From field to fork: the potatos journey

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From field to fork the potatos journey
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There are many varieties of potato, each with a
different taste and texture. Potatoes can be
divided into two different kinds, either waxy or
floury. The term waxy usually refers to a young
potato, while floury is an older potato
containing less moisture.
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Q Where were potatoes first discovered? A The
Potato has been around for about 6,000 years, and
was first cultivated by the Inca Indians in
Peru. The Peruvian Quechua language records more
than one thousand words to describe potatoes and
potato varieties. Centuries later, the invading
Spanish conquistadors had been on the look out
for gold and jewels - potatoes became one of
the exotic finds they brought back to Europe to
impress royalty in 1536. (Key Stage 1 History
4a Key Stage 2 History 4a b) Q Which of the
following European countries Italy, UK, Ireland,
France, Germany, Portugal, consumes the most
potatoes each year? A Portugal! (Ireland is
the second highest consumer with the UK
third). (Key Stage 1 Geography 1a b Key Stage
2 Geography 1a b)
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Small Group Work (15 20 mins) Key
Question What varieties of potato are there and
what can you do with them? Activity 1 Can you
work out which of the following names are
varieties of potato and which are types of
bread? Place a 4 against those names you think
are varieties of potato and a 8 against those
that you dont think are potatoes. How many
did you answer correctly? (Key Stage 1
Design Technology 4a 5a Key Stage 2 Design
Technology 4a 5a)
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Activity 2 (30 45 mins) How do you like to
eat your potatoes? See if you can work out which
potatoes are best suited for either boiling and
mashing, roasting, baking, chipping, salads, or
for general use. If you think the potato
variety Wilja is best suited to roasting, place a
4 in the box next to the name or, if you think it
tastes better as a salad potato, place a 4 in the
box. You might think that some potatoes can be
used for more than one type of cooking, but we
are just trying to find out which potato variety
you think is best for each type of
cooking. The first one is done for
you! (Key Stage 1 Science Sc1 2a b Key
Stage 2 Science 2a)
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Activity 1
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Activity 2
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After cultivation a destoner is used to remove
stones from the seedbeds and create beds of soil
into which the potatoes are planted. As stones
and potatoes are often about the same size it is
important to remove them from the seedbed.
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Q What do you think the machine in the picture is
called? A Destoner (Key Stage 1 Science
Sc1, 2a. Key Stage 2 Science Sc1 1a, 1b. 2a,
2b). Q Why is it important to remove stones from
the soil? A To improve the growing conditions
for the seed potato. Too many stones would
restrict the growth of the tubers. b. When
harvesting, because some of the stones would be
a similar size to the potato, the harvester would
collect stones as well as potatoes. This would
require more labour to sort the potatoes from the
stones. (Key Stage 1 Science Sc1, 2a, b, c.
Sc2 3a. Key Stage 2 Science Sc1 1a, 1b. 2a, 2b,
2c). Q What do you think would happen to the
field if all of the stones were removed?
A Removing too many stones would reduce
drainage and cause waterlogging and potential
destruction of the crop. (Key Stage 1
Science Sc1 1, 2a, 2b, 2c. Geography 1a. 2a.
4b. Key Stage 2 Science Sc1 1a, 1b. 2a, 2b,
2c. Geography 1a, 1c. 2a. 3d. 5a, 5b.).
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(Initially 25 30mins)
Key Question What happens when you remove stones
from the soil? Activity Working in small
groups, you will conduct a series of experiments
to find out what happens to the soil when stones
are removed. First, you will need a tray (with
lots of tiny holes in the base) that is strong
enough to hold approximately 2-3 kilos of soil.
You will need an assortment of different sized
stones and 2-3 kilos of soil! A litre container
filled with water. A stopwatch. The tray should
be placed over something to catch any water or
conducted outside. Sift the soil to make sure
there are no stones in the soil. Place the soil
in the tray. The tray will need to be supported
about 30cm from the ground. One person will need
to be ready to pour water, from the litre
container, while another person holds the
stopwatch. When everyone is ready, start pouring
the water and start the stopwatch at the same
time. How long did it take for most of the water
to drain through the soil? Make a note of the
time. Fill the litre container with water again.
