| Author | Content |
dave
Jacksonville, TX
(Zone 8a)
 April 14, 2008
5:50 AM Post #4805828
| There are a total of 695 votes:
| Potato
(112 votes, 16%) |  |
| Sweet potato
(85 votes, 12%) | |
| Corn
(212 votes, 30%) | |
| Wheat
(267 votes, 38%) | |
| Oats
(19 votes, 2%) | |
|
Previous PollsAnd the answer is wheat. It is cultivated on every continent except Antarctica |
boojum
Shelburne Falls, MA
(Zone 5a)
April 14, 2008
5:52 AM Post #4805831
| Wow! First to comment and I got it right, too. My first thought was rice. But it wasn't on the list of answers. |
grampapa
Wheatfield, NY
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
6:38 AM Post #4805871
| My first instinct was wheat and you'd think I'd learn to go with it. It got me thru school LOL. But I picked oats. |
Sundownr
(Bev) Wytheville, VA
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
6:55 AM Post #4805897
| My first instinct was wheat, too, then I thought of the push for corn with biodiesel, so I selected corn. I should know better as well, haha. |
bigcityal
Menasha, WI
(Zone 5a)
April 14, 2008
7:01 AM Post #4805914
| I got it right - didn't know for sure. |
melsalz
Mooresville, NC
(Zone 7b)
April 14, 2008
7:52 AM Post #4806030
| I answered wheat because I just drove through Ala/Tenn and stopped to snap a picture of this barn sitting in a wheat field. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
|
PosiePoker
Chickasha, OK
(Zone 7b)
April 14, 2008
8:05 AM Post #4806067
| I first thought about corn, as a result of all the focus on alternative fuels, and surely it's on the rise, but I figured wheat was probably grown world-wide, so I went with wheat. |
laurawege
Wayland, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
8:27 AM Post #4806129
| I have celiac disease so I know how hard it is to avoid wheat ! I figured it must be wheat lol
laura
|
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
9:36 AM Post #4806435
| SO DOES MY DAUGHTER, Laura. so I thought (hoped) it might be corn. Shows what a chump I can be. xx, Carrie |
saanansandy
Sue, RI
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
9:44 AM Post #4806470
| Couldn't decide between wheat or corn-guessed wrong! Oh well!
Sue ♥ |
Yuska
San Antonio, TX
(Zone 8b)
April 14, 2008
10:06 AM Post #4806606
| I got it right but it was almost a coin toss. I might have guesed rice had it been on the list. |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
10:08 AM Post #4806615
| Wheat is certainly not the healthiest choice from among those, do you think? |
chrissy100
Sydney
(Australia)
April 14, 2008
10:16 AM Post #4806654
| I voted wheat because you need so many individual plants to make up an acre of them ...I wonder about rice though ... even though it is not on the list surely that must be high up there too ... or is it not considered a plant? |
maureen1952
Worcester, MA
April 14, 2008
10:27 AM Post #4806700
| I chose potato. Hey, I'm Irish, what can I say? |
Dianesjungle
Lubbock, TX
(Zone 7a)
April 14, 2008
11:21 AM Post #4806957
| That was a tough one! Think of all the french fries & mashed potatoes we eat. But then all the bread products...Pure luck I chose the right one! |
enya_34
Madison, WI
April 14, 2008
11:35 AM Post #4807029
| It was not tough once you stop to think for a sec. Both corn and potato were not known in Europe until the discovery of the Americas. So it was a call between oats and wheat really.
This is a good question. It makes you reflect on the history of plants. I wonder if there could be a forum just for discussing the history of plants, their uses and place in different cultures. |
bgrumbin
Barstow, CA
(Zone 9a)
April 14, 2008
12:06 PM Post #4807173
| As with the others who "woulda" chosen rice if it had been on the list, I too chose wheat because it was the only remaining contender.
