Potatoes: Growing Practices and Food Uses

Potato is one of the most ancient and the oldest domesticated food crops. Today, potato is the most important and the largest vegetable crop of the world (both production-wise and consumption-wise). Potato is also used as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potato is a starchy tuberous perennial vegetable; however for vegetable purposes, potato plants are grown as annual plants. Potato plants are considered as cool season crops because of the low temperature requirement for tuber formation. The edible portion or tuber is a modified underground stem.