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Introduction: Intercropping of the potato in the tropics
Field Crops Research, 25 ( 1990 ) 1-2
1
Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam
Introduction: Intercropping of the potato in the tropics Enthnobotanical and archaeological evidence suggest that intercropping, the practice of mixing two or more crop species on the same piece of land, dates back to the origins of argriculture, when primitive peoples developed spatial and temporal control over their harvests through the scattering of seeds of various species (Anderson, 1952 ). Over the last six to seven hundred years, although dates are difficult to quantify precisely, there has been a trend in the northern temperate climates toward the use of single crops in fields and the use of single varieties of each crop. Today, farmers in developed countries are accustomed to growing crops in monoculture - a practice now primarily dictated by the demands of highly mechanized agriculture. This has had serious consequences in relation to rampant distribution of diseases and pests which thrive on genetic homogeneity, for example southern corn leaf blight on maize and the brown plant hopper on rice (Bull, 1982). The diversification of disease resistance through the use of multilines is one logistically acceptable approach in developed and developing countries to the control of pests and diseases (Dubin and Rajaram, 1982); other approaches relate to the use of integrated pest management, of which intercropping may be a component. Intercropping is generally not a practical solution to pest and disease control in developed countries, because the agricultural systems used rely heavily upon mechanization. In many countries of the developing world, the practice of intercropping is still very common, particularly in areas where small farm size and uneven terrain dictate a cropping-systems approach that is different from the highly mechanized systems prevalent in developed countries. In a general review of intercropping practices used worldwide, Francis (1986) pointed out that farmers capitalize, for diverse reasons, on the biological, social and economic benefits of this practice. This special edition of Field Crops Research provides an insight into these aspects of intercropping, but the focus is only on one crop, the potato (Solanum species). The papers in this issue are the result of a symposium, Intercropping with Potatoes in the Tropics, held in Kunming, China, in June 1988, and co-sponsored by the Asian Potato Association, the International Potato Center, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and other institutions in China. The authors provide basic information on the present status ofintercropping with potato, giving specific examples from contrasting agro-ecological zones. Their results help to unravel, in part, the complexities of intercropping systems involving the potato, and assist in the progress toward increased food production from land that is
0378-4290/90/$03.50
© 1 9 9 0 - - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
presently under cultivation. This collection of papers related to intercropping of an important worldwide food crop should be of value to scientists, first in developing countries to inform and assist national scientists in the application of economically feasible intercropping techniques that have practical value to their farmers, and second in developed countries to act as a valuable source of reference on the practical application o f intercropping when dealing with the issues of agricultural sustainability.
REFERENCES Anderson, E., 1952. Plants, Man and Life. University of California Press. Berkeley. Bull, D., 1982. A Growing Problem. Pesticidesand the Third-World Poor. Oxfam, Oxford, Great Britain, 192 pp. Dubin, H.J. and Rajaram, S., 1982. The CIMMYT's international approach to breeding disease-resistant wheat. Plant Dis., 66:967-971. Francis, C.A., 1986. Multiple Cropping Systems. MacMillan, New York, 383 pp. DAVID J. MIDMORE International Potato Center Lima, Peru.
1
Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam
Introduction: Intercropping of the potato in the tropics Enthnobotanical and archaeological evidence suggest that intercropping, the practice of mixing two or more crop species on the same piece of land, dates back to the origins of argriculture, when primitive peoples developed spatial and temporal control over their harvests through the scattering of seeds of various species (Anderson, 1952 ). Over the last six to seven hundred years, although dates are difficult to quantify precisely, there has been a trend in the northern temperate climates toward the use of single crops in fields and the use of single varieties of each crop. Today, farmers in developed countries are accustomed to growing crops in monoculture - a practice now primarily dictated by the demands of highly mechanized agriculture. This has had serious consequences in relation to rampant distribution of diseases and pests which thrive on genetic homogeneity, for example southern corn leaf blight on maize and the brown plant hopper on rice (Bull, 1982). The diversification of disease resistance through the use of multilines is one logistically acceptable approach in developed and developing countries to the control of pests and diseases (Dubin and Rajaram, 1982); other approaches relate to the use of integrated pest management, of which intercropping may be a component. Intercropping is generally not a practical solution to pest and disease control in developed countries, because the agricultural systems used rely heavily upon mechanization. In many countries of the developing world, the practice of intercropping is still very common, particularly in areas where small farm size and uneven terrain dictate a cropping-systems approach that is different from the highly mechanized systems prevalent in developed countries. In a general review of intercropping practices used worldwide, Francis (1986) pointed out that farmers capitalize, for diverse reasons, on the biological, social and economic benefits of this practice. This special edition of Field Crops Research provides an insight into these aspects of intercropping, but the focus is only on one crop, the potato (Solanum species). The papers in this issue are the result of a symposium, Intercropping with Potatoes in the Tropics, held in Kunming, China, in June 1988, and co-sponsored by the Asian Potato Association, the International Potato Center, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and other institutions in China. The authors provide basic information on the present status ofintercropping with potato, giving specific examples from contrasting agro-ecological zones. Their results help to unravel, in part, the complexities of intercropping systems involving the potato, and assist in the progress toward increased food production from land that is
0378-4290/90/$03.50
© 1 9 9 0 - - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V.
presently under cultivation. This collection of papers related to intercropping of an important worldwide food crop should be of value to scientists, first in developing countries to inform and assist national scientists in the application of economically feasible intercropping techniques that have practical value to their farmers, and second in developed countries to act as a valuable source of reference on the practical application o f intercropping when dealing with the issues of agricultural sustainability.
REFERENCES Anderson, E., 1952. Plants, Man and Life. University of California Press. Berkeley. Bull, D., 1982. A Growing Problem. Pesticidesand the Third-World Poor. Oxfam, Oxford, Great Britain, 192 pp. Dubin, H.J. and Rajaram, S., 1982. The CIMMYT's international approach to breeding disease-resistant wheat. Plant Dis., 66:967-971. Francis, C.A., 1986. Multiple Cropping Systems. MacMillan, New York, 383 pp. DAVID J. MIDMORE International Potato Center Lima, Peru.