Mix half of the stones with the soil. Repeat the
litre container and stopwatch test, making a note
of the time. Finally, mix all of the stones with
the soil and repeat the test. Were the noted
times different? Why? What would be the
difference if you used dry soil for each
test? (Key Stage 1 Science Sc1 1. 2a, 2b, 2c,
2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, 2i, 2j. ICT 1a,1b, 1c. 2a,
2b, 2c. Key Stage 2 Science Sc1 1a, 1b. 2a,
2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h. ICT 1a, 1b, 1c. 2a,
2b.)
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Before planting, the potatoes (tubers) are left
to sprout (chitting). This process helps the
potatoes to grow faster and produce heavier
crops. Without chitting, the tubers may grow too
slowly.
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Q What do you think would happen if the tubers
were planted before allowing them to
chit? A The tubers would be slow growing and
produce a poor crop (Key Stage 1 Science Sc2
3a b c Key Stage 2 Science Sc2 3a b c) Q Do
tubers chit better in warm, dark conditions or
cold, light places? A The chitting process
works best in cool, well ventilated conditions
and not placed in direct sunlight. Ideally,
sprouts should be about 5cm long and dark
coloured. Long, thin sprouts are caused by heat
or too little light or both, while tiny sprouts
suggest conditions are too cold. Chitting takes
about six weeks. (Key Stage 1 Science Sc2 3a
b c Key Stage 2 Science Sc2 3a b c)
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Small Group Work (initially 25 - 30 mins) Key
question What are the best conditions for potato
tubers to chit? Activity The aim of this
activity is to experiment with different
chitting conditions and analyse the results.
Each group should have an equal amount of tubers,
various containers (plastic bag, egg box,
cardboard box, plastic tub, plant pot, tray) and
an assortment of packaging. Each group should
discuss the various conditions they can provide
to chit the tubers. For example, they might like
to consider keeping the tubers in the dark/cold,
dark/warm, light/cold, or light/warm. The group
should also experiment with the various
containers for chitting the potatoes. The
groups should check on their tubers on a regular
basis for sprout development, average length of
sprout, number of sprouts on each tuber and the
condition of each tuber, some sprouts may appear
more wobbly than others. The results should be
recorded over a six week period on the grid
below. (Key Stage 1 Science Sc1 1 2a b c d e f
g Key Stage 2 Science Sc1 1a b 2a b c d e f g h)
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Potatoes are usually planted in April into warm,
loose soil. The planter follows the beds created
by the stonepicker planting the potatoes into
rows, which are ridged. The ridges help prevent
the tubers from becoming exposed to light and
assist with the harvesting operation later.
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Q What happens to potatoes that are exposed to
sunlight? A Potatoes turn green due to prolonged
exposure to light. The green colour is due to
the presence of chlorophyll, which is a natural
plant pigment and is tasteless and harmless. The
chlorophyll is used by plants to turn the light
energy into food by photosynthesis. (Key
Stage 1 Science Sc2 3a b c Key Stage 2 Science
Sc2 3a b c) Q Can you eat green
potatoes? A The greenish colour, or chlorophyll,
is an indicator that an alkaloid, called
solanine, may be present under the skin of the
potato. Solanine develops in potatoes when they
are exposed to light (which also encourages
chlorophyll formation). Although it is toxic,
it would take a very large number of green
potatoes to make you ill. (Key Stage 1
Science Sc4 1d 2a Key Stage 2 Science Sc4 1d 2a)
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Small Group Work (15 - 25 mins) Key
Question Does the colour or shape of a potato
make it more or less desirable? Activity You
will need portions of previously prepared mashed
potato, defrosted oven chips, and 15-20 peeled,
small potatoes. You will also need a selection of
food colourings and small containers. Divide the
potato selection equally amongst the groups. Ask
each group to discuss which colours to use for
the different potato dishes. They might like to
consider dividing each potato dish into two or
three separate portions and using a different
colour for each portion. For example, the mashed
potato might have one portion coloured blue,
another green and a third red. Once each group
has completed colouring their potato dishes, ask
them to label each coloured potato dish. Each
group will require pen and paper. The groups are
then to visit each others coloured potato dishes
and comment on the coloured potato dishes,
answering the following questions Would you eat
this potato dish? Why? What were your first
thoughts on seeing the potatoes coloured in this
way? Why does colour make a difference to the way
we think about food? (Key Stage 1 Science Sc1
1 2a b c d e f h j Key Stage 2 Science Sc1 1 2a
b c d e f h i j)
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Underground tubers grow to about 7cm long and
swelling to 4cm wide on average. They have a
white, pinkish red skin depending on variety, and
have a white flesh. The soil is earthed up as
they grow leaving a small amount of foliage
showing. This helps stop the potatoes going
green, weeds growing, and protects against frost.