|
Shirley1md
Ellicott City, MD
(Zone 7a)
April 14, 2008
12:36 PM Post #4807302
| It was a toss up between corn & wheat. Unfortunately, I picked corn. If rice would have been available, I would have chosen that one. |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
12:41 PM Post #4807322
| Me too. |
Terry
Murfreesboro, TN
(Zone 7a)
April 14, 2008
12:55 PM Post #4807378
| I must be slipping...rice is such an obvious choice and yet I didn't think about including it when I was wracking my brain for possibilities ;o)
enya, thanks for the kind words - I try to come up with a wide variety of subjects for the weekly questions, but keep it balanced: some of them are "light and frothy" fun stuff, while others are meatier. Our hope is that each question leads to some interesting discussions, whether the subject is superficial and fun, or it lets you take a trip down memory lane, or you learn something about your fellow DGers, or explore a botany-related topic ;o) |
FlowrLady
Olive Branch, MS
(Zone 7b)
April 14, 2008
2:26 PM Post #4807777
| Wow! I guessed right... again! I'm getting to be a better guesser LOL |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
3:08 PM Post #4807937
| Terry, even if rice is included, is the answer still rice? xx, Carrie |
Terry
Murfreesboro, TN
(Zone 7a)
April 14, 2008
3:16 PM Post #4807964
| Uhhh, no - wheat is still the answer ;o) |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
3:19 PM Post #4807981
| Oh, well, I tried. : P |
SEYMOURBARTLETT
Boca Raton, FL
April 14, 2008
3:46 PM Post #4808081
| My first selection would be rice, but not on list The second was wheat. But I thougt oats was a sleeeper |
Resin
Northumberland
(United Kingdom)
(Zone 9a)
April 14, 2008
4:20 PM Post #4808254
| Would've been rice for me too!
Resin
|
Resin
Northumberland
(United Kingdom)
(Zone 9a)
April 14, 2008
4:24 PM Post #4808267
| Checked up, rice wins, according to FAO figures:
Rice 700 million tonnes in 2005
Wheat 626 million tonnes in 2005
Resin
|
Resin
Northumberland
(United Kingdom)
(Zone 9a)
April 14, 2008
4:26 PM Post #4808280
| And Maize comes in second at 692 million tonnes in 2005!
Resin
|
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
4:42 PM Post #4808360
| Maybe Terry was going by number of individual plants? Maybe it's changed, since 2005? (MacDonalds in every country, etc.) xx, Carrie |
AYankeeCat
Fairfield County, CT
(Zone 6b)
April 14, 2008
4:54 PM Post #4808411
| Well it's not sweet potatoes and that's what I picked! Maybe the world would be a better place if every one grew sweet potatoes!
The question is widely grown not volume grown. |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 14, 2008
5:07 PM Post #4808491
| People growing it? xx, C |
Willowwind2
Union, WA
April 14, 2008
6:30 PM Post #4808859
| I got it right, surprise. I figured it had to be wheat because it is and always has been a staple for the world. |
marie_
West Central, WI
(Zone 4a)
April 14, 2008
7:03 PM Post #4809008
| I would have also chosen rice if it had been an option, so settled for wheat. |
Terry
Murfreesboro, TN
(Zone 7a)
April 14, 2008
7:07 PM Post #4809047
| The question was: What is the most widely-grown plant? (Wheat may not be the top-producer, but it is grown in more places on earth; every place but Antarctica ;o) |
Resin
Northumberland
(United Kingdom)
(Zone 9a)
April 14, 2008
7:14 PM Post #4809072
| That probably is true, since wheat is lower-yielding than rice and maize (fewer tonnes grain produced per hectare planted), so there will have to be more hectares of wheat planted. Rice is however also grown on every continent except Antarctica; it is more widely grown than wheat in hot areas, but less so in cooler areas.
Resin
|
boojum
Shelburne Falls, MA
(Zone 5a)
April 14, 2008
7:27 PM Post #4809139
| Well, I for one couldn't set up rice paddies here. :) |
chrissy100
Sydney
(Australia)
April 14, 2008
7:33 PM Post #4809177
| Would you believe we sell rice to Japan ...because ours is ready in their winter and they want fresh rice ...I would not have a clue how you could tell the difference in taste but they can.
