A report on Maize and Potato

Plant fragments dated to 4200 BC found in the Guilá Naquitz Cave in Oaxaca, Mexico, showed maize had already been domesticated from teosinte.
Flowers of a potato plant
Cultivation of maize in an illustration from the 16th c. Florentine Codex
Potato plants
Ancient Mesoamerican relief, National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico
Potatoes in an Oklahoma garden
Many small male flowers make up the male inflorescence, called the tassel.
Russet potatoes
Zea mays 'Ottofile giallo Tortonese` – MHNT
A thin section of a potato under light microscopy. It has been treated with an iodine based dye that binds to starch, turning it purple, showing the high starch content.
Zea mays "strawberry"—MHNT
Potatoes with different pigmentation
Zea mays "Oaxacan Green" MHNT
Production of potatoes (2019)
Variegated maize ears
Global production of potatoes in 2008
Multicolored corn kernels (CSIRO)
Potatoes from North India
Exotic varieties of maize are collected to add genetic diversity when selectively breeding new domestic strains
'Early Rose' variety seed tuber with sprouts
Teosinte (top), maize-teosinte hybrid (middle), maize (bottom)
Potato fruit, which is not edible
Stucco head of the Maya maize god, 550–850 AD
Potato planting
Seedlings three weeks after sowing
Potato field in Fort Fairfield, Maine
Young stalks
Potatoes grown in a tall bag are common in gardens as they minimize the amount of digging required at harvest
Mature plants showing ears
A potato infected by late blight
Mature maize ears
A modern potato harvester
Harvesting maize, Jones County, Iowa
Potato transportation to cold storage in India
Harvesting maize, Rantasalmi, South Savonia, Finland
Potato farming in India
Hand-picking harvest of maize in Myanmar
332x332px
Production of maize (2019)
Papa rellena
Semi-peeled corn on the cob
Baked potato with sour cream and chives
Poster showing a woman serving muffins, pancakes, and grits, with canisters on the table labeled corn meal, grits, and hominy, US Food Administration, 1918
German Bauernfrühstück ("farmer's breakfast")
Mexican tamales made with corn meal
Cepelinai
Boiled corn on a white plate
French fries served with a hamburger
Farm-based maize silage digester located near Neumünster in Germany, 2007. Green inflatable biogas holder is shown on top of the digester.
Poutine, a Canadian dish of fried potatoes, cheese curds, and gravy
Children playing in a maize kernel box
The Potato Eaters by Van Gogh, 1885 (Van Gogh Museum)
Female inflorescence, with young silk
The Potato Harvest by Jean-François Millet, 1855 (Walters Art Museum)
Mature silk
Stalks, ears and silk
Male flowers
Full-grown maize plants
Mature maize ear on a stalk
Maize kernels
Maize plant diagram
Ear of maize with irregular rows of kernels
With white and yellow kernels

As of 2014, potatoes were the world's fourth-largest food crop after maize (corn), wheat, and rice.

- Potato

Mapuches of south-central Chile cultivated maize along with quinoa and potatoes in pre-Hispanic times; however, potato was the staple food of most Mapuches, "specially in the southern and coastal [Mapuche] territories where maize did not reach maturity".

- Maize

9 related topics with Alpha

Overall

Structure of the amylose molecule

Starch

2 links

Polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds.

Polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds.

Structure of the amylose molecule
Structure of the amylopectin molecule
Starch mill at Ballydugan (Northern Ireland), built in 1792
West Philadelphia Starch works at Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), 1850
Faultless Starch Company at Kansas City
potato starch granules in cells of the potato
starch in endosperm in embryonic phase of maize seed
Corn starch, 800x magnified, under polarized light, showing characteristic extinction cross
Rice starch seen on light microscope. Characteristic for the rice starch is that starch granules have an angular outline and some of them are attached to each other and form larger granules
Granules of wheat starch, stained with iodine, photographed through a light microscope
Sago starch extraction from palm stems
Glucose syrup
Karo corn syrup advert 1917
Niagara corn starch advert 1880s
Pacific Laundry and Cooking Starch advert 1904
Starch adhesive
Gentleman with starched ruff in 1560
Kingsford Oswego Starch advertising, 1885
Rice starch for ironing

Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets, and is contained in large amounts in staple foods such as wheat, potatoes, maize (corn), rice, and cassava (manioc).

Three different kinds of wheat and rye flour. From left to right: wheat flour Type 550 (all purpose flour), wheat flour Type 1050 (first clear flour), rye flour Type 1150

Flour

2 links

Powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds.

Powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds.

Three different kinds of wheat and rye flour. From left to right: wheat flour Type 550 (all purpose flour), wheat flour Type 1050 (first clear flour), rye flour Type 1150
All-purpose flour
Cassava flour (left) and corn flour (right) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. These flours are basic ingredients for the cuisine of Central Africa.
Kinako
A field of unripe wheat
A Walz set of roller mills.
Flour being stored in large cloth sacks
A variety of types of flour and cereals sold at a bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

Corn flour has been important in Mesoamerican cuisine since ancient times and remains a staple in the Americas.

Potato flour, often confused with potato starch, is a peeled, cooked potato powder of mashed, mostly drum-dried and ground potato flakes using the whole potato and thus containing the protein and some of the fibres of the potato. It has an off-white slight yellowish color. These dehydrated, dried, potatoes, also called instant mashed potatoes can also be granules or flakes. Potato flour is cold-water-soluble; however, it is not used often as it tends to be heavy.

Seeds of various plants. Row 1: poppy, red pepper, strawberry, apple tree, blackberry, rice, carum, Row 2: mustard, eggplant, physalis, grapes, raspberries, red rice, patchouli, Row 3: figs, lycium barbarum, beets, blueberries, golden kiwifruit, rosehip, basil, Row 4: pink pepper, tomato, radish, carrot, matthiola, dill, coriander, Row 5: black pepper, white cabbage, napa cabbage, seabuckthorn, parsley, dandelion, capsella bursa-pastoris, Row 6: cauliflower, radish, kiwifruit, grenadilla, passion fruit, melissa, tagetes erecta.

Seed

1 links

Embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve.

Embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve.

Seeds of various plants. Row 1: poppy, red pepper, strawberry, apple tree, blackberry, rice, carum, Row 2: mustard, eggplant, physalis, grapes, raspberries, red rice, patchouli, Row 3: figs, lycium barbarum, beets, blueberries, golden kiwifruit, rosehip, basil, Row 4: pink pepper, tomato, radish, carrot, matthiola, dill, coriander, Row 5: black pepper, white cabbage, napa cabbage, seabuckthorn, parsley, dandelion, capsella bursa-pastoris, Row 6: cauliflower, radish, kiwifruit, grenadilla, passion fruit, melissa, tagetes erecta.
Plant ovules: Gymnosperm ovule on left, angiosperm ovule (inside ovary) on right
The inside of a Ginkgo seed, showing a well-developed embryo, nutritive tissue (megagametophyte), and a bit of the surrounding seed coat
The parts of an avocado seed (a dicot), showing the seed coat and embryo
Diagram of the internal structure of a dicot seed and embryo: (a) seed coat, (b) endosperm, (c) cotyledon, (d) hypocotyl
Diagram of a generalized dicot seed (1) versus a generalized monocot seed (2). A. Scutellum B. Cotyledon C. Hilum D. Plumule E. Radicle F. Endosperm
Comparison of monocotyledons and dicotyledons
Seed coat of pomegranate
A collection of various vegetable and herb seeds
Dandelion seeds are contained within achenes, which can be carried long distances by the wind.
The seed pod of milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Germinating sunflower seedlings
Microbial transmission from seed to seedling
Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean or green bean) seeds are diverse in size, shape, and color.
The massive fruit of the coco de mer

The term "seed" also has a general meaning that antedates the above – anything that can be sown, e.g. "seed" potatoes, "seeds" of corn or sunflower "seeds".

Unprocessed seeds of spelt, a historically important staple food

Staple food

1 links

Food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and generally forming a significant proportion of the intake of other nutrients as well.

Food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for a given person or group of people, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and generally forming a significant proportion of the intake of other nutrients as well.

Unprocessed seeds of spelt, a historically important staple food
White rice, boiled
Bread made from wheat flour
Pasta
Couscous
Maize (corn)
Edamame (green soybeans)
Kidney beans
Sorghum seeds and popped sorghum
Millet grains
Amaranth (left) and common wheat berries
Colored quinoa
Cassava roots
Chinese yams
Sweet potato salad
Ulluco tubers
Oca tubers
Taro roots
Potatoes
Plantain and banana

Staple foods are derived either from vegetables or animal products, and common staples include cereals (such as rice, wheat, maize, millet, and sorghum), starchy tubers or root vegetables (such as potatoes, cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, or taro), meat, fish, eggs, milk, and cheese, and dried legumes such as lentils and other beans.

