Today’s Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants
will be presented
in Spanish,
with subtitles in Arabic,
Aulacese (Vietnamese),
Chinese, English,
French, German,
Indonesian, Italian,
Japanese, Korean,
Malay, Mongolian,
Persian, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish
and Thai.
Halo, creative viewers
and welcome
to our program.
The Republic of Colombia
ranks second in the world
in terms of biodiversity.
Amazingly
one out of every 10
of the planet’s plant
and animal species
can be found in this nation.
The country is
richly blessed in terms of
agricultural production,
being well known for its
coffee, cotton, sugarcane,
bananas and potatoes.
On today’s program,
we visit this splendid
South American jewel
to discover how
they grow and harvest
an amazing tuber
indigenous to the country,
the Corneto potato.
Although many different
varieties are cultivated,
the Corneto,
an ancient potato,
is exceptionally delicious.
Highly nutritious,
it contains many essential
vitamins and minerals
as well as dietary fiber.
Cooked, it has more protein
than corn and
nearly twice the calcium.
It is also very well suited
to certain parts of Colombia,
as it grows abundantly
in cooler climates and
at higher elevations, namely
between 2,500 meters
and 3,400 meters.
Let’s begin our journey
by hearing from
the Usme Local Assistance
Agricultural Unit,
which is involved
in reviving the cultivation
of the Corneto.
The city of Usme is part
of the Capital District
of Bogotá,
Colombia’s capital city.
We have been working
since last year
on the recovery
of native seeds.
We had a broad spectrum
of materials to recover:
we want to recover fruit,
we want to recover
some species associated
with cereals such as
quinoa and tubers.
We realized that
the diversity of tubers
was so wide that we are
now dedicated exclusively
to the recovery of tubers,
including the whole line
of Corneto potatoes,
a native Creole potato
that commonly occurred
in these areas
for many years.
So far, we have understood
that these materials
come from many, many,
many, many years ago.
We know that the natives
were cultivating it
when the Spanish arrived.
It is known
that they had these plants.
It is known that here
in the belt of Colombia,
Ecuador, and Peru
is the center of the origin
of these potatoes.
It is known that
this is where they began
to discover potatoes,
and after that they began
to take it to Spain
and other countries,
but the center of origin
of the potato
is the Andean region.
There are many advantages
to growing
this wonderful variety
of potato.
These plants have
the characteristic
that they have
a broad genetic base.
They are not
genetically uniform, but
are very heterogeneous.
And they are
very resilient to
environmental conditions.
What advantages do we
have with these potatoes?
We see that by using
a real good compost
with good nutrients,
they prosper very well.
They are more or less ready
within 110 or 120 days,
and they are very resistant
to plagues and illnesses
and also resistant
to the cold.
A good characteristic
of this (Corneto) potato,
that seems to me
to be very important
is that it has
a greater protein value
than the others.
The taste, one tries one
…a Corneto Pepina
(Yellow Corneto)
and one can taste
the flavor of a product
free of chemicals.
What we know at present
is these products have
more protein content
than the normal potatoes,
we’re talking about
the Pasto potato,
potato R-12,
the unique potato
that we find commonly
in the markets.
Potatoes are germinated
from an unusual type
of “seed.”
The eyes,
or slight indentations
in the potato,
are actually its “seeds.”
As a result, a piece
from a potato or perhaps
even the entire potato is
sown to create a new plant.
Let’s have a look at
how this crop is
carefully planted by hand
in the early spring.
As we already
have the land ready,
we’ll proceed with the hoe.
Ready? Let's go.
We make a hole
more or less
20 centimeters deep,
with a radius
of 40 centimeters
and a distance
of 80 to 90 centimeters
between the holes.
Then we proceed
to do the following.
Here we have three holes.
We will plant
three different varieties.
Then we proceed
to plant the seed.
In this case
we do not apply fertilizer
because we will be
growing them organically.
Here we will plant
a light red Corneto.
Here in this one,
we place a yellow Corneto,
the famous Pepina,
and then last here
we will add
a black Tocana variety.
So now we proceed
to cover it.
It has to be very uniform
to prevent the water
from getting in
and damaging the seed.
Finished! There it is now,
the initial seeding.
So now, all that remains is
to wait for it to come up.
And when it does, then
we do the first disinfection
with the nettle puree,
garlic or pepper,
according to the spot
where the seed was sown,
and the needs it has.
Under the warm
Colombian sun,
the seeds sprout quickly,
pushing the first leaves out
through the soil.
Then the crop
is carefully tended to,
by watering and watching
carefully for disease.
Before long,
the plant is flourishing.
So this is a plant,
about a month after
having been planted.
We must watch the plant
carefully.
If needed, we apply
natural bio-preparations,
natural repellents.
But what we have seen,
the experience
that we have had here,
is that the Cornetos are
a bit more resistant
to gout (fly) than the Creole,
or the ordinary
yellow potato.
After about
three and a half months
to four months, when
the plants are in bloom,
they should be harvested
when they flower.
The oval shaped tubers
are carefully dug out
from underneath the soil,
and then usually left to dry
for a short time
before using or storage.
Depending on the variety,
the potatoes can be
different shades
of red, yellow, brown, or
even black on the outside.
Here we have
the whole collection
of the red ones,
red Cornetos,
we have light red,
dark red, red cream,
red black, black,
black eyed cream,
black with cream,
and possibly other shades
that escape our sight
that normally grow
as we go on cultivating.
These are the red ones,
in fact here we find some
more intense (in color).
The red and another
more lighter (in color),
we have differentiated them
between a light red (color)
and a dark red (color).
And this is a black one
mixed with a cream color.
Look, this one is beige
meaning it still
needs to ripen.
Once they are harvested,
they are screened
and any one that may
have a seed disease
will be discarded.
Here we have
all our collection….
This one that we have here
is the Corneto
that normally
the agriculturalists call
the Pepina
and it is a Corneto
of yellowish color,
it has no other color.
Crop rotation
is a necessary practice
to ensure the potatoes
keep growing well
in the farmer’s land.
We harvest them,
take them out
and then choose
the large uniform ones.
We sort out the tubers.
We know that this is
in the nightshade family,
right?
So we should not plant
another sort of
the same species
but we should rotate,
say with lettuce, or
another distinct species.
If I keep planting only
potato in a given area,
the ground, first will not
produce the same,
because everything
gets depleted,
and the other thing is
that there may be
many guests, like insects,
fungus, and they will
already know that there
they have their certain food,
so to speak.
We are grateful for
all the dedicated farmers
who work devotedly to
plant, grow, and harvest
these highly nourishing
native potatoes,
and to the talented
Colombian cooks
who prepare them in
so many wonderful ways.
May all people on Earth
enjoy colorful and delightful
plant based dishes
in a peaceful,
vegan world.
Thank you for joining us
today on our program.
May humanity always
live in peace and harmony.