All about potatoes.pdf - Vegetableipmasia.org

1.
INTRODUCTION
Originally, IPM was developed for rice crops and its concepts were socialized
through Integrated Pest Management Farmer Field Schools (IPM FFS). Rice IPM
FFS were first launched in 1989 in Indonesia through the National IPM Program.
Later, when IPM was developed for vegetables and potatoes, complicated problems
experienced by farmers in intensified potato cultivation led to an IPM approach
different from the one used for rice.
1.2 Potatoes: an overview
The potato (Solanum tuberosum) originates from South America, most likely from the
central Andes in Peru. The potato was domesticated and has been grown by
indigenous farming communities for over 4,000 years. Introduced into Europe in the
sixteenth century, the crop subsequently was distributed throughout the world,
including Asia (Smith, 1995).
The potato is a major staple fulfilling human nutritional requirements. Worldwide, the
potato comes forth in terms of production after wheat, maize, and rice. In many
countries potato serves as their staple food because of its excellent nutritional
content.
According to Indonesian farmers, the advantages of the potato over other crops are:
• Its potential for high productivity.
• Its potential for being extremely profitable and easily marketed.
• Its price is relatively stable.
Its production challenges include:
• It is vulnerable to pests and diseases hence implying a high risk of failure.
• Growing potatoes requires substantial capital.
• It needs intensive care and attention.
The main constraints to potato farming in Indonesia are farmers’ lack of healthy seed,
and attack by late blight, bacterial wilt, viruses, and leafminer fly. Other important
constraints for farmers include potato tuber moth, weeds, unfavorable weather, low
soil fertility, inadequate post harvest management, and marketing.
2
ALL ABOUT POTATOES