Lost Crops of the Incas Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation (1989) / Chapter Skim
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Mashua
Mashua
Pages 66-73
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From page 67... ...
It is a hardy plant, and in the poorest regions, where pesticides and fertilizers are too costly to use, mashua is sometimes the prevalent root crop. Its tubers can be found in almost any rural Andean market.
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From page 68... ...
These healthy plants grow much more vigorously, and they represent a way for rapidly improving mashua throughout the Andean region.4 Other Developing Areas. Mashua will probably never be widely grown outside the Andes, but it is worth trying in other tropical highland regions (for example, the Himalayas)
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From page 69... ...
contained: 371 calories, 11.4 g protein, 4.3 g fat, 78.6 g total carbohydrate, 5.7 g fiber, 5.7 g ash, 50 mg calcium, 300 mg phosphorus, 8.6 mg iron, 214 micrograms beta-carotene equivalent, 0.43 mg thiamin, 0.57 mg riboflavin, 4.3 mg niacin, and 476 mg ascorbic acid. Information from J
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From page 70... ...
.8 Mashua traditionally has many folk-medicine uses. It is considered an anti-aphrodisiac and, hence, many Andean men recommend it for women while refusing to eat it themselves.9 Male rats fed a tuber diet showed no decline in fertility, but did show a 45 percent drop in total levels of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone.'° AGRONOMY Mashua is one of the common terrace crops of the Andes.
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From page 71... ...
,,.~ . Hi:' ~-~ LIMITATIONS Like arracacha, oca, and ulluco, mashua is apparently heavily infected with plant viruses, most of which are undescribed.'3 One recent test identified it as a carrier of potato leaf roll virus.
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From page 72... ...
The fruit (schizocarp) has 3-4 lobes that contain joined seeds lacking endosperm.
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From page 73... ...
Others may be yellow, orange, reddish violet, or dark purple, often stippled with bright red or purple dots and lines. Color variants are recognized by a number of native descriptive names, among them in Peru are yana-anu (black)
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