Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
5.12
CONCLUSIONS
Root crops are grown around the world and are an important and sometimes an essential
part of many diets. They are relatively easy to cultivate and often are grown on marginal
land. Harvesting in many countries is a labor-intensive activity as it involves exposing
the roots of plants by digging. Except for cassava, all types of root crops can be stored
for longer periods of time than most fruits and vegetables, but shorter than grains.
Diseases and insect damage can be limited by simple cultural practices such as crop
rotation and selection of disease-free planting materials.
While root crops are a major source of carbohydrates in the diet, they can also serve
as a significant source of some vitamins and minerals. This is especially true in situ-
ations where they are eaten in large quantities.
QUESTIONS
1. Explain the difference between a tuber, a root, and a corm.
2. What characteristics do taro and rice have in common both in terms of production
and as a food?
3. While attending a birthday party in Papua New Guinea a person suffers sever
abdominal pain after eating a piece of cake that she assumes is made from
wheat flour. What other flour might this cake contain?
4. Describe in some detail the different ways in which root crops may be propagated
using examples from this chapter.
5. Explain why some root crops, grown by subsistence farmers, might not be found in
local markets. You may want to refer to Chapter 1 in answering this question.
6. Explain how a country might be both an exporter and an importer of the same crop.
Give at least three ways in which this might happen.
7. Root crops can have importance above and beyond their use as food. Give an
example of a root crop that has this characteristic.
8. Only two common crops can be grown under flooded conditions; rice is one; name
the other. Why might this be advantageous to a farmer in the high rainfall tropics?
9. Minor root crops may be an important crop in a localize area. Explain two reasons
why this might be so.
10. Hypothesize how it might be that cassava can be reported to be exported by a
country but no countries report any imports.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
G. Belanger, J. R. Walsh, J. E. Richards, P. H. Milburn, and N. Ziadi, Nitrogen Fertilization and
Irrigation Affects Tuber Characteristics of Two Potato Cultivars, Am. J. Potato Res. 79,
269 - 279, 2002.
