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Lost Crops of the Incas
Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation
Report of an
Ad Hoc Panel of the Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation
Board on Science and Technology for International Development
National Research Council
National Academy PressWashington. D.C.1989
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competence and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
The Board on Science and Technology for International Development (BOSTID) of the Office of International Affairs addresses a range of issues arising from the ways in which science and technology in developing countries can stimulate and complement the complex processes of social and economic development. It oversees a broad program of bilateral workshops with scientific organizations in developing countries and conducts special studies. BOSTID's Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation publishes topical reviews of technical processes and biological resources of potential importance to developing countries.
This report has been prepared by an ad hoc advisory panel of the Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation, Board on Science and Technology for International Development, Office of International Affairs, National Research Council. Program costs were provided by the Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation. Staff support was funded by the Office of the Science Advisor, Agency for International Development, under Grant No. DAN 5538-G-SS-1023-00.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:
89-42566
ISBN
0-309-04264-X
First Printing
,
July 1989
Second Printing
,
June 1990
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Panel on Lost Crops of the Incas
HUGH POPENOE,
International Program in Agriculture, University of Florida, Gainesville,
Chairman
STEVEN R. KING,
Latin America Science Program, The Nature Conservancy, Rosslyn, Virginia
JORGE LEÓN,
Plant Genetics Resource Center, Centro Agronómica Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE) (retired), San José, Costa Rica
LUIS SUMAR KALINOWSKI,
Centro de Investigaciones de Cultivos Andinos, Universidad Nacional Técnica del Altiplano, Cuzco, Peru
NOEL D. VIETMEYER,
Senior Program Officer,
Inca Crops Study Director
and
Scientific Editor
MARK DAFFORN,
Staff Associate
National Research Council Staff
F. R. RUSKIN,
BOSTID
Editor
MARY JANE ENGQUIST
,
Staff Associate
ELIZABETH MOUZON,
Senior Secretary
Front cover: pepino (Turner and Growers)
Back cover: quinoa (S. King)
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~ enlarge ~
This book is dedicated to the memory of Martín Cárdenas Hermosa (1899–1973), outstanding botanist, Quechua scholar, historian, and a pioneer advocate of Andean crops. He was born of Indian parents and became Rector (President) of the Universidad Autónoma de Cochabamba, Bolivia.
Cárdenas was friend and advisor to innumerable horticulturists and botanists from many countries. He enhanced gardens around the world with his generous samples of the rich and varied flora of the Andes. A wise and tireless researcher and traveler whom all remember with affection, he published a large number of articles and two books. His 1969 Manual de Plantas Económicas de Bolivia—now unfortunately out of print—is the most comprehensive review of useful Andean plants ever made. Cárdenas left his herbarium containing about 6,500 Bolivian specimens—many originally described by him—to the Universidad de Tucumán, and his home and library in Cochabamba to the local university for the use of researchers.
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Preface
The primary purpose here is to draw attention to overlooked food crops of the Andes. The crops are not truly lost; indeed, most are well known in many areas of the Andes, especially among Indian groups. It is to the mainstream of international science and to people outside the Andes that they are “lost.” Moreover, most of these crops were developed by ancient Indian tribes and were established foods long before the beginning of the Inca Empire about 1400 AD. For all that, however, it was the Incas who, by the time of the Spanish Conquest, had brought these plants to their highest state of development and, in many cases, had spread them throughout the Andean region.
It should be understood that we are not the first to appreciate the potential of these crops. Several agronomists and ethnobotanists—many of them working in the Andes—have begun preserving what remains of these traditional Indian foods. Indeed, a handful of dedicated Andean researchers have studied these plants intensively, and have struggled for decades to promote them in the face of deeply ingrained prejudices in favor of European food. Moreover, their efforts have sparked interest outside the region. Some of the plants are already showing promise in exploratory trials in other tropical highlands as well as in more temperate zones. For instance, cultivation of quinoa (a grain) has begun in the United States, oca (a tuber) is an increasingly popular food with New Zealanders, tarwi (a grain legume) is stimulating attention in Eastern Europe, and cherimoya (a fruit) has long been an important crop in Spain.
This study had its origins in a 1984 seminar held at the National Research Council.
1
Subsequently, the staff mailed questionnaires to about 200 plant scientists worldwide requesting nominations of underexploited Andean crop species for inclusion in this report. The result was a flood of suggestions and information that was fashioned into a first draft of this book. Each of the first-draft chapters was then mailed back to the original contributors as well as to other experts identified by the staff. As a result, several thousand suggestions for corrections
1 The participants included G.J. Anderson, T. Brown, F. Caplan, D. Cusack, D.W. Gade, C.B. Heiser, T. Johns, C. Kauffman, S. King, D. Plucknett, H. Popenoe, C. Rick, R.E. Schultes, L.L. Schulze, C.R. Sperling, D. Ugent, and K. Zimmerer.
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and improvements were received, and each was evaluated and integrated into the second draft. At the same time, a dozen or so additional species were included. Subsequently, all chapters were mailed out at least once more, and several thousand more comments were received and incorporated into what, after editing, became the current text. Finally, the panel and staff visited the Andes in mid–1988 to assess the accuracy and balance of each chapter.
All told, more than 600 people from 56 countries (see Research Contacts) have directly contributed to this book. A few species described—capuli cherry and zambo squash, for example—are not Andean natives but are included because the Andean types have much to offer the rest of the world.
This report has been written for dissemination to administrators, entrepreneurs, and researchers in developing countries as well as in North America, Europe, and Australasia. It is not a handbook or scientific monograph: references are provided for readers seeking additional information. Its purpose is to provide a brief introduction to the plants selected, and it is intended as a tool for economic development rather than a textbook or survey of Andean botany or agriculture. The ultimate aim is to raise nutritional levels and create economic opportunities, particularly in the Andes. The report, however, deliberately describes the promise of these plants for markets in industrialized nations. It is in these countries (where a concentration of research facilities and discretionary research funds may be found) that many important research contributions are likely to be made.