New World native plants. Clockwise, from top left: 1. Maize (Zea mays); 2. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum); 3. Potato (Solanum tuberosum); 4. Vanilla (Vanilla); 5. Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis); 6. Cacao (Theobroma cacao); 7. Tobacco (Nicotiana rustica)

Columbian exchange

1 links

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World in the Western Hemisphere, and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the Eastern Hemisphere, in the late 15th and following centuries.

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the New World in the Western Hemisphere, and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the Eastern Hemisphere, in the late 15th and following centuries.

New World native plants. Clockwise, from top left: 1. Maize (Zea mays); 2. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum); 3. Potato (Solanum tuberosum); 4. Vanilla (Vanilla); 5. Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis); 6. Cacao (Theobroma cacao); 7. Tobacco (Nicotiana rustica)
Old World native plants. Clockwise, from top left: 1. Citrus (Rutaceae); 2. Apple (Malus domestica); 3. Banana (Musa); 4. Mango (Mangifera); 5. Onion (Allium); 6. Coffee (Coffea); 7. Wheat (Triticum spp.); 8. Rice (Oryza sativa)
Sixteenth-century Aztec drawings of victims of smallpox
Slaves working at a plantation in Virginia, depicted in 1670
Inca-era terraces on Taquile are used to grow traditional Andean staples such as quinoa and potatoes, alongside wheat, a European introduction.
Native Americans learned to use horses to chase bison, dramatically expanding their hunting range.
Evangelization of Mexico
A figurine featuring the New World's independently invented wheel. Among the places where wheeled toys were found, Mesoamerica is the only one where the wheel was never put to practical use before the 16th century.

American crops such as maize, potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, cassava, sweet potatoes, and chili peppers became important crops around the world.

An Olmec colossal head at the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology, in Veracruz, Mexico

Pre-Columbian era

1 links

In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492.

In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492.

An Olmec colossal head at the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology, in Veracruz, Mexico
Schematic illustration of maternal (mtDNA) gene-flow in and out of Beringia, from 25,000 years ago to present
Major cultural areas of the pre-Columbian Americas:
Artist's reconstruction of Poverty Point, 1500 BCE
Hopewell mounds from the Mound City Group in Ohio
One of the pyramids in the upper level of Yaxchilán
Atlantes at Tula, Hidalgo
Maya architecture at Uxmal
Geoglyphs on deforested land in the Amazon rainforest
Muisca raft. The figure refers to the ceremony of the legend of El Dorado.
The ancient city of Caral
Larco Museum houses the largest private collection of pre-Columbian art. Lima, Peru.
Gate of the Sun in Tiwanaku
Simplified map of subsistence methods in the Americas at 1000 BCE
hunter-gatherers
simple farming societies
complex farming societies (tribal chiefdoms or civilizations)

They grew maize and other crops intensively, participated in an extensive trade network and had a complex stratified society.

Potatoes, tomatoes, tomatillos (a husked green tomato), pumpkins, chili peppers, squash, beans, pineapple, sweet potatoes, the grains quinoa and amaranth, cocoa beans, vanilla, onion, peanuts, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, papaya, and avocados were among other plants grown by natives.

Current distribution of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (not including mixed people like mestizos, métis, zambos and pardos)

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

0 links

The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.

The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.

