LOST CROPS OF THE INCAS Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation National Research Council, 1989 NotebookLM-ready text extracted from the supplied scanned PDF. Original OCR errors have been preserved. ===== PDF PAGE 1 ===== [No extractable text on this scanned page.] ===== PDF PAGE 2 ===== [No extractable text on this scanned page.] ===== PDF PAGE 3 ===== REFERENCE COP^, FOR LIBRARY USE OtiiJ Lost Crops of tke I ncas Little- Known Plants of tke Andes witk Iromise for Worldwide Cultivation PROPERTY OF NRC LIBRARY SEP 2 ^ 1989 Report of an Ad Hoc lanel of tke Advisory Committee on leeknologv Innovation Doard on Science and lecknology^ (or Inter nationed Development National Researok Council National Academy Iress \\asii m^ton, D.C. 1989 Copyrighted material ===== PDF PAGE 4 ===== NOTICE: The project that i*> the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research CounciK whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academ\ of Engineering, and the institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competence and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of hngineenng, and the institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863. the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advismg the tederai government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Mediae was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and. upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad commimity of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academv of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research r^uncil. The Board on Science and Technology for International Development (BOSTID) of the Office of International Affairs addresses a range of issues arising from the ways in which science and technology in developing countries can stimulate and complement the complex processes of social and economic development. It oversees a broad program of bilateral workshops with scientific organizations in developing countries and conducts special studies. BOSTID's Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation publishes topical reviews of technical processes and biological resources of potential importance to developing countries. This report has been prepared by an ad hoc advisory panel of the Advisory Committee on Technology innovation. Board on Science and Technology for International Devel- opment, Office of International Affairs, National Research Council. Program costs were provided by the Jesse Smith Noyes Foundation. Staff support was funded by the Office of the Sdmce AdviaiM', Agency for International Development, under Grant No. DAN 5538-G-SS-I023-00. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 89-42566 ISBN 0'309^264-X Copyrighted material ===== PDF PAGE 5 ===== Panel on Lost Crops of the Incas Hugh Popenoe, Interaational Program in Agriculture* University of Florida, Gainesville, Chairman Steven R. King, Latin America Science Program, The Nature Conservancy, Rosslyn, Virginia Jorge Le6n, Plant Genetics Resource Center, Centro Agron6mica Tropical de Investigacidn y £nsenanza (CAT1£) (retired), San Jos6, Costa Rica Luis Sumar Kaunowski, Centro de Investigadones de Cultivos Andinos, Universidad Nacional T^cnica del Altiplano, Cuzco, Peru Noel D. Vietmeyer. Senior Program Officer, Inca Crops Study Director and Scientific Editor Mark Dafforn, Staff Associate National Research Council Staff F. R. RUSKIN. BOSTID Editor Mary Jane Engquist. Stoff Associate EUZABETH MOUZON, Sefdor Secretary Front cover: pepino (Turner and Growers) Back cover: quinoa (S. King) i Copyrighted material ===== PDF PAGE 6 ===== This hook is dedicated to the memory of Martin Cardenas Hermosa (1899-1973). outstanding botanist. Quechua scholar, historian, and a pioneer advocate of Andean crops. He was horn of Indian parents and became Rector (President) of the Universidad Autonoma de Cochabamba, Bolivia. Cardenas was friend and advisor to innumerable horticulturists and botanists from many countries. He enhanced gardens around the world with his generous samples of the rich and varied flora of the Andes. A wise and tireless researcher and traveler whom all remember with affection, he published a large number of articles and two books. His 1969 Manual de Plantas Econdmicas de Bolivia now unfortunately — out of print is the most comprehensive review of useful Andean plants ever made. Cardenas left his herbarium containing about 6.500 Bolivian specimens — — many originally described by him to the Universidad de Tucumdn. and his home and library in Cochabamba to the local university for the use of researchers. ===== PDF PAGE 7 ===== Preface The primary purpose here is to draw attention to overlooked food crops of the Andes. The crops are not truly lost; indeed, most are well known in many areas of the Andes, especially among Indian groups. It is to the mainstream of international science and to people outside the Andes that they are "lost." Moreover, most of these crops were developed by ancient Indian tribes and were established foods long before the beginning of the Inca Empire about 1400 AD. For all that, however, it was the incas who, by the time of the Spanish Conquest, had brought these plants to their highest state of development and, in many cases, had spread them throughout the Andean region. It should be understood that we are not the first to appreciate the potential of these crops. Several agronomists and ethnobotanists many of them working in the Andes—have begun preserving what remams of these traditional Indian foods. Indeed, a handful of dedicated Andean researchers have studied these plants intensively, and