Because the book is written for audiences of both laymen and researchers, each chapter is organized in increasing levels of detail. The lead paragraphs and prospects sections are intended primarily for nonspecialists. The later sections contain background information from which specialists can better assess a plant's potential for their regions or research programs. Finally, appendixes provide the addresses of researchers who know the individual plants, information on potential sources of germplasm, and lists of carefully selected papers that provide more detail than can be presented here. Because these plants are so little studied, the literature on them is often old, difficult to find, or available only locally. This is unfortunate, and we hope that this book will stimulate monographs on each of the species.
This book has been produced under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation (ACTI) of the Board on Science and Technology for International Development, National Research Council. ACTI is mandated to assess innovative scientific and technological advances, particularly emphasizing those appropriate for developing countries. Since its founding in 1971, it has produced almost 40 reports identifying unconventional scientific subjects of promise for
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developing countries. These have covered subjects as diverse as the uses of water buffalo, butterfly farming, fast-growing trees, and techniques to provide more water for arid lands (see list of current titles at the back of this report). Publications dealing with underexploited food plants are:
Tropical Legumes: Resources for the Future (1979)
The Winged Bean: A High Protein Crop for the Tropics (Second Edition, 1981)
Amaranth: Modern Prospects for an Ancient Crop (1983)
Quality-Protein Maize (1988)
Triticale: A Promising Addition to the World's Cereal Grains (1989).
The panel wishes to thank those who contributed to the success of its South American visit—in particular, Luis Sumar Kalinowski, Jorge Soria, Modesto Soria, Jaime Pacheco, Vincente Callaunapa, and the staff of the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP).
This activity was stimulated by a Program Initiation Funding grant from the National Research Council. Program costs for the study were provided by the Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation. Staff support costs were provided by the Office of the Science Advisor, Agency for International Development.
How to cite this report:
National Research Council. 1989. Lost Crops of the Incas: Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
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Contents
INTRODUCTION
1
PART I
ROOTS AND TUBERS
22
Achira
27
Ahipa
39
Arracacha
47
Maca
57
Mashua
67
Mauka
75
Oca
83
Potatoes
93
Ulluco
105
Yacon
115
PART II
GRAINS
124
Kaniwa
129
Kiwicha
139
Quinoa
149
PART III
LEGUMES
162
Basul
165
Nuñas (Popping Beans)
173
Tarwi
181
PART IV
VEGETABLES
190
Peppers
195
Squashes and Their Relatives
203
PART V
FRUITS
210
Berries
213
Capuli Cherry
223
Cherimoya
229
Goldenberry (Cape Gooseberry)
241
Highland Papayas
253
Lucuma
263
Naranjilla (Lulo)
267
Pacay (Ice-Cream Beans)
277
Passionfruits
287
Pepino
297
Tamarillo (Tree Tomato)
307
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PART VI
NUTS
317
Quito Palm
319
Walnuts
323
APPENDIXES
A
Selected Readings
327
B
Centers of Andean Crop Research
343
C
Research Contacts
347
D
Biographical Sketches of Panel Members
399
INDEX OF PLANTS
401
Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation
408
Board on Science and Technology for International Development (BOSTID)
408
BOSTID Publications
409
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Art Credits
Page
10 and 11
Narda Lebo
26
Jorge León
38
Marten Sørensen (plant), Jorge León (tuber)
46
Jorge León
56
Jorge León
66
MINKA (La Revista Peruana de Ciencia y Tecnología Campesina)
74
Julio Rea and Jorge León
82
MINKA
92
Scientific American, Inc., from “The Late Blight of Potatoes,” by John E. Niederhauser and William C. Cobb. © 1959. All rights reserved.
104
MINKA
114
Monique Endt
128
From W. E. Safford in Proceedings of the 19th Congress of Americanists, 1917.
138
Mario Tapia
148
Deborah Cowal
164
Rupert Barneby
172
From J. J. Ochse, Tropische Groenten
180
MINKA
194
Jean Andrews
202
Jorge León
212
Brenda Spears-Contee (mora de Castilla) and Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Zealand (ugni)
222
Monique Endt
228
From J. J. Ochse, J. Soule, M. J. Dijkman, and C. Wehlburg, Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture,
© 1961. The Macmillan Company.
240
Carole A. Ranney
252
Monique Endt
262
Universidad Nacional Agraria, Lima
266
Brenda Spears-Contee
276
Jorge León
286
Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 1844
296
Michael Hermann
306
M. Alliaume, Revue Horticole, 1880. Courtesy Lynn Bohs
318
Brenda Spears-Contee
322
Monique Endt
The small drawings that appear at the end of some chapters are redrawn from ancient pottery and artwork dug up in the Andean region.
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The face of the country was shagged over with forests of gigantic growth, and occasionally traversed by ridges of barren land, that seemed like shoots of the adjacent Andes, breaking up the region into little sequestered valleys of singular loveliness. The soil, though rarely watered by the rains of heaven, was naturally rich, and wherever it was refreshed with moisture, as on the margins of the streams, it was enamelled with the brightest verdure. The industry of the inhabitants, moreover, had turned these streams to the best account, and canals and aqueducts were seen crossing the low lands in all directions, and spreading over the country, like a vast network, diffusing fertility and beauty around them. The air was scented with the sweet odors of flowers, and everywhere the eye was refreshed by the sight of orchards laden with unknown fruits, and of fields waving with yellow grain, and rich in luscious vegetables of every description that teem in the sunny clime of the equator.
W.H. Prescott
The Conquest of Peru