chrissy |
boojum
Shelburne Falls, MA
(Zone 5a)
April 14, 2008
8:43 PM Post #4809572
| Hey, if you ate rice everyday of your life you could tell! |
roybird
Santa Fe, NM
April 14, 2008
8:56 PM Post #4809682
| I guessed corn because in the U.S. it's All About Corn, especially with gas prices so high. |
embers7
Macon, GA
(Zone 8a)
April 14, 2008
9:39 PM Post #4810001
| Whoops! You can tell I'm Southern! I said sweet potato! |
pepper23
KC Metro area, MO
(Zone 5b)
April 14, 2008
10:07 PM Post #4810188
| I said Wheat. Wheat can be grown anywhere except of course Antartica. :~) It helps that I live in a farming communtiy. lol |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 14, 2008
10:50 PM Post #4810392
| My Uncle Nedbert has 70 acres of wheat fields on the Ross Ice Shelf. It's a tough, cold living, especially when he has to fend off the Leopard Seals and Emperor Penguins, who, it seems, would rather eat wheat than raw fish. |
McGlory
Southeast, NE
(Zone 5a)
April 14, 2008
10:52 PM Post #4810403
| I wanted to vote for grass. |
boojum
Shelburne Falls, MA
(Zone 5a)
April 14, 2008
11:08 PM Post #4810481
| Peaches are you pulling our legs?? |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 15, 2008
1:26 AM Post #4811031
| No, not at all. He grows Norwegian Ice-Wheat, a special variety that can grow with its roots in glacial ice. It's good for cold cereal, cold sandwiches, cold pasta salad, etc... |
jmorth
Divernon, IL
(Zone 5b)
April 15, 2008
5:55 AM Post #4811223
| That's one cool uncle. |
boojum
Shelburne Falls, MA
(Zone 5a)
April 15, 2008
7:05 AM Post #4811347
| Isn't the glacier dissolving? Have you visited him? |
dmdula
Morganton, NC
April 15, 2008
7:13 AM Post #4811372
| I choose corn too. Thought about the new demand for biodiesel. Oh well.. |
Hyblaean
Niles, IL
(Zone 5b)
April 15, 2008
7:30 AM Post #4811420
| [HYPERLINK@www.reuters.com]
:) I picked potato and was wrong. |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 15, 2008
9:06 AM Post #4811766
| Actually, contrary to popular "global warming" opinion, the Antarctic Ice Sheet has increased in size, due to increased snowfall and because that part of the Southern Hemisphere is generally too cold for widespread surface melting...The Arctic has lost 800,000 square km of ice, but the Antarctic has gained 1.8 million square km of ice.
Uncle Nedbert was banished to Antarctica by the French, for his belief in ice-field farming. |
Resin
Northumberland
(United Kingdom)
(Zone 9a)
April 15, 2008
10:09 AM Post #4812016
|
| Quoted: | | HYPERLINK@www.reuters.com ... "the potato is being rediscovered as a nutritious crop that could cheaply feed an increasingly hungry world" |
Some potential, but very risky . . . remember the history of the Irish potato famine 1845-1852. British-imposed taxes on wheat made it impossible for the Irish to grow wheat, so they turned to potatoes instead. Result: massive population growth from increased crop yields, then massive starvation when potato blight wiped out the potato crop. And potato blight is still with us. New 'blight-resistant' potato cultivars don't last long until the blight evolves the ability to attack them.
Resin
|
Hyblaean
Niles, IL
(Zone 5b)
April 15, 2008
10:26 AM Post #4812099
| Resin is that applicable to any 1 crop food source, or specific to potatoes? (student here, have no clue other than what I read on the internet) |
CapeCodGardener
Mid-Cape, MA
(Zone 7a)
April 15, 2008
10:30 AM Post #4812118
| I guessed "sweet potato" because it seemed so unlikely that it had to be true!
(Did that a lot on multiple-choice questions in school--didn't always work there, either!) |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
April 15, 2008
11:38 AM Post #4812472
| Yea! I never get these answered right but I know this one only because we are a family of grain and cotton growers. |
Kelli
Los Angeles (Canoga , CA
(Zone 10a)
April 15, 2008
12:24 PM Post #4812708
| I misunderstood the question. I thought that widely-grown meant the most volume or mass so I picked corn, but apparently it means the widest geographical distribution. |
Resin
Northumberland
(United Kingdom)
(Zone 9a)
April 15, 2008
12:32 PM Post #4812746
|
| Quoted: | | Resin is that applicable to any 1 crop food source, or specific to potatoes? |
Applies to all single-crop food sources, but risks do vary somewhat. Potato is at higher risk than many others; banana is another crop also at very high risk.
Resin
|
BAGTIC
Thayer, MO
April 15, 2008
1:03 PM Post #4812859
| Corn is also grown on every continent except Antarctica. Corn is probably grown in far more countries than wheat.
Is the choice of wheat as the correct answer based on the response to the poll or do you have an authoritative source? |
Terry
Murfreesboro, TN
(Zone 7a)
April 15, 2008
1:13 PM Post #4812895
| BAGTIC, at the bottom of the poll results is the "official" answer, which is where we list the answer to any botany quiz.
The answer was entered at the time the poll was created (months before the poll was launched), so it is completely independent of the results.
