HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Jerusalem artichoke (''Helianthus tuberosus''), also called sunroot, sunchoke, wild sunflower, topinambur, or earth apple, is a species of
sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
native to central
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. It is cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its
tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...
, which is used as a root vegetable.Purdue University Center for New Crops & Plants Products
''Helianthus tuberosus''
/ref>


Description

''Helianthus tuberosus'' is a
herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...
perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
growing to tall with opposite
leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
on the lower part of the stem but alternate towards the top. The leaves have a rough, hairy texture. Larger leaves on the lower stem are broad ovoid-acute and can be up to long. Leaves higher on the stem are smaller and narrower. The
flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s are yellow and produced in capitate flowerheads, which are in diameter, with 10–20
ray florets The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
and 60 or more small
disc floret The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
s. The flowers are briefly fragrant, giving off a light, vanilla-chocolate perfume. The
tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...
s are often elongated and uneven, typically long and thick, and vaguely resembling a
ginger root Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...
in appearance, with a crisp and crunchy texture when raw. They vary in color from pale brown to white, red, or purple.


Food use

The tubers can be eaten raw, cooked, or pickled. Before the arrival of Europeans,
indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
cultivated ''H. tuberosus'' as a food source. The tubers persist for years after being planted, so the species expanded its range from central
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
to the eastern and western regions. Early European colonists learned of this and sent tubers back to
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, where they became a popular crop and naturalized there. It later gradually fell into obscurity in North America, but attempts to market it commercially were successful in the late 1900s and early 2000s.Gibbons, Euell. 1962. Stalking the wild asparagus. David McKay, New York The tuber contains about 2% protein, no oil, and little
starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
. It is rich in the carbohydrate
inulin Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants, industrially most often extracted from chicory. The inulins belong to a class of dietary fibers known as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a m ...
(8 to 13%), which is a
polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...
of the
monosaccharide Monosaccharides (from Greek ''monos'': single, '' sacchar'': sugar), also called simple sugars, are the simplest forms of sugar and the most basic units (monomers) from which all carbohydrates are built. They are usually colorless, water-solub ...
fructose Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galacto ...
. Tubers stored for any length of time convert their inulin into its component, fructose. Jerusalem artichokes have an underlying sweet taste because of the fructose, which is about one and a half times as sweet as
sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...
.Levetin, Estelle and Karen McMahon. Plants and Society: 231. Print. 2012. It has also been reported as a
folk remedy Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
for
diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
: since
inulin Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants, industrially most often extracted from chicory. The inulins belong to a class of dietary fibers known as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a m ...
is not assimilated in the intestine, it doesn't cause a glycemic spike as potatoes would. Temperature variances have been shown to affect the amount of inulin the Jerusalem artichoke can produce. It makes less inulin in a colder region than when it is in a warmer region.


Etymology

Despite one of its names, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relationship to
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, and it is not a type of
artichoke The globe artichoke ('' Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green artich ...
, though the two are distantly related as members of the daisy family. Italian settlers in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
called the plant , the Italian word for
sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
, because of its familial relationship to the garden sunflower (both plants are members of the genus ''
Helianthus ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to ...
''). Over time, the name ''girasole'' (pronounced closer to in
southern Italian dialects , altname = , states = Italy , region = Abruzzo, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Marche, Molise , ethnicity = ''Mezzogiorno'' Ethnic Italians , speakers = 5.7 million , date ...
) was corrupted to Jerusalem. An alternative explanation for the name is that the
Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
, when they came to the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
, named the plant with regard to the "New Jerusalem" they believed they were creating in the wilderness. Various other names have been applied to the plant, such as the French or Canada potato, ''topinambour'', and lambchoke. Sunchoke, a name by which it is still known today, was invented in the 1960s by
Frieda Caplan Frieda Rapoport Caplan (August 10, 1923 — January 18, 2020) was an American businesswoman who was the founder of Frieda's Inc., a specialty produce company in Los Alamitos, California. She created the specialty produce industry in the ...
, a produce wholesaler trying to revive the plant's appeal. The artichoke part of the Jerusalem artichoke's name comes from the taste of its edible tuber.
Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...
, the French explorer, sent the first samples of the plant to France, noting its taste was similar to that of an
artichoke The globe artichoke ('' Cynara cardunculus'' var. ''scolymus'' ),Rottenberg, A., and D. Zohary, 1996: "The wild ancestry of the cultivated artichoke." Genet. Res. Crop Evol. 43, 53–58. also known by the names French artichoke and green artich ...
. The name ''topinambur'', in one account, dates from 1615, when a member of the Brazilian coastal tribe called the Tupinambá visited the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
at the same time that a sample of the tuber from Canada was on display there, presented as a critical food source that helped French Canadian settlers survive the winter. The New World connection resulted in the name ''topinambur'' being applied to the tuber, the word now used in French, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, and Spanish.


