Title: Tolerance of Some Tropical Root Crops and Starch-producing Tree Crops to Suboptimal Land Conditions
Abstract: A number of root and starch-producing tree crops are grown as staple foods by millions of people, especially in less developed countries in the tropics or subtropics. This chapter discusses the strengths of some tropical root crops and starch-producing tree crops as examples of the types of plants which are available and useful on difficult lands. Sweet potato is one of the few root crops which has been improved by plant breeding. The plantain is a close relative to the banana, but is grown for its starchy fruits which are known as "cooking bananas," in contrast to "eating bananas," the familiar fresh fruit of commerce. Plantains are grown on a wide range of soils, from calcareous coral-stone soils of the Caribbean islands to infertile ultisols. Sago palms are basically swamp plants. They grow in broad coastal swamps of the large islands of Malaysia, Indonesia, or Papua New Guinea.
Publication Year: 2015
Publication Date: 2015-10-26
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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