It was based on an independent authoritative source (and of course now I can't put my fingers on where I found it to begin with ;o) |
BAGTIC
Thayer, MO
April 15, 2008
2:00 PM Post #4813077
| Corn/Maize (Zea mays)
“Grown in more countries than any other crop…”
[HYPERLINK@www.sciencenews.org]
Cereal crops by production ranking
[HYPERLINK@en.wikipedia.org]
|
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 15, 2008
2:26 PM Post #4813166
| I would have voted rice first and maize second, had they been options. I also misunderstood the question and assumed it meant net production numbers, as in tonnes as Resin mentioned! Oh well. |
Terry
Murfreesboro, TN
(Zone 7a)
April 15, 2008
2:34 PM Post #4813194
| I still haven't found the reference that inspired the initial question (as best I recall, it was presented as a test or quiz question, and I thought it would be interesting as a multiple-choice weekly topic here.)
But here are a couple of authoritative sources:
| Quoted: | | Wheat is the most widely grown crop in the world and is produced under a wide range of environments (Hanson et al., 1982). |
From a 2002 FAO paper: [HYPERLINK@www.fao.org]
| Quoted: | | Wheat is the most widely grown crop in the world with massive importance for human nutrition. |
From Oxford University Press, reprinted online by PubMedCentral in 2007: [HYPERLINK@www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov]
It is a given that corn, rice and wheat are all very widely grown around the world, and we could probably pull up a bunch of sites and blow the dust off a slew of reference books that would give a variety of answers to this question, depending on the year, and the interpretation of the question ;o)
However, if it gets an interesting conversation going, the question will have served its purpose, regardless of the "official" answer, yes? |
Hyblaean
Niles, IL
(Zone 5b)
April 15, 2008
2:50 PM Post #4813248
| Terry- yes :D
Thanks for the explanation Resin!! |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 15, 2008
2:54 PM Post #4813263
| I wish I knew how to do that thing where you put quotes in a box...but I'm just not smart enough. |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 15, 2008
2:58 PM Post #4813282
| That's for sure, lol! I tried that too but it didn't work. I just tried highlighting the text and using "Copy and Paste". |
Indy
Alexandria, IN
(Zone 5b)
April 15, 2008
3:00 PM Post #4813290
| I guessed wheat as it is widely planted. "Widely grown" made it a choice between maize and wheat. Corn is likely raised on all continents but Anarctica too, but perhaps more thinly distributed. |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 15, 2008
3:02 PM Post #4813298
| I think you have to be some sort of software whiz to know how to put quotes in a box...I've spent seven hours straight somedays trying to figure it out and, still, have no clue.
It probably doesn't help I type at 7 WPM. |
Marcy_1
New Madison, OH
(Zone 5a)
April 15, 2008
3:10 PM Post #4813329
| Well I picked corn (wrong as usual) because around my area it's all about corn and soybeans! A few wheat fields, but not nearly as many as corn and beans! And I figured corn was used for many things too! Learned something new today! |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 15, 2008
3:28 PM Post #4813445
| To get the quotes-in-a-box, type[ quote ] (without spaces) and then paste in what you want to say, then end it by typing [ / quote ] (again without spaces). It ends up looking like this:
| Quoted: | | (without spaces) and then paste in what you want to say, then end it by typing |
Peaches, if only you typed @ 6 wpm like I do!
This message was edited Apr 15, 2008 3:30 PM |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 15, 2008
3:58 PM Post #4813604
| Yes, Peaches types way to fast I think! Thanks Carrie, I'll practice somewhere, lol!
This message was edited Apr 15, 2008 2:59 PM |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 15, 2008
4:03 PM Post #4813628
| HAHA! Nice try, Vanilla...let me see if I can do any better, with my somewhat limited intellect.
[ quote ] () Vanillaman has too much free time [ / quote ] () |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 15, 2008
4:04 PM Post #4813634
| Darn it! (slaps forehead). Stupid, stupid! |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 15, 2008
4:06 PM Post #4813646
| Quote () Vanillaman has too much free time / quote () |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 15, 2008
4:08 PM Post #4813660
| Aw, man...See, my computer literacy skills are bottom-rung...I'll D-mail vanillaman and waste his time trying it there. Thanks carrielamont, for attempting to teach the unteachable! By that I mean Vanillaman. |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 15, 2008
4:09 PM Post #4813664
| Never mind Pickett, you'll eventually get it, but this is not the place to practice. You're going to get into trouble! |
NWGordon
Snohomish, WA
April 16, 2008
12:00 AM Post #4815758
| I predict soy bean production to get as large as corn or rice. But wheat is the correct answer. And the US leads the way in world production. Our economy is every bit as dependent on wheat sales as oil. |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 16, 2008
1:15 AM Post #4815910
| Just to clarify/correct that NWGordon! The U.S. is the 3rd in wheat production and produces about half that of China. India is the second wheat-producing country. This link gives the figures in 2005, but the FAO has figures for 2006. Both China's and India's production increased, whereas the production fell in the U.S. in 2006. The statistics in 2005, according to world production percentages, were: China 15%, India 12%, and the U.S. 9%!
