50-60 cm.

Above-ground part of the plant: leaf and flower of the potato

The leaf is a simple unpaired-pinnately dissected type. If we consider its components, we can see several pairs of lobes, lobules and lobules, which are located in various combinations on the main petiole. And the potato leaf ends with one unpaired share. Characteristics leaf (the degree of dissection, the size and shape of the lobes, the size and position of the petiole) are important varietal characteristics. The leaf blade is always in a lowered position, the color varies from yellow-green to dark green.

Potato inflorescence is a set of fork-shaped diverging curls, the number of which is from 2 to 4. They are located on the peduncle, which is laid in the leaf axil (6-8). Potato flower is 5-membered, has a cleavage calyx and incompletely fused white or blue corolla lobes. The number of stamens is 5. Their anthers are yellow or orange. The ovary is superior, usually two-celled.

The mechanism of tuber formation

A potato tuber is an escape, but not above ground, but underground. Its formation is as follows. Due to the increased concentration of nutrients in the upper part of the tuber, when planting, the buds of not all eyes germinate, but only those located in its upper part. The color of the sprouts depends on the variety and can be green, red-violet or blue-violet. When the plant reaches a height of 10-20 cm, then underground part its stems give rise to shoots - stolons, the thickness and length of which are 2-3 mm and 5-15 cm, respectively. Their ends gradually thicken, thus turning into tubers.

The structure of the tuber

The potato tuber is a shortened thickened stem, as evidenced by numerous similarities, especially noticeable at an early stage of development. This, in particular, is the presence of scaly leaves, in the axils of which resting buds are formed, the number of which varies from 2 to 4 in each eye. Also, the similarity lies in the similar alternation and arrangement of tissues and vascular bundles in tubers and stems. And the formation of chlorophyll in the tuber becomes apparent when it turns green under the influence of light. That is why in storage places poorly protected from light, green potato tubers are often found, which cannot be eaten.

The upper, youngest part of the tuber contains more eyes than the middle, and even more so the oldest, lower, or umbilical part. Therefore, the buds of the apical part develop stronger and more viable. It is known that most often in a single eye, the central kidney, which is the most developed, first of all germinates. If the germ is removed, the spare ones begin to develop and start growing, of which they will be weaker than from the central kidney. Therefore, seed potatoes in the period winter storage do not regularly free from sprouts. This can lead to the fact that the plants will not be formed from the central kidney, but from spare ones, that is, they will be weaker.

A young potato tuber on the outside covers a layer of the epidermis, which is subsequently replaced by a dense, air-tight periderm. In the process of growth and development of the tuber, the skin of the tuber is formed from the outer layer. A special intensity of this process is observed when the tops are removed a few days before harvesting.

The respiration of tubers and the evaporation of moisture is carried out with the help of lentils. Their laying under the stomata of the emerging tuber occurs simultaneously with the formation of the periderm. It is through them that oxygen enters the tuber and carbon dioxide and water vapor are removed.

Does the structure of the tuber depend on the potato variety

Potatoes in early and late varieties may vary. For example, late varieties are characterized by the presence of denser cork tissue in the tubers.

Tubers can have a wide variety of shapes, depending on the variety and growing conditions. Shape options - round, elongated, oval, round-oval, turnip-shaped, barrel-shaped, etc.

The varieties with round tubers and superficial eyes have the greatest economic value. This shape is ideal for mechanized planting and harvesting, and the shallow position of the eyes facilitates mechanical peeling and washing.

The color of the tubers is very different - white, light yellow, pink, red, red and blue-violet. Thus, the external structure of a potato tuber is a varietal accessory. The flesh of the tubers also differs in hue: it can be white, yellow or light yellow.

Potato tuber: chemical composition

The deepest state of natural dormancy of tubers is observed during potato harvesting in autumn. As spring approaches, it gradually weakens, as growth inhibitors are no longer so active. At this time, the formation of substances that stimulate growth occurs. They also encourage the growth of the kidney.

IN winter time in a dry room with an air temperature of 1-3 ° C, potatoes are well stored without germinating for 6-7 months. After this time, with an increase in air temperature to 10-12 ° C and a sufficient supply of oxygen, growth processes begin.

The potato tuber contains a significant supply of nutrients that are necessary for growth and in the initial period of life. In the composition of its dry matter, there are more than 26 different chemical elements. The composition may vary depending on the variety, soil, climatic conditions and fertilizers.

Average content in the chemical composition of tubers various substances are: water 75%, starch 20.4%, sugar 0.3%, crude protein 2%, fat 0.1%, fiber 1.1%, ash 1.1%.

