Chinese scientists study potatoes of the future - Extreme weather conditions threaten food security, according to research
At a research facility northwest of Beijing, molecular biologist Li Jieping and his team are harvesting a batch of seven extremely small potatoes from a potted plant.
Grown in conditions that simulate the warmer temperatures predicted at the end of the century, potatoes offer an ominous sign of future food security. At just 136 grams, the tubers weigh less than half the weight of a typical potato in China, where the most popular varieties are often twice the size of a baseball.
China is the world's largest producer of potatoes, which are essential to global food security because of their high yield compared to other major crops. But they are particularly sensitive to heat, and climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions, is pushing temperatures higher while also exacerbating droughts and floods.
With the urgent need to protect food supplies, Li, a researcher at the International Potato Center in Beijing, is leading a three-year study on the effects of higher temperatures on the vegetable. His team is focusing on China's two most common varieties. The difference of a few degrees Celsius "had a significant impact on yield," Li said.
His team cultivated the crops over three months in a chamber set at 3°C above the current average temperature in northern Hebei and Inner Mongolia, the highest-altitude provinces where potatoes are typically grown in China.
Their research, published in the journal Climate Smart Agriculture this month, found that higher temperatures sped up tuber growth by 10 days but cut potato yields by more than half.
According to a United Nations report published in October, the world will face warming of up to 3.1°C above pre-industrial levels by 2100, following current climate policies. Farmers in China say they are already feeling the effects of extreme weather events. They are increasingly looking for potato varieties that are higher yielding and less susceptible to disease that thrive in warm, humid conditions.
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