[HYPERLINK@www.gramene.org] |
Bookerc1
Mackinaw, IL
(Zone 5a)
April 16, 2008
10:26 AM Post #4816791
| I voted wheat, because I thought about how important breads are to so many cultures. Not that you can't make bread with other grains, but it seems everyone has their local bread that they specialize in.
Rice would have been my second choice, I think. Pretty key to an awful lot of cultures, as well. |
stellapathic
Cambria, CA
(Zone 10a)
April 16, 2008
12:01 PM Post #4817227
| Like those above with celiac disease, I'm intolerant of wheat. Not gluten, just wheat. It is in everything! Everywhere! I thought I'd see if I could avoid it by buying foods from other parts of the world. Japan has quite a few rice choices in pastas and breads but otherwise wheat rules pretty much worldwide. Even knowing that I probably would have chosen rice if it has been on the list, mostly because I wasn't paying attention to the term "most widely grown" and was only thinking in tons produced. This was a good one Terry. |
Ibuyblooms
Oakland, TN
April 16, 2008
12:22 PM Post #4817346
| Absolutely positive it had to be corn due to what I learned watching the dvd SuperSize Me. Wheat is probably not much better. |
Kelli
Los Angeles (Canoga , CA
(Zone 10a)
April 16, 2008
2:19 PM Post #4817801
| Corn is all over the place, not just directly as human and animal food, but also as corn syrup. Check the ingredients list on stuff. Corn syrup is everywhere. |
AnalogDog
Mountlake Terrace, WA
(Zone 8a)
April 16, 2008
10:46 PM Post #4820003
| I am not convinced that wheat is actually correct. I ran a search on Google, and found Potato is the most widely grown tuber, but was not able to answer that for the plant. I didn't dig too deeply, but I would love to have seen a link to the answer. |
Terry
Murfreesboro, TN
(Zone 7a)
April 16, 2008
10:59 PM Post #4820074
| Is this what you are looking for?
[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]
The FAO is pretty authoritative (probably as much or more so than wherever I found the question - and answer - originally.) But the answer may vary depending on exactly how you read and interpret the question, and what time period you're talking about.
That's the nice thing about not taking our weekly poll too seriously: we throw these questions out to get people thinking and talking about a subject - the conversation is way more interesting than who is correct ;o)
|
AnalogDog
Mountlake Terrace, WA
(Zone 8a)
April 17, 2008
12:29 AM Post #4820529
| Well, I found via Wikipedia that Wheat ranks #2, after Corn, and before Rice.
Wikipedia cites U. S. Department of Agriculture, Annual World Production Summary, Grains, . The data were retrieved on 4 September 2007.
That sort of throws a wrench in the works, eh? So who should we believe? |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 17, 2008
1:18 AM Post #4820748
| Wow, I'm totally confused now. This started out as being fun, lol! Unfortunately I have a very inquisitive mind too. Is there any way you can provide a link to that data you found Analogdog? I'm sure stats aren't set in stone, and depending on where you look and what report you read, you're apt to get different figures. Yesterday I was satisfied with what I found accidently when I was checking out the FAO site. Tonight I found a discrepency between those and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture figures, but could only find the stats for 2000/2001. Now I don't know who to believe.
I suddenly feel a headache coming on, lol!
vm |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 17, 2008
1:22 AM Post #4820772
| I said "corn" b/c, as we've said, corn syrup is everywhere; then there's ethanol. Corn is used as feed for pigs, which are consumed by you meat eaters. Plus, I've eaten the USA's GNP of popcorn just in the past year at the movies.
It sounds corny, I know, but I'm all ears at the movies. But, I do hate it when the picture is all grainy. I prefer it when the picture really pops out at you. And I always make sure to plant myself in the front row b/c I don't want to miss a single kernel of the story. I sit there like a vegetable. |
AnalogDog
Mountlake Terrace, WA
(Zone 8a)
April 17, 2008
2:09 AM Post #4820941
| V-Man, I actually included the links when I wrote that up, but somehow the forum nuked it all.