Starch in potato tubers affects taste. The more starch, the tastier the potatoes. In the case of an increase in the concentration of crude protein, the palatability, on the contrary, deteriorates. By starchyness, the culinary properties of potatoes are judged. Its increase causes an increase in the flouriness of the pulp, an improvement in the digestibility.

reproduction

Reproduction of potatoes can be done in two ways - vegetatively and sexually.

The vegetative method of reproduction is the cultivation of potatoes from tubers. Also to this method refers to reproduction using segments of stems, which must necessarily have one apical or several lateral vegetative buds.

The most common way is to grow potatoes from tubers. And stem cuttings are planted in cases where the number of tubers is limited, and some new valuable variety requires a quick introduction into practice.

The mechanism of sexual reproduction of potatoes is more complex and is associated with the use of true seeds that form in fruits (tomatoes), which form on the stems of adult plant organisms. The peculiarity is that in the case of sexual reproduction, all daughter plants have genetic diversity. Seeds contained in one fruit can give rise to a large number various forms of plants, but none of them will repeat the features of the mother plant.

A potato plant grown from a tuber forms a bush whose height is 50-80 cm. The number of stems in a bush (usually 3-6), their thickness, and the ability to branch depend on the variety and growing conditions.

At the beginning of development, the stems are erect, later in most varieties they are curved. In cross section, they are angular or rounded, up to 20 mm in diameter, often with straight or wavy highly developed wing-like appendages. The color of the stems is green or with anthocyanin pigmentation. Underground shoots are called stolons. They thicken at the tops and form the beginning of new tubers. On each stem, 6-7 or more stolons 15-20 cm long develop, in some varieties up to 40-50 cm. Depending on the length of the stolons, potato nests are scattered (which makes planting care and harvesting extremely difficult) and compact.

The structure of a potato tuber

The young tuber is covered with epidermis, the mature tuber is covered with corky skin, smooth or reticulated. The peel is impermeable to air, but there are holes in it - lentils through which breathing is carried out. Under the peel are cortical cells filled with starch grains, then a layer of educational tissue (cambia), a ring of vascular fibrous bundles and a core, also containing starch.

On the surface of the tubers in the recesses, framed by a leaf scar, or a brow (a trace of a fallen underdeveloped leaf), eyes are located. They are arranged in a spiral. There are more of them at the top of the young part of the tuber than in the middle and lower parts. There are 3-4 buds in each eye, but usually only one middle, most developed, 4 buds germinate, and only when the sprout is damaged, another bud starts to grow. The strongest sprouts give the buds of the upper eyes. The buds germinated in the dark form pale elongated thin shoots called etiolated buds. In the light shortened and dense shoots are formed. Depending on the variety, the shape of the base, the color and pubescence of the sprouts are different.

potato tubers

The color of the sprouts (green, red-violet and blue-violet) is better distinguishable on tubers germinated in low light. The main shape of the tuber is round (rarely horn-shaped or valkovid), elongated and oval; the outer color (white, yellow, pink, light red, red, blue) depends on the pigment contained in the cells of the bark or peel, and the thickness of the corky layer. The flesh can also be of different colors - white, cream, yellow, rarely red and blue. In Russia, the most common varieties with white flesh of tubers.

The structure of the potato plant

The root system of the potato is fibrous, relatively poorly developed (its mass is 7-7.5% of the mass of the whole plant), branches up to the 3rd order; develops from the eyes of the tuber and from the buds of the stem nodes of the underground part of the stem and stolons. The bulk of the roots is located in the arable 25-cm layer, but individual strands can penetrate to a depth of 110-200 cm.

The structure of the potato

A simple unpaired pinnately dissected potato leaf consists of several pairs of lobes, lobules and lobules located in various combinations on the main petiole (stem), and ends with one unpaired lobes. The structure, the degree of dissection of the leaf, the size and shape of the lobes, the length, position and shape of the petiole are important varietal characteristics. The leaf blade is always pubescent to varying degrees, the color is from yellow-green to dark green.

Potato inflorescence consists of 2-3, rarely 4 fork-like diverging curls, located on the peduncle, which is laid in the axil of the 6-8th leaf and above (in later varieties). Potato flowers are 5-membered with a cleavage calyx and incompletely fused white, red-violet, blue-violet or blue corolla lobes; stamens 5 with yellow or orange anthers; ovary superior, usually bilocular.

potato flowers

Potato is a self-pollinator; Cross-pollination is rare. In many varieties, the pollen grains are shriveled and sterile (male sterile). The fruit is a spherical, oval or turnip-shaped juicy 2-celled berry containing big number(sometimes more than 200) very small seeds. Weight of 1000 seeds 0.5-0.6 g.