History

Jerusalem artichokes were first cultivated by the
Indigenous peoples of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the A ...
this extensive cultivation obscures the exact native range of the species. The French explorer
Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...
discovered that the native people of Nauset Harbor in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
had cultivated roots that tasted like artichoke. The following year, Champlain returned to the same area to discover that the roots had a flavor similar to chardCooke, Nathalie. Dickenson, Victoria. What's to eat? Entrees in Canadian food history. Montreal: McGill-Queen's U Press, 2010. 21-54. Print. and was responsible for bringing the plant back to France. Sometime later, Petrus Hondius, a
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
, planted a shriveled Jerusalem artichoke tuber in his garden at Terneuzen and was surprised to see the plant proliferate. Jerusalem artichokes are so well-suited for the European climate and soil that the plant multiplies quickly. By the mid-1600s, the Jerusalem artichoke had become a very common vegetable for human consumption in Europe and the Americas and was also used for livestock feed in Europe and colonial America. The French were particularly fond of the vegetable, which reached its peak popularity at the turn of the 19th century. The Jerusalem artichoke was titled 'best soup vegetable' in the 2002 Nice Festival for the Heritage of French Cuisine. The French explorer and Acadia's first historian,
Marc Lescarbot Marc Lescarbot (c. 1570–1641) was a French author, poet and lawyer. He is best known for his '' Histoire de la Nouvelle-France'' (1609), based on his expedition to Acadia (1606–1607) and research into French exploration in North America. ...
, described Jerusalem artichokes as being "as big as turnips or truffles," suitable for eating and taste "like chards, but more pleasant." In 1629, English herbalist and botanist, John Parkinson, wrote that the widely grown Jerusalem artichoke had become very common and cheap in London, so much so "that even the most vulgar begin to despise them." In contrast, when Jerusalem artichokes first arrived in England, the tubers were "dainties for the Queen." Lewis and Clark ate the tubers, prepared by an indigenous woman, in modern-day
North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
. They have also been called the "Canadian truffle."


Invasive potential


Biological characteristics

Due to its rapid growth and its ability to reproduce from buried rhizomes and tubers, the uncontrolled spread of the Jerusalem artichoke is facilitated. The vegetative propagules can be transported via rivers and water streams and begin a new population on riverbanks. Dispersal by animal is also possible, as animals feed on tubers and rhizomes and excrete the propagules in new areas. With humans' cultivation, there is also a risk of unintended escape of the Jerusalem artichoke into the wild. The reproduction of Jerusalem artichoke through seeds is also possible. Its relatively long flower period enables the plant to increase its reproductive potential.


Origins and distribution

Once originated in North America the Jerusalem artichoke can now be found in several countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In Central Europe it is one of the most expanding invasive plant species. It can grow in many geo-climatic regions and different types of soils. However, Jerusalem artichoke prefers moist habitats and seems to be less tolerant of dry conditions.


Suppression of native plant species

Because of its ecological and biological attributes, the Jerusalem artichoke is highly competitive with other plant species. For instance, the carbohydrates in the tubers serve as an energy source for rapid growth in spring . The plant expands rapidly and creates shading, which has a suppressing effect on neighbouring plants. Therefore, the risk of outcompeting and repressing the growth of native plants is increased.