have struggled for decades to promote them in the face oi deeply ingrained prejudices in fovor of European food. Moreover, their efforts have sparked interest outside the region. Some of the plants are already showing promise in exploratory trials in other tropical highlands as well as in more temperate zones. For instance, cultivation of quinoa (a grain) has begun in the United States, oca (a tuber) is an increasingly popular food with New Zealanders, tarwi (a grain legume) is stimulating attention in Eastern Europe, and cherimoya (a fruit) has long been an important crop in Spain. This study had its origins in a 1984 seminar held at the National Research Council.' Subsequently, the staff mailed questionnaires to about 200 plant scientists worldwide requesting nominations of under- exploited Andean crop species for inclusion in this report. The result was a flood of suggestions and information thai was fashioned into a first draft of this book. Each of the first-draft chapters was then mailed back to the original contributors as well as to other experts identified by the staff. As a result, several thousand suggestions for corrections ' The pafticipants included GJ, Anderson, T. Brown, F. Caplan, D. Cusack, D.W. Gade, C.B. Heiser, T. Johns, C. KaufTman, S. King. D. Plucknett, H. Popenoe, C. Rick, R.E. Schultes, L.L. Scbulze, C.R. Spelling, O. Ugem. and K. Zimmerer. V Copyrighted material ===== PDF PAGE 8 ===== vi LOST CROPS OF THE INCAS and improvements were received, and each was evaluated and inte- grated into the second draft. At the same time, a dozen or so additional species were included. Subsequently, all chapters were mailed out at least once more, and several thousand more comments were received and incorporated into what, after editing, became the current text. Finally, the panel and staff visited the Andes in mid-i988 to assess the accuracy and balance of each chapter. All told, more than 600 people from 56 countries (see Research Contacts) have directly contributed to this book. A few species — described capuli cherry and zambo squash, for example are not — Andean natives but are included because the Andean types have much to offer the rest of the world. This report has been written for dissemination to administrators, entrepreneurs, and researchers in developing countries as well as in North America* Europe, and Australasia. It is not a handbook or scientific monograph: references are provided for readers seeking additional information. Its purpose is to provide a brief introduction to the plants selected, and it is intended as a tool for economic development rather than a textbook or survey of Andean botany or agriculture. The ultimate aim is to raise nutritional levels and create economic opportunities, particularly in the Andes. The report, how- ever, deliberately describes the promise of these plants for markets in industrialized nations. It is in these countries (where a concentration of research facilities and discretionary research funds may be found) that many important research contributions are likely to be made. Because the book is written for audiences of both laymen and researchers, each chapter is oiganized in increasing levels of detail. The lead paragraphs and prospects sections are intended primarily for nonspecialists. The later sections contain background information from which specialists can better assess a plant's potential for their regions or research programs. Finally, appendixes provide the addresses of researchers who know the individual plants, information on potential sources of germplasm, and lists of carefully selected papers that provide more detail than can be presented here. Because these plants are so little studied, the literature on them is often old, difficult to find, or available only locally. This is unfortunate, and we hope that this book will stimulate monographs on each of the species. This book has been produced under the auspices of the Advisory Committee on Technology Innovation (ACTI) of the Board on Science and Technology for International Development. National Research Council. ACTI is mandated to assess innovative scientific and tech- nological advances, particularly emphasizing those appropriate for developing countries. Since its founding in 1971 it has produced almost , 40 reports identifying unconventional scientific subjects of promise for Copyrighted material ===== PDF PAGE 9 ===== PREFACE Vll Ploited food plants arl "ealing with underex- ^"""^'-^'/"^ "'e Future (1979) l Ed:,,": S nTw' ^JT"'' • ^^"ronth: Modern Prospects for '-"f- an Ancient Crop (1983) (Second • Qualtly.Protein Maize 1988) ( ' • W„c«/... A Prontisin, Addition to the World's Cereal Grains i.s?oirAlttV- ir^V'r r'^V-'"''"'^'' '"e success of Soria. uXZ ZtiTw^XT'''' \r ^""""^ Kalinowski. Jorge ^'""""'^ Callaunapa, and staff of the Lmmo° nTcJ^ T°\'"vestigaciones the (INIAP). Agropecuarias froLtetal'„7LShfou'ncn P provided hy the iesr/^J^thX were provided by the Office nf tL s p^tr T sf^ff '"PP""^ ^^^^s i . International DevLpLnt How to cite this report- National Academy """"'"^ Pres^Washfng^r^^^^ Copyrigl ===== PDF PAGE 10 ===== Contents TNTROniirTION 1 PART T BOOTS AND TITRFRS 22 Achim 22 Ahipa 39 Anracacha 47 Maca 51 Mashua 67 Maiika 25 Oca 81 Pnfafnps 93 miiicn 105 Yacnn LL5 PARTTI GRAINS 124 Kaniwa 12^ Kiwicha HQ Quinoa 149 PART TTT T FGIIMFS 1^ Ba&llJ 165 Nunas (Popping Beans) 173 Tarwi ISl PART IV VEGETABLES 190 Peppers 195 Squashes and Their Relatives 203 PARTV FRUITS 210 Berries 213 Capuli Cherry 223 Cherimoya 229 Goldenberry (Cape Gooseberry) 241 Highland Papayas 253 I Aiciima 263 Naranjilla (Luio) 267 Pacay (Ice-Cream Beans) 277 Pa«t