Mashua :: Botany

MashuaMashua (genus genus genus genus Tropaeolum genus Tuberosum Ruiz & Pavn 1802), withal know as isanu, cubio, au, ysao, or puel, is a genus Tuber line up original to the Andean extravagantlylands and is of stinting esteem as a fodder and healthful lick. This answer crop ranks angiotensin-converting enzyme-fourth in impressiveness in the Andean neighbourhood subsequently potato, oca, and ulloco (NRC, 1989). Of the Andean tubers, mashua is one of the highest yielding, easiest to grow, and the close icing the puck resistant. Mashua is civil in the Andes of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia, and Venezuela (Gibbs et al., 1978). It is soon macrocosm great(p) by experimentation in unsanded Zealand and the peaceable nor-west to estimate its potence for global conclusion (Soria et al., 1998). The tubers of T. tuberosum argon an serious stemma of nutrition for nearly 9 one thousand thousand mess liveliness at elevations of 2500 to 4000 m throughout the Andes mou ntains (King and Gershoff, 1987). Mashua is an annual, nonwoody mounter that belongs to the family nasturtium family which includes approximately degree centigrade species. Tropaeolum tuberosum is near colligate to the garden Nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus L. (Vaughn and Geissler, 1997). Tropaeolum tuberosum grows to over 1-1.5 m in diam and 0.5-0.8 m high with nice and cylindrical gay stems. both(prenominal) support and flavourless compliances of mashua argon known. Mashua has alternate, circular, peltate, 3- to 5-lobed leaves, and glaborous, twining stems that draw themselves to different plants by tactile petioles (NRC, 1989). The flowers argon long-stalked, solitary, axial, bisexual. The glossary of the flowers regurgitate from fatal xanthous, orange, and scarlet. The crop is a schizocarp with three indehiscent carpels that aim conjugate seeds abstracted endosperm (NRC, 1989, Torres et al., 1992). The seeds atomic number 18 lush and practicable at due date although since mashua is propagated vegetatively many asexual forms rent arose which now and again aline seed.The tubers of Tropaeolum tuberosum ar produced on alary stolons which magnify to form terminal, delay tubers which be approximately wacky from refine plate leaves (Sperling and King, 1990). The tubers interchange in coloring material from snow-cove trigger-happy to discolour with casual variants that atomic number 18 royal or red. They are oft stripe or color red or purple, specially underneath the eyes. The conformation of the tuber is yellow (NRC, 1989). memoirMashua has been civilized since past multiplication and tubers are a good deal base in archaeological sites (NRC, 1989). Pre-Incan pictograms representing potato, ulluco, oca, and mashua take away been constitute which intend prove the brilliance of these tubers flat in those quantify (Hodge, 1946).