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Q Why is it important to earth up the growing
potatoes? A To help prevent blight (disease),
weeds growing and the potatoes going green. Both
weeds and blight would reduce the amount of
potatoes grown (yield), while potatoes that have
green colouring are usually discarded. (Key
Stage 1 Science Sc2 3a b c Key Stage 2 Science
Sc2 3a b c) Q Are there any other ways of
helping to prevent weeds, blight and potatoes
turning green? A Straw is sometimes spread over
the emerging potatoes to prevent weeds growing
and help stop blight. Other times plastic or
fabric sheets are spread over the flowering
plants, which also helps protect against
frost. (Key Stage 1 Science Sc1 1 2a Key Stage
2 Science Sc1 1 2 a)
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Group Work (initially 30 45 mins) Key
Question What material or substance is the most
suitable for preventing weeds? Activity You will
need a selection of different materials. For
example cardboard, carpet, clear/black plastic
sheet, newspaper, chipboard and straw. Each piece
of material should be approximately 30x30 cm. For
this activity you will need to have access to a
section of neglected or unused garden or lawn.
Place each of the materials on a section of the
garden or lawn, using stones or wooden pegs to
stop the material moving. The pupils should make
a note of the date, weather conditions and season
that the activity started and suggest which
material they think will be the most successful
in preventing weeds growing. The pupils should
check the materials each week, making a note of
the condition of the material, weather conditions
and what is happening under the material. After
an agreed time period, possibly 3-4 weeks, the
pupils should make a final examination of the
materials and judge which has been the most
successful in preventing weeds. A graph could be
made showing how successful each material was in
preventing weeds and what happened to the
materials during the experiment. For instance,
did the weather have any impact on the condition
of the materials? (Key Stage 1 Science Sc1 1
2a b c d e f g h Key Stage 2 Science Sc1 1 2a b
c d e)
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The potatoes have a small white or pink flower
and develop a small green tomato-like fruit that
is poisonous to eat.
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Q Why do potatoes have brightly coloured
flowers? A Coloured flowers attract insects such
as bees which then help pollinate the plant.
(Key Stage 1 Science Sc2 3a b c Key Stage 2
Science Sc2 3a b c) Q How do insects and bees
pollinate the plant? A The insects and bees,
attracted to the plant by the flowers, crawl
inside the flower for the sweet nectar usually
deep inside the flower. As the bee searches
inside for the nectar, it gets covered with
yellow pollen. Its likely that the bee will fly
to many flowers of the same type of plant during
the day, pollinating them one by one. (Key
Stage 1 Science Sc2 c Key Stage 2 Science Sc2 c)
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Individual work 10 15 mins Key Question Can
you name the different parts of a
flower? Activity Name the different parts of
a potato flower by selecting titles from the list
below Petal Stigma Style Pedicel Anther
Sepal Filament Ovary Receptacle (Key
Stage 1 3a b c Key Stage 2 Science Sc2 3a b c)
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The parts of a potato flower.
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A harvesting machine does the job of lifting and
separating the potato from the soil. Some
potatoes will be sold immediately and others will
be stored so they are available all year round.
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Q How were potatoes harvested before the
invention of tractors or machinery? A At first,
labourers harvested potatoes by hand carrying
sacks around their waist. Later, horses were
used to pull specially designed potato digging
equipment. (Key Stage 1 History 2a 3
4a Key Stage 2 History 3 5a) Q Can machines
carry out all the jobs involved in the potato
harvest? A Commercial harvesting is usually done
by potato harvesters, which scoop up the plant
and the surrounding soil. The harvester then
separates the potatoes from the plant and then
workers sort out plant material, stones, and
rotten potatoes before the potatoes are
delivered on a conveyor belt to a truck.