To the wikipedia entry:
[HYPERLINK@en.wikipedia.org]
The source page for the information they quote is:
[HYPERLINK@www.usda.gov]
|
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 17, 2008
2:16 AM Post #4820970
| Knyuck-knyuck-knyuck there, Jax4ever...I like the schtick... |
latelybloomin77
Kilgore, TX
(Zone 8a)
April 17, 2008
2:51 AM Post #4821079
| My guess was right. I 1st thought potatoes. But then I thought about how I learned about farmers in early school. Wheat was & I guess is very popular among farmers. |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 17, 2008
5:25 AM Post #4821162
| Thanks AnalogDog! I actually did find that Wikipedia page, but didn't read down far enough, and that is the Table that I found at the USDA, which is old data.
This is quite a sticky situation then (maybe from all the corn syrup)! According to those stats I was right by choosing Corn/Maize, but according to the FAO, I was wrong. I'm gonna call it a 50:50 tie and leave it at that, but I do agree with Terry that it's not about winning or losing, but rather for the fun of playing the game! It makes us think about the potato chips and french fries we eat and all the rice that's consumed in places like China, India, and Latin America etc. What's unfortunate is that there are still people on the planet who don't have enough to eat and we are at the mercy of things like floods and droughts in order to harvest bountiful crops! I think many of us here are very fortunate to be able to have gardens and grow fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as beautiful flowers to enjoy!
vm |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 17, 2008
11:30 AM Post #4822270
| The rub is in the symantecs. "Widely grown" could mean there's one plant in every country; there could be more corn or rice actually grown, but only in several regions of the planet. I'm sure potatoes do poorly in the tropics. |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 17, 2008
2:56 PM Post #4823204
| Just want to add something to that Jax, regarding potatoes. Could be semantics as well, but it's more like geography or topography lol! Many countries in "the tropics" can, and do, produce potatoes because they have mountainous regions or at least arrible land at high enough elevations to grow potatoes. I happen to live 10 degrees north of the Equator at an altitude of 1500 meters and I grow potatoes, asparagus, and strawberries in my garden. What is a bonus is that I also grow bananas, oranges, and mangoes!
You are absolutely right about the wording of the question that we voted on, ie: "most widely grown".
vm |
Cosmobetty
Wichita, KS
April 17, 2008
3:39 PM Post #4823348
| I should have known, coming from Kansas. |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
April 17, 2008
4:00 PM Post #4823412
| " Most people tend to think of climate change as something that will impact the future, but this study shows that warming over the past two decades already has had real effects on global food supply," said Christopher Field, co-author on the study and director of Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology in Stanford, California.
Lobell and Field studied climate effects on the six most widely grown crops in the world – wheat, rice, soybeans, barley, maize or corn, and sorghum, a genus of about 30 species of grasses raised for grain. Production of these crops accounts for more than 40 percent of global cropland area, 55 percent of non-meat calories and more than 70 percent of animal feed. " |
Cosmobetty
Wichita, KS
April 17, 2008
4:09 PM Post #4823445
| I just sign up today, and am still trying to find out what everything is. I dont really understand what a thread is. |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
April 17, 2008
4:48 PM Post #4823572
| You are on a thread now. Terry started it with the vote for fun thing.
There are many 'forums' from African Violets to Roses and on each forum people start a thread when they start a new subject. Each comment is a 'post' on a thread on a forum.
Do I have you confused?
******edited to say that I am wrong about this being a thread. The Voting Booth is actually a forum.
This message was edited Apr 17, 2008 4:54 PM |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 17, 2008
5:13 PM Post #4823697
| Vanillaman, my bad! As a geology nut, I forget that there are mountanous tropics! You get cooler zones as you go higher! I'm jealous!
If I dig a hole in my yard, can I grow mangoes? ;0)
|
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 17, 2008
5:23 PM Post #4823750
| Lol, I think that's entirely possible Jax, but you'd have to dig that hole pretty deep! We love our potatoes here too, and where would the local MacDonalds and Burger Kings be without them? |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 17, 2008
5:27 PM Post #4823764
| We always want what we can't grow!
