Potato Facts
Potato Facts
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| Interesting Potato Facts: |
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| Size of potato depends on variety. It usually grows 24 inches in height. Largest ever recorded potato had 18 pounds and 4 ounces of weight (enough for preparing 73 portions of medium sized French fries). |
| Edible part of the potato is underground stem, better known as tuber. |
| Potato can produce white, red, purple or blue flowers. Color of the flower is closely associated with the color of the skin (plant with white flower has white skin). Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI used flowers of potato in decorative purposes. |
| Potatoes are usually pollinated by insects such as bumblebees. |
| Potato can reproduce via seeds, tubers and cuttings. |
| Potatoes are rich source of carbohydrates (starch), vitamin C and vitamins of the B group. They also have high content of fibers and important minerals. Potatoes need to be cooked before consumption. Most popular dishes include mashed potato, French-fried potato, boiled and baked potato. |
| On average, each person on the planet eats 73 pounds of potato each year. |
| Over 300 million tons of potatoes are produced each year. Greatest amount of potato is produced in China. |
| Potato is staple food in numerous countries around the world. Great Irish Famine in 19th century was a consequence of fungal disease of potato (known as potato blight). Fast spreading disease and lack of potatoes led to nearly million human deaths. |
| Green parts of potato contain substance called solanine. This substance induces toxic effects in humans. Main purpose of solanine is to protect plant from the predators. |
| Potatoes are prone to viral, bacterial and fungal diseases. Also, they are often targeted by various insects and worms that lay eggs and eat various parts of potato. |
| Scientists developed several genetically modified potatoes in the last couple of decades. New types of potatoes are resistant to pests, able to survive in various climates and/or enriched in proteins. |
| Blue potato is a variety of potato that originates from South America. Skin and flesh of this potato are purple, but they become blue after cooking. Blue color comes from high concentration of pigment called anthocyanin. |
| Potato is the first plant that was launched and successfully grown inside the space shuttle in 1995. |
| Potato is perennial plant, which means that it can survive more than two years in the wild. |
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