(Key Stage 1 History 2a b Key Stage 2
History 2c d)
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Small Group Work 25 30 mins Key Question Does
rainfall make any difference to the amount of
potatoes harvested? Activity Working in small
groups the pupils are to produce a line graph
using the information supplied. The design and
type of the graph is to be decided by the pupils
with the appropriate key and colours used to
identify the data. Once the graphs have been
produced, the pupils should try and answer the
following questions Which year produced the
most potatoes? Which year produced the least
amount of potatoes? Does rainfall make any
difference to the amount of potatoes
produced? Why do you think this happens? (Key
Stage 1 Geography 4a b Key Stage 2 History 4a b)
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Data Potato Crop (1000kg per 10,000sq metres)
Rainfall (mm)
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The first earlies are usually harvested by the
middle of July. In August the second earlies are
being harvested. Potato picking is now mechanised
with machines lifting and off-loading the crop in
one operation.
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Q Can potatoes grow in any type of soil? A The
ideal soil for growing potatoes is sandy, well
drained and having lots of nutrients. Poorly
drained soil will cause the seed potatoes to rot
before they sprout. (Key Stage 1 Geography 1a
Key Stage 2 Geography 1a) Q Do potatoes
need to be planted in a field to
grow? A Although commercially grown potatoes are
planted in fields, there are lots of other ways
to grow potatoes. You can use buckets, tubs,
boxes, bags and bin liners. (Key Stage 1
Science Sc2 3a Key Stage 2 Science Sc2 3a)
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Small Group Work initially 35 45 mins Key
question What is the best way to grow potatoes on
a small scale? Activity You will need a large
bag of seed potatoes, egg boxes, potting compost
and several types of container for growing the
potatoes. Each group will decide which type of
container to use for growing their potatoes.
The potatoes should be placed in an egg box with
the eyes (a bud on the potato tuber) up, the baby
shoots will grow from the eyes. Then, place them
in a cool but light place until they begin to
shoot and show little green fat leaves. Fill the
chosen container one-third full of soil and make
a few holes with a pencil in the bottom, so that
water can drain away and the soil does not become
waterlogged. Plant 2 or 3 potatoes in the
container, with the shoots pointing upwards.
Cover with potting compost so that the container
is half-full. Give the container a good watering
and place it outside in a sheltered place. When
the shoots are 15-30cm tall, you can add more
compost until the container is completely full.
This is called earthing-up and it encourages the
potatoes to make more stems, and more potatoes,
as well as stopping light reaching the potatoes
that have already formed. The potatoes can be
harvested about 10-12 weeks after planting. Which
type of container produced the most
potatoes? (Key Stage 1 Sc2 3a b c Key Stage
2 Science Sc2 3a b c)
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Potatoes are grown in rotation and do not come
back to the same field for at least 5 years. If
potatoes are grown more regularly, damaging pests
might build up in the soil and destroy a crop.
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Q Why is it important to grow crops in
rotation? A Crops are grown in rotation to avoid
particular pests and diseases developing in the
soil and spoiling the crops. (Key Stage 1
Science Sc1 2a Key Stage 2 Science Sc1
2a) Q Why is soil so important? A Plants need
soil to grow properly. Soil is where minerals,
water and air are worked on by micro-organisms
to provide the right conditions for plants to
grow. (Key Stage 1 2a Key Stage 2 Science
Sc1 2a)
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Small group Work 20 25 mins Key Question Are
there different types of soil? Activity You will
need to collect soil from a variety of locations,
ensuring that you have as many different types of
soil as possible. Place a selection of soil types
into small containers and distribute amongst the
groups. Each group should add sufficient amount
of water to be able to knead the soil into
shapes. The groups should try and mould each
soil sample into one of the shapes listed below
to identify the soil type. Shape Type of
soil Cone Sand Ball Loamy
sand Worm Loam Cracked worm Clay
loam Smooth worm Clay What soils did the
groups identify? Were the soil types different in
any other way? For example, colour, smell, size
of granules? Did some of the soil types dry out
quicker than others? (Key Stage 1 Science Sc1
2a b e f Key Stage 2 Science Sc1 2a b c d)