Actually, my neighbor has geothermal heat for her house- just a hole in the ground w/ a pipe in it! Great idea!! |
Kelli
Los Angeles (Canoga , CA
(Zone 10a)
April 17, 2008
6:55 PM Post #4824103
| I suppose there could be some way to configure the data so that the African violet or some other houseplant was the most widely grown plant. Or maybe it is the dandelion or some other weed. |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 17, 2008
7:11 PM Post #4824158
| If the question had been open-ended rather than multiple-choice, I probably would have looked into all the grasses. I was amazed when I moved here not see any dandelions, lol! I hated those weeds, but we do have tons of plantains unfortunately. |
Samigal
(Pegi) Norwalk, CA
(Zone 10b)
April 18, 2008
12:03 AM Post #4825530
| I picked wheat and I'm a city gal. Surprised myself, but didn't we ship wheat to other countries. I figured if we could do that we must have an abundance of it. Sure do learn a lot of new things here. |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 18, 2008
12:22 AM Post #4825594
| I just looked up "agricultural output", and sugar cane is #1 worldwide, followed by maize and wheat. Of course, that wasn't the survey question, but interesting! And so sweet of me to point out!
I wonder which plant is the most productive crop per acre??? |
Hyblaean
Niles, IL
(Zone 5b)
April 18, 2008
12:37 AM Post #4825638
| I think that question would have to have qualifiers all over it, too. Productive as in gives the most product? Or Productive as in gives the best bang for the buck?
[HYPERLINK@cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu]
I couldn't find a more current stat- this one was 2000 and on a test at that- *shrugs*
found this article:
[HYPERLINK@query.nytimes.com]
Which has the right info (wrong century, but right info), but would love to see a link to just a plain table of crop production values and how much it got on the market in 2007 (averages, i know it fluctuates)
edited to say: And something that includes the whole world, not just US if available
This message was edited Apr 17, 2008 11:42 PM |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 18, 2008
2:35 AM Post #4825845
| The U.S. both exports and imports wheat from countries such as Canada and China. Go figure! I think it must be about the "bottom line"!
This message was edited Apr 18, 2008 8:44 AM |
Resin
Northumberland
(United Kingdom)
(Zone 9a)
April 18, 2008
7:19 AM Post #4826078
|
| Quoted: | | Or Productive as in gives the best bang for the buck? |
In terms of the highest cash yield per hectare grown, one hates to say it, but almost certainly Erythroxylum coca. And if not that, then Papaver somniferum.
Resin
|
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 18, 2008
9:46 AM Post #4826500
| And after those, the Saffron Crocus and the Vanilla orchid, lol! |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 18, 2008
11:48 AM Post #4827038
| I got my info from the Wikipedia's siting of the FAO:
[HYPERLINK@en.wikipedia.org]
I guess they ignore poppies! I wonder about the economics of illegal activities and how it effects "legitimate" economics. I wonder if there are economists who study this. It must be like studying a planet simply by the magnetic pull it has on it's sun- no direct evidence, but lots of influence on the mainstream. Jeez, this is getting deep...
Yikes- I just realized that the bug bite I had is actually a raging case of Poison Ivy! 1st of the season!!! (Poison Ivy must generate a small economy of it's own- on itch relief stuff that only works for 5 minutes.) |
Hyblaean
Niles, IL
(Zone 5b)
April 18, 2008
11:59 AM Post #4827112
| :D uhm, yeah... didn't think about it from that angle
edited to say: ouch!
This message was edited Apr 18, 2008 11:01 AM |
se_eds
Millersburg, PA
(Zone 6b)
April 18, 2008
8:23 PM Post #4829192
| I read that wheat prices are up 218% - Guess that is why some countries ( ie. Egypt) are having bread riots. |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 18, 2008
8:38 PM Post #4829250
| People in Italy are not happy about wheat prices either! |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
April 18, 2008
9:53 PM Post #4829586
| Trust me when I say the prices for farmers in the US is horribly low. We still have grain in silos from last summer waiting for better prices. Don't anyone ever complain about farmer's subsidies. |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 18, 2008
11:04 PM Post #4829871
| Hey, I heard one reason why wheat prices went up is because more and more farmers are switching to growing corn and other crops that can be used for bio-fuels or ethanol...just somethin' I heard...
Vaaannniiiillllllaaaammmaannnnn... |
gessiegail
Taft, TX
(Zone 9a)
April 19, 2008
12:05 AM Post #4830130
| They are growing corn for that reason but it is so stupid because it takes so much corn that it is economically not feasible. I didn't know that wheat prices were up considering how low grain prices are. That is a government deal that is wasteful but I will tell you where there is hope.
