Varieties of Venezuelan potato

Abstract

The potato is the fourth most important food crop in the world, after wheat, rice and corn. In Venezuela, it ranks eighth in production and first in roots and tubers, contributing 50% of total production (Mora and Rojas, 2007). The main producing states are Mérida, Trujillo, Táchira and Lara, however, the Venezuelan Andean region produces 83% of the country's potato production. The harvested area for 2013 was 17,458.38 hectares (Mérida: 10,827.51, Trujillo: 3,229.05 and Táchira: 3,401.82); with a production of 374,125, 80 tons, and average yields of 16 to 27 t ha-1 (Statistics of the Ministry of Popular Power for Agriculture and Land, MPPAT, 2013).