The Potato Crop: Management, Production, and Food Security (Agriculture Issues and Policies)

Currently, climate change due to global warming induced mainly by land use changes (i.e. intensified agriculture and deforestation) is one of the biggest problems that humanity must urgently address. Thus, promoting models of sustainable agricultural production that ensure food security, environmental conservation and livelihoods for local populations is needed. In this context, humanity has the great challenge of integrating agriculture, ecosystems, environment and people in the sustainable development scheme, especially with the focus on food systems that maintain a sustainable management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Fortunately, there are currently important advances in knowledge and technologies for the management of agrobiodiversity and agricultural crops of great economic and social relevance (i.e. wheat, corn, potatoes, cassava), which will be essential for future scenarios of environmental change. The potato (Solanum tuberosum) is the third most consumed crop that contributes to global food security. The potato continues to be recommended as a key food for human consumption, especially in the face of current population growth, related to problems with food supply, nutrition and food security, and also climate change challenges globally. Understanding how abiotic (i.e., climate, nutrients) and biotic (i.e., pests and diseases) factors and management (i.e., genetic resources, planting) determine production and crop growth patterns has been an important issue in potato crop research. Researchers on potato crops aim to improve agricultural resources management, breeding and seed potato production, post-harvest practices, storage, supply chain, and food security. There are also significant knowledge and technological advances in sustainable potato production systems that have remarkably improved potato yields. This book aims to publish an overview about the current state of the art for sustainable potato production systems and achieving global nutrition and food security targets. The chapters of the book deal mainly with theoretical and practical fundamentals on seed potato production, crop growth and production, postharvest and storage of potato tubers. This integrative and comprehensive review is an important contribution to the knowledge of potato crop management and conservation of potato cultivars in the current context of global climate change, hunger and poverty.