Cultivation and use

Unlike most tubers, but in common with many other members of the
Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...
(including the artichoke), the Jerusalem artichoke tubers store their carbohydrate as
inulin Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants, industrially most often extracted from chicory. The inulins belong to a class of dietary fibers known as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a m ...
(not to be confused with
insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
) rather than as starch. So, Jerusalem artichoke tubers are an important source of inulin used as a
dietary fiber Dietary fiber (in British English fibre) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition, and can be grouped generally by the ...
in food manufacturing. Jerusalem artichoke can propagate with
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s and
tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...
s but the use of tubers leads to higher yields. For the plantation of Jerusalem artichoke the tubers are cut into pieces with three to five
bud In botany, a bud is an undeveloped or embryonic shoot and normally occurs in the axil of a leaf or at the tip of a stem. Once formed, a bud may remain for some time in a dormant condition, or it may form a shoot immediately. Buds may be spec ...
s that are placed in 5–10 cm depth in the soil. Jerusalem artichoke have low nutrient requirements and need less nitrogen than other energy crops. The competitiveness against weeds is high which makes the
weed control Weed control is a type of pest control, which attempts to stop or reduce growth of weeds, especially noxious weeds, with the aim of reducing their competition with desired flora and fauna including domesticated plants and livestock, and in natur ...
easier but also makes it harder to grow a new culture after Jerusalem artichoke since usually small pieces of tubers remain in the ground after harvest. Reasons for the high competitiveness could be the allelopathic effects, the high plant size and the rapid growth rate of Jerusalem artichoke. Crop yields are high, typically for tubers, and green weight for foliage. Tubers remaining in the ground lie dormant over winter and can handle temperatures as low as . Jerusalem artichoke also has potential for production of
ethanol fuel Ethanol fuel is ethyl alcohol, the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, used as fuel. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. The first production car running entirely on ethanol was t ...
, using inulin-adapted strains of
yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...
for fermentation. The tubers are used for cooking and baking in the same ways as potatoes, but unlike the potato, they can also be eaten raw.Have you heard about Jerusalem artichokes? https://hungry-pumpkin.com/post/have-you-heard-about-jerusalem-artichokes/ They have a similar consistency and, in their raw form, have a similar texture but a sweeter, nuttier flavor. When raw and sliced thinly, they are fit for a salad. Their inulin form of carbohydrates give the tubers a tendency to become soft and mushy if boiled, but they retain their texture better when steamed. The inulin cannot be broken down by the human digestive system but bacteria metabolize it in the colon. This can cause flatulence and, in some cases, gastric pain.
John Gerard John Gerard (also John Gerarde, c. 1545–1612) was an English herbalist with a large garden in Holborn, now part of London. His 1,484-page illustrated ''Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes'', first published in 1597, became a popular gard ...
's ''Herbal'', printed in 1621, quotes the English botanist
John Goodyer John Goodyer (1592–1664) was a botanist who lived in south-east Hampshire, England, all his life. He amassed a large collection of botanical texts which were bequeathed to Magdalen College, Oxford, and translated a number of classical texts ...
on Jerusalem artichokes: Jerusalem artichokes have 650 mg
potassium Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin ''kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...
per 1
cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
(150 g) serving. They are also high in iron and contain 10–12% of the
USRDA The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) is a system of nutrition recommendations from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) of the National Academies (United States). It was introduced in 1997 in order to broaden the existing guidelines known as Reco ...
of fiber, niacin, thiamine, phosphorus, and copper.