Current distribution of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (not including mixed people like mestizos, métis, zambos and pardos)
Diné boy, in the desert of Monument Valley, AZ, United States of America. The Three Sisters buttes are visible in the background.
Mapuche man, in Chile
Mayan women in Antigua Guatemala, Central America.
Language families of Indigenous peoples in North America: shown across present-day Canada, Greenland, the United States, and northern Mexico
The Kogi, descendants of the Tairona, are a culturally-intact, largely pre-Columbian society. The Tairona were one of the few indigenous American civilizations that were not fully conquered.
"The Maiden", one of the discovered Llullaillaco mummies. A Preserved Inca human sacrifice from around the year 1500.
Cultural areas of North America at time of European contact
Eight Crow Nation prisoners under guard at Crow agency, Montana, 1887
Drawing accompanying text in Book XII of the 16th-century Florentine Codex (compiled 1540–1585), showing Nahuas of conquest-era central Mexico suffering from smallpox
Indigenous people at a Brazilian farm plantation in Minas Gerais ca. 1824
A bison hunt depicted by George Catlin
Ancient mesoamerican engraving of maize, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico
Main indigenous language families of South America (except Quechua, Aymaran, and Mapuche).
Maya glyphs in stucco at the Museo de sitio in Palenque, Mexico
Textile art by Julia Pingushat (Inuk, Arviat, Nunavut, Canada), wool, embroidery floss, 1995
Chimu culture feather pectoral, feathers, reed, copper, silver, hide, cordage, ca. 1350–1450 CE
Indigenous man playing a panpipe, antara or siku
Indigenous protesters from Vale do Javari, one of the largest indigenous territories in Brazil
A map of uncontacted peoples, around the start of the 21st century
Bill Reid's sculpture The Raven and the First Men (collection of the Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver). The Raven represents the Trickster figure common to many mythologies.
Some Inuit people on a traditional qamutiik (dog sled) in Cape Dorset, Nunavut, Canada
Tunumiit Inuit couple from Kulusuk, Greenland
Wixarika (Huichol) woman from Zacatecas
Tenejapa Carnival with Tzeltal people, Chiapas
Rarámuri marathon in Urique.
Choctaw artist from Oklahoma
A Navajo man on horseback in Monument Valley, Arizona
Indigenous Salvadoran Pipil women dancing in the traditional Procession of Palms, Panchimalco in El Salvador
Maya women from Guatemala
A Mayan woman
Owners of a roadside cafe near Cachi, Argentina
Indigenous woman in traditional dress, near Cochabamba, Bolivia
Indigenous man of Terena tribe from Brazil
Mapuche man and woman. The Mapuche make up about 85% of Indigenous population that live in Chile.
Guambía people relaxing in Colombia
Shaman of the Cofán people from the Ecuadorian Amazon Ecuador Amazonian forest
Quechua woman and child in the Sacred Valley, Cuzco Region, Peru
A Warao family from Venezuela traveling in their canoe
Evo Morales (Aymara), former President of Bolivia
Schematic illustration of maternal (mtDNA) gene-flow in and out of Beringia, from 25,000 years ago to present
Wayúu artisan women, in the Colombian-Venezuelan Guajira.
Quechua women in festive dress, on the island of Taquile (Lake Titicaca).

The domestication of maize or corn required thousands of years of selective breeding, and continued cultivation of multiple varieties was done with planning and selection, generally by women.

Genetic testing of the wide variety of cultivars and wild species suggests that the potato has a single origin in the area of southern Peru, from a species in the Solanum brevicaule complex.

"Cono de Arita" in the Puna de Atacama, Salta (Argentina)

Andes

0 links

The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (Cordillera de los Andes) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America.

The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (Cordillera de los Andes) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America.

"Cono de Arita" in the Puna de Atacama, Salta (Argentina)
Aconcagua
Aerial view of Valle Carbajal in the Fuegian
The Andes range is about 200 km wide throughout its length, except in the Bolivian flexure where it is about 640 km wide.
Rift valley near Quilotoa, Ecuador
This photo from the ISS shows the high plains of the Andes Mountains in the foreground, with a line of young volcanoes facing the much lower Atacama Desert
Central Andes
Bolivian Andes
Laguna de Sonso tropical dry forest in Northern Andes
A male Andean cock-of-the-rock, a species found in humid Andean forests and the national bird of Peru
Herds of alpacas near Ausangate mountain
Peruvian farmers sowing maize and beans
Irrigating land in the Peruvian Andes
Chilean huasos, 19th century
The Aconcagua, Argentina, the highest mountain in the Americas
Sajama, Bolivia
Parinacota, Bolivia/Chile
View of Cuernos del Paine in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Nevado del Huila, Colombia
Chimborazo near Riobamba, Ecuador
Huandoy, Peru
Alpamayo, Peru
Mount Humboldt at sunset

Other important crops that originated from the Andes are tobacco and potatoes.

Maize was also an important crop for these people, and was used for the production of chicha, important to Andean native people.

Silage underneath plastic sheeting is held down by scrap tires. Concrete beneath the silage prevents fermented juice from leaching out

Silage

0 links

Type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification.

Type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification.

Silage underneath plastic sheeting is held down by scrap tires. Concrete beneath the silage prevents fermented juice from leaching out
Cattle eating silage
MB Trac rolling a silage heap or "clamp" in Victoria, Australia
Haylage bales in Tyrol
Top view of Silage Fermentation
Anaerobic digester

Silage is usually made from grass crops, including maize, sorghum or other cereals, using the entire green plant (not just the grain).

Many crops have ensilaging potential, including potatoes and various weeds, notably spurrey such as Spergula arvensis.