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How many of us have not heard that we owe potatoes to Peter the Great, who brought him to Russia from the then Europe, in which this root crop was still relatively new. There were even legends that in Russia, peasants were first forced to grow potatoes by force – a Russian peasant is used to turnips.
In Germany, they allegedly acted differently. Unknown the root crop is very valuable and banned the common people even approach. In this case, warehouses with potatoes by unwritten decree from above left without any protection. And the people instantly pulled potatoes …
But this applies to Europe. In the New World, from where it came to us potatoes, it has been grown for a relatively long time (from time immemorial years) and it was quite widespread. But here it’s not so. simply. The fact is that wild potatoes are known for their high toxicity. In order to make this root vegetable edible, it was necessary to reduce the content in it twenty times glycoalkaloids.
How did wild people manage to do this? How did they think, and then also carried out the selection of this culture, turning it into the most valuable food product? There are several hypotheses. According to the first primitive people carried out potato breeding for not one century, which is unlikely, since this does not require just know what to do, but also understand what of this at the end ends up.
It can be assumed that the potato itself mutated. It’s possible but it is unlikely that the question remains unclear how people in At that time, they realized that potatoes (some of its plants) did not poisonous? They should have known its toxic properties, know pretty good and practically avoid this plant. For example, we but we do not try periodically “to the tooth” a pale toadstool: has it not become is it less toxic over time? ..
And finally, there is a theory that breeding potatoes in New World by the local Indian tribes (in ancient times) someone helped. Who – to guess is not difficult. Are these helpers built pyramids, airfields and other wonders of the world on Earth, which still amaze our imagination. Amid these wonders magically ennobled in ancient times potatoes seem even something ordinary …
Time Pyramid Plants Russia