The sweet potato is a starchy tuberous root crop of the morning glory family, grown as a staple food across the tropics and cultivated as well for its edible leaves and vines. It originates in South America, in what is present-day Ecuador, and was domesticated in Central or South America by at least 5,000 years ago; the oldest radiocarbon-dated remains come from Peru's Chilca Canyon, dated to roughly 8080 BC. Its pre-Columbian presence across Polynesia is a long-debated puzzle: genetic ties between Polynesian and Indigenous American peoples and a striking linguistic parallel between the Proto-Polynesian word kumala and the Quechua and Aymara word k'umar have led most scholars toward a pre-Columbian contact model, in which Polynesian voyagers reached South America and returned with the plant.
Facts
Scientific Name Domestication RegionCentral or South America (wild origin in present-day Ecuador) 1 Domesticated When (Circa)At least 5,000 years ago; oldest radiocarbon-dated remains circa 8080 BC, Chilca Canyon, Peru 1 Era
Era (category) Sweet Potato
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Affected By
Source Fusarium Wilt (Wikipedia)
Source Reniform Nematode (Wikipedia)
Source Silverleaf Whitefly (Wikipedia)
Associated With
A New World domesticate; its post-1492 adoption across the Old World is part of the Columbian Exchange, distinct from and later than its separately debated pre-Columbian Polynesian presence.
Source Sweet Potato (Wikipedia)
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Source Sweet Potato (Wikipedia)
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1. Sweet Potato (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation- lead section, Origin and distribution
lead description or Wikipedia lead (primary-uses)
The sweet potato is a starchy tuberous root crop of the morning glory family, grown as a staple food across the tropics and cultivated as well for its edible leaves and vines.
History section
In Central America, domesticated sweet potatoes were present at least 5,000 years ago.
- Associated With: Columbian Exchange
View the Source Silverleaf Whitefly (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAffected By: Silverleaf Whitefly, Article textQuote, Affected By: Silverleaf Whitefly, Article text
Common hosts are agricultural crops including tomatoes, squash, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, melons, cotton, carrots, sweet potato, cucumber, and pumpkin, and ornamental plants such as poinsettia, crepe myrtle, garden roses, lantana, and lilies.
Fusarium Wilt (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAffected By: Fusarium Wilt, Article textQuote, Affected By: Fusarium Wilt, Article text
Tomato, tobacco, legumes, cucurbits, sweet potatoes and banana are a few of the most susceptible plants, but it also infects other herbaceous plants.
Reniform Nematode (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAffected By: Reniform Nematode, Article textQuote, Affected By: Reniform Nematode, Article text
It has a wide host range that includes fruit trees, lentil, cotton, pigeon pea, tea, tobacco, soybean, pineapple, banana, okra, coconut, cabbage, sweet potato, alfalfa, corn, asparagus, palm, cucumber, tomato, squash, cassava, radish, eggplant, guava, melon, chickpea, and ginger.
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