Use as forage

In former times, the Jerusalem Artichoke was used as forage for domesticated cattle, horses, and pigs. The Jerusalem Artichoke has valuable nutrient contents and various bioactive compounds, therefore, the Jerusalem Artichokes are used today as animal feed sources or for the animal health of several species. Pigs, for example, can eat the tuber directly from the ground or the green plant biomass (stalks and leaves) from the pasture  or the dried Jerusalem Artichoke. The washed Jerusalem Artichoke tubers can be fed to the most animals.
Silage Silage () is a type of fodder made from green foliage crops which have been preserved by fermentation to the point of acidification. It can be fed to cattle, sheep and other such ruminants (cud-chewing animals). The fermentation and storage ...
can be produced from the harvested stalks and leaves. The silage has high nutrient values and satisfactory digestion performance for ruminants. The high
inulin Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants, industrially most often extracted from chicory. The inulins belong to a class of dietary fibers known as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a m ...
content positively affects the rumen metabolism and microflora. Cutting the tops to produce silage greatly reduces the harvest of the tubers. There are also many other Jerusalem Artichoke products on the market, like supplementary feed for horses, dogs, and small animals.


Fermented products

In
Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, over 90% of the Jerusalem artichoke crop is used to produce a spirit called ', the German word for Jerusalem artichoke. By the end of the 19th century, Jerusalem artichokes were being used in Baden to make a spirit called "''Topinambur-Branntwein''" (Jerusalem artichoke brandy), "''Topinambur''" (Jerusalem artichoke), "''Topi'',""''Erdäpfler'',""''Rossler''," or "''Borbel''." ''Topinambur'' produced in the European Union and Switzerland must be made exclusively from Jerusalem artichokes, contain at least 38%
alcohol by volume Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
, and may not contain added alcohol or flavorings., §14 ''Topinambur'' or Jerusalem artichoke spirit
Caramel color Caramel color or caramel coloring is a water-soluble food coloring. It is made by heat treatment of carbohydrates (sugars), in general in the presence of acids, alkalis, or salts, in a process called caramelization. It is more fully oxidized than ...
is the only permitted additive. Jerusalem artichoke brandy smells fruity and has a slight nutty-sweet flavor. An intense, pleasing, earthy note characterizes it. The tubers are washed and dried in an oven before being fermented and distilled. It can be further refined to make "Red Rossler" by adding the roots of the
common tormentil ''Potentilla erecta'' (syn. ''Tormentilla erecta'', ''Potentilla laeta'', ''Potentilla tormentilla'', known as the (common) tormentil, septfoil or erect cinquefoil ) is a herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the rose family ( Rosaceae). Descr ...
, giving it a bitter and astringent taste and a red color. Red Rossler contains other ingredients such as currants, producing a
schnapps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to neu ...
with about 50% alcohol used as digestif and as a remedy for
diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...
or abdominal pain.


US marketing scheme

In the 1980s, the Jerusalem artichoke also gained some notoriety when its seeds were planted by
Midwestern US The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
farmers at the prodding of an agricultural attempt to save the family farm. This effort aimed to teach independent farmers to raise their own food, feed, and fuel. Little market existed for the tuber in that part of the US then, but contacts were made with sugar producers, oil and gas companies, and the fresh food market for markets to be developed. Fructose had not yet been established as a mainstay, nor was ethanol used as a main fuel additive as it is today. The only real profit in this effort was realized by a few first-year growers (who sold some of their seed to other farmers individually as well as with the help of the company attempting this venture). As a result, many of the farmers who had planted large quantities of the crop lost money.


Diseases and pests

Stem rot disease is caused by the fungus ''
Sclerotium rolfsii ''Athelia rolfsii'' is a corticioid fungus in the family Atheliaceae. It is a facultative plant pathogen and is the causal agent of "southern blight" disease in crops. Taxonomy The species was first described in 1911 by Italian mycologist P ...
'', which is one of the most important pathogens causing tuber and stem rot and up to 60% loss in Jerusalem artichoke yield. Growing resistant varieties is an important method of controlling ''S. rolfsii.''


References


External links


''Helianthus tuberosus''
– Plants for a Future database
Jerusalem artichoke
– Ohio Perennial & Biennial Weed Guide



{{Taxonbar, from=Q146190 Helianthus Flora of North America Plants described in 1753 Crops originating from North America Root vegetables Perennial vegetables Energy crops Pre-Columbian Native American cuisine