马铃薯的主粮化进程——它在世界上的发展与传播

The Potato Becoming a Staple Food: Its Introduction and Production Across the World

马铃薯起源于南美洲安第斯山,迄今已有7000年的栽培史。印第安人为它的驯化、人工栽培、耕作模式、育种、储藏、加工、食用等做出了决定性的贡献。16世纪30年代,西班牙殖民者"发现"了马铃薯,50年代他们将薯块传入西欧,70年代初开始在西欧零星种植。但马铃薯在欧洲的发展十分曲折,长期受到歧视和冷遇。它经历了从观赏研究、经蔬菜园圃、到主粮之一的三个种植发展阶段。16世纪下半叶马铃薯传入亚洲。明后期传入中国,清代在中国传开。马铃薯在充分利用耕地方面比美洲传入的同类作物玉米、甘薯、木薯的作用更大。它对17世纪以来欧洲和中国的人口增长都起了重要作用。马铃薯还对中国的植物文化产生了一定影响。

The potato originates from the Andes mountains in South America and has got a history of cultivation for 7,000 years. The American Indians made a decisive contribution in its domestication, artificial cultivation, model of tillage, breeding, storage, processing, edibleness and so on. The Spanish conquistadors ＂discovered＂ the potato during the 1530s. They spread the potato tubers into the West Europe during the 1550s and began to plant them fragmentarily at beginning of the 1570s. But the potato developed very tortuously in Europe because it was discriminated against and was treated with a cold reception for a very long period. So it underwent the three stages of planting development from view-admiring and studying, to vegetable and gardening, and to becoming one of the main staples. The potato spread to Asia in the second half of 16th century. It spread to China in the late Ming dynasty and spread wide during the Qing dynasty. The potato played a greater role in full usage of tillage field than maize, sweet potatos and cassava, which all belong to the same type of crops from America. The potato played an important role in the increment of population in both Europe and China since the 17th century. Besides, the potato also produced some effect upon the Chinese traditional plant culture.