What is a hairy potato?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

October 10, 2001

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The potato, like most other plants, has to contend with its own set of pests as well as all those generalist "bugs" that will eat anything. The solanine, present in potato relatives, keeps animals from eating the plants, but insects are adaptable. Within a few generations, insects develop the ability to neutralize a toxin, ignore a toxin, or use it for their own benefit. The worst problem, though, the insects act as disease vectors. The beetle, aphid, or caterpillar spreads fungal rot, bacterial infections, or viruses.

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A wild Bolivian potato, Solanum berthaultii [soh lan' um ber thal' tee i], fights back with a vengeance. The plant is covered with two kinds of trichomes, tiny plant hairs. The tips of these trichomes secrete a thick viscous sugar compound that acts like flypaper. Small insects get glued to where they land; large insects get their mouthparts gummed up. Solanum berthaultii behaves like the sundew, but for now, there is little evidence that it is carnivorous since it does not digest the insects.

This hairy potato has a second line of defense. When aphids do manage to attack the plant, it releases with a pheromone plume that aphids find repulsive. This chemical cloud called (E)-beta-farnesene (EBF) is the plant's equivalent of teargas. Plants manufacture their pheromone plumes to be specific to the attacker; otherwise, they would also repel their insect pollinators.

Solanum berthaultii does not stop there. It has a built-in immunity to late blight, Phytophthora infestans, which wiped out the potato crops in Ireland. Once late blight is present in a potato field there is little a farmer can do except spray fungicides. And fungicides destroy beneficial fungi as well as pollute the groundwater.

All these wonderful defenses should make Solanum berthaultii a good candidate for hybridizing with the potato grown for food. Unfortunately, the defense genes appear to be linked to genes which cause poor crop yields. Geneticists are working on how to unlink these genes and reattach them to high-yield potato chromosomes.

The Centro Internacional de la Papa has a close-up photograph of the sticky trichomes of Solanum berthaultii. To view these tiny fly-papers, click on the link:

http://www.cipotato.org/market/Brochure99/world1.htm

killerPlants Tendrils: ~~1~~2~~3~~4~~5~~

Suggested Reading:

What twelve plants supply most of the food...? Plants that Changed History - Aug 21, 2001
Why should potatoes be stored in the dark? Herbal Folklore - October 8, 2001
What slave food is more valuable than Inca gold? Plants that Changed History - October 9, 2001
What was the great Potato War? What's in a Name? - October 12, 2001
What common food plant was used for hunting? Herbal Folklore - October 15, 2001
What toxic plant feeds 500 million people? Plants that Changed History - October 16, 2001
What plant was blamed for the deaths of children? Herbal Folklore - October 22, 2001
What Ice Age morning glory feeds millions of people? Plants that Changed History - Oct 23, 2001
How do sweet potatoes protect themselves? Renfielsd's Garden - October 24, 2001
Of witches, werewolves, and UFOs Herbal Folklore - October 29, 2001

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Selection Tip: when choosing varieties, keep in mind that “determinates” ripen over 3-4 weeks on bushy vines that usually need no staking. “Indeterminate” vines continue to grow and produce fruit all season until frost. The large vines need support. Comments: Plant outdoors after any chance of frost is past (may use Wall ‘O Water to plant earlier). When transplanting, set the plant deep, up to the first true leaves, by digging a deep hole or digging a trench and laying the plant on its side in the trench. The stem will develop roots along its length. Cultivate shallowly and frequently to control weeds. May mulch to control weeds and conserve moisture. Plants should be staked or caged to support branches and keep fruit off the ground. Plants can be closer together and will develop larger fruit. Prune by cutting out suckers (auxiliary shoots between the stems and the leaves) to produce larger fruit. Fruit also ripens earlier since the sun can reach it more easily. Fertilize at planting time. Water deeply, plants also respond well to trickle or drip irrigation. Indeterminate varieties are usually sliced. Determinate varieties are usually used for canning since they ripen at about the same time. Harvest by picking when fruit is fully ripe, flavor is better when ripened on the vine. If early frost threatens in fall, covering the plants with burlap or blankets at night may help extend the harvest season. Vigorous, indeterminate vines. Exceptional slicer. Needs staking. Low acid variety to please the palate.
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