Potato and Potato Products Cultivation, Seed Production, Manuring, Harvesting, Organic Farming, Storage and Processing

Potato ranks fourth position in the world after wheat, rice and maize as non cereal food crop. Potato is probably the most popular food item in the Indian diet and India is one of the largest producers of potato. It is used in many ways like vegetable, potato wafers/chips, powder, finger chips etc. Potato tubers constitute a highly nutritious food. It provides carbohydrates, vitamin C, minerals, high quality protein and dietary fiber. Potato is a rich source of starch and it is consumed mainly for its calorific value, also contains phosphorus, calcium, iron and some vitamins. Boiling potatoes increases their protein content and almost doubles their calcium content. It is vastly consumed as a vegetable and is also used in various forms such as starch, flour, alcohol, and dextrin and livestock fodder. It is estimated that about 25 % of the potatoes, which are spoiled due to several reasons, may be saved by processing and preservation of various types of processed products. The potatoes can be processed for preservation and value addition in the form of wafers/ chips, powder, flakes, granules, canned slices. Potato granules are used for the preparation of various recipes, to add to vegetable and non vegetable recipes and to enhance the quantity as well as to enrich the food value. There is a huge potential for processed potato products such as potato flakes, potato powder, frozen potatoes, frozen French fries, potato chips/wafers are one of the most popular snack items consumed throughout world. International trade in potatoes and potato products still remains thin relative to production, as only around 6 percent of output is traded. High transport costs, including the cost of refrigeration, are major obstacles to a wider international marketplace. The industry is still growing at a rapid pace where French fries are showing the highest growth followed by potato chips and potato powder/flakes. It is by far the largest product category within snacks, with 85% of the total market revenue. This book basically deals with origin, evolution, history and spread of potato, potato products, quality requirements for processing, morphological, size and shape, defects, biochemical, dry matter, reducing sugars, phenols, inheritance, morphological attributes, tuber shape, growth cracks, hollow heart, internal rust spots, greening, biochemical attributes, glycoalkaloids, dry matter, reducing sugars, enzymic browning, development of varieties for processing, areas suitable for growing processing potatoes, processing quality of Indian potato varieties, processed potato products, dehydrated products at village level, potato chips, french fries and flakes commercial production, grading manual for frozen French fried potatoes for frozen French fried potatoes, areas of production, varieties, receiving, determining the quality and condition of raw potatoes for frying purposes, determining the quality and condition of raw potatoes for frying purposes, etc. The present book covers complete details of potato cultivation and processing in proper manner. This book is an invaluable resource for agriculture universities, students, technocrats and entrepreneurs.