A lot of people here have been approached for those wind 'thingys' but right now the farmers aren't buying into the agreement they want to make. Well, some have signed papers but most haven't because they won't guarantee you that you will even have them on your land but you have to guarantee them access through your property to where the wind things are. They are all over west Texas and new to south Texas. |
Yuska
San Antonio, TX
(Zone 8b)
April 19, 2008
9:08 AM Post #4830985
| The production of one gallon of ethanol from corn requires eight gallons of water, a very
precious commodity here and growing scarcer as our population is growing so fast. The wind turbines are criticized by some as being disruptive to the flight patterns of migratory birds. |
Colquhoun
Champaign, IL
(Zone 5b)
April 20, 2008
11:03 AM Post #4835464
| If we are talking about the most places grown, I would say.. Cannabis is high on the list. Of course its the elephant in the room no one talks about
This message was edited Apr 20, 2008 10:09 AM |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
April 20, 2008
12:52 PM Post #4836077
| I lived in Placer County in California, in the foothills...there was a report that if it had been legal, marijuana would have been the county's #1 agricultural commodity. |
McGlory
Southeast, NE
(Zone 5a)
April 20, 2008
1:51 PM Post #4836304
| I still think it's grass.
Edited to clarify "grass" as the type grown in the lawn, that you see on prairies, etc.
This message was edited Apr 20, 2008 12:51 PM |
Hyblaean
Niles, IL
(Zone 5b)
April 20, 2008
2:57 PM Post #4836568
| Laugh :D |
se_eds
Millersburg, PA
(Zone 6b)
April 20, 2008
8:38 PM Post #4837861
| giggle - Seriously, wheat is the #1 grain for most of the world's people. The U.S. was instrumental in developing a variety of wheat that would grow in India's harsh climate years ago. This enabled them to feed a much higher percentage of their population.
It may be hard for us to comprehend, but a majority of poor third world countries feed their population on one form or another of bread and whatever other herbs and veggies they can find.
Heck, my husband remembers Depression days when rural children brought lunch to school that consisted of two thick slices of home-made bread with country butter!
And they often shared this with another classmate who had no lunch.
We've come a long way baby! |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
April 20, 2008
8:45 PM Post #4837889
| I can't wait for this one to be finished, lol! |
Jax4ever
Boxford, MA
(Zone 6a)
April 20, 2008
10:29 PM Post #4838608
| I have no doubt that wheat or similar grass grain is the #1 food, but wheat, as far as I know, isn't used widely as a food additive, fuel, or animal food as corn is. I would think that Americans consume more corn syrup than the rest of the world eats anything else, judging from the size of our backsides! |
fernman23
HENDERSON, NV
(Zone 9a)
April 20, 2008
10:51 PM Post #4838712
| my first thought was soy ~ wrong again... |
BAGTIC
Thayer, MO
May 9, 2008
9:19 PM Post #4930905
| Worldwide white potatoes are no longer the most important root crop. It has been surpassed by cassava. Potatoes do not grow well in the tropics.Cassava does. The poor countries of the third world are primarily tropical and they provide the demand for starchy inexpensive root crops. |
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
May 10, 2008
12:02 AM Post #4931428
| Correction: potatoes grow very well in "the tropics" at high elevations where the temperatures are cooler. Can you cite the source of your information? |
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
May 10, 2008
4:59 PM Post #4933755
| I like my potatoes fried in bacon grease, Vanillaman. |
BAGTIC
Thayer, MO
May 23, 2008
10:16 AM Post #4992396
| Yep, When you get high enough where it gets cool (cold) enough potatoes will grow but then when it gets that 'cool' it is hardly tropical is it?
Tropical = where winter never comes. |
Hyblaean
Niles, IL
(Zone 5b)
May 23, 2008
1:37 PM Post #4993371
| Hm, I've always had a more technical definition for tropics:
1. Either of two parallels of latitude on the earth, one 23°27' north of the equator and the other 23°27' south of the equator, representing the points farthest north and south at which the sun can shine directly overhead and constituting the boundaries of the Torrid Zone.
2. Tropics or tropics The region of the earth's surface lying between these latitudes.
|
vanillaman
San Gerardo de Rivas
(Costa Rica)
(Zone 11)
May 23, 2008
10:02 PM Post #4995423
| You're right about what defines "the tropics" Hyblaean. Costa Rica is considered a "tropical nation" at 10 degrees north of the equator. We grow a lot of excellent potatoes as well as strawberries, to keep up with the demand of Costa Rican consumers. Panama, which is our southern neighbour and closer to the equator, also grows potatoes and strawberries to meet that country's consumer demands. Other popular "cool climate" crops which both countries grow, are cabbage, lettuce, carrots, and onions, to name a few.
[HYPERLINK@en.wikipedia.org]
|
peachespickett
Huntington, AR
May 23, 2008
11:40 PM Post #4995816
| VANILLAMAN! I can't believe it's you! I figured you had drowned in glacial outwash! |
