A History of Agriculture in India v2.c72.s14: Potato

v2.c72.s14.1

The potato (*Solanum tuberosum*), a native of highlands of Chile and Peru, was imported into Europe between A.D. 1580 and 1585, first by the Spaniards and afterwards by the English at the time of Raleigh’s voyages to Virginia. It was introduced into India by the Portuguese in the seventeenth century. The first mention of potato in India occurs in Terry’s account of a banquet given by Asaf Khan to Sir Thomas Roe in A.D. 1615 at Ajmer. Now there are 400,000 hectares under potato cultivation in India.