Ahipa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ahipa |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pachyrhizus
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| Species: |
ahipa
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| Synonyms | |
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Dolichos ahipa Wedd. |
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The Pachyrhizus ahipa, also known as the ahipa or Andean yam bean, is a special plant. It grows edible roots that are like tubers. This plant is mostly found in the Andes Mountains region.
Contents
Ahipa's Story
People have been growing ahipa for a very long time. We know this because of old findings from about 2000 years ago. The first mentions of ahipa were linked to ancient cultures in the Andes. These were in places like Salta and Jujuy in Argentina.
Signs of Pachyrhizus plants were also found on the southern coast of Peru. This was with the Nasca culture. Ahipa plants likely first grew in the "ceja de montañas" part of the Andes.
Today, only small local groups in Bolivia and northern Argentina still use it. This plant never became super popular everywhere. This might be because it needs very specific weather conditions to grow well. Another reason could be that when the Spanish and Portuguese came to Latin America, they often destroyed old farming ways.
Sometimes, ahipa is sold during the religious festival Corpus Christi. This shows it might have been used in old religious events. Now, only a few villages and farmers grow it.
What Ahipa Looks Like
The ahipa plant is part of the Fabaceae family, which includes beans and peas. It mostly pollinates itself. Ahipa is a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years. It can grow in different ways:
- Upright: 15–40 cm tall.
- Semi-upright: 30–60 cm tall.
- Climbing: 60–200 cm long.
These plants are usually soft and green, but some types can become woody. Their leaves have three leaflets.
The flowers are white or light purple. They grow on short stems. Inside the flower, the part that receives pollen (the stigma) is curved. It touches the pollen-making parts (anthers). This makes it hard for insects to pollinate the flowers well. Also, not all the pollen is always fertile.
A single plant can make 100 to 800 flowers each season. Ahipa is a "short-day plant." This means it flowers when the days get shorter. Its pods are 13–17 cm long and up to 16 mm wide. The seeds can be black, purple, dark red, or black and white. They are round or kidney-shaped, about 0.8–1 cm long. Each plant can produce 20 to 100 seeds.
Each ahipa plant grows one large, swollen root. This root gets thinner at both ends. The roots are about 15 cm long. They usually weigh between 500 and 800 grams. The root has a yellow skin and white inside. The white part has soft fibers.
How Ahipa Is Grown
Planting Ahipa
Before planting, the soil needs to be dug up about 15–25 cm deep. It also needs to be very clean, with no weeds or stones. In Bolivia, farmers usually plant ahipa between August and October. This depends on when the rainy season starts.
Farmers plant about 40 to 65 kg of seeds per hectare. The amount depends on what they want, like the size of the roots. Soil quality and seed weight also matter. Plants are spaced 20–60 cm apart in rows. Within the same row, they are 6–25 cm apart. This means about six to 83 plants can grow in one square meter. Ahipa is often planted on raised rows (ridges) when it's watered by flooding. This is common in the Andes.
Growing Period
Ahipa takes five to 10 months to grow. The first flowers appear 87–140 days after planting. Farmers often remove these flowers by hand. This is called "reproductive pruning." They remove the flowers and young pods. This makes the plant send all its energy to the roots. This helps the roots grow much bigger. Removing flowers takes a lot of work and is done once or twice a season.
The mature pods usually appear from April to June. After about nine months, the roots are fully grown. By then, the top part of the plant is completely dry.
Ahipa is usually grown by itself. But it can also be grown with maize (corn). In a crop rotation, ahipa is planted before maize/potato, maize/tomato, maize/oca, groundnut, or manioc.
Where Ahipa Grows Best
Pachyrhizus ahipa mostly grows in cool tropical and subtropical valleys. It likes sunny slopes, where warm and cold climates meet. The average temperature in these areas is 16-18 °C. However, the temperature can change a lot between day and night.
It needs 400 to 700 mm of rain, which falls over 4–6 months. The rest of the year is dry. So, the climate is semiarid (partly dry). Ahipa grows at high altitudes, from 1800 to 3000 meters above sea level. It is mostly grown along muddy riverbanks. It can also grow on muddy hillsides. It prefers soil with a pH level of 6-8 and soil that drains water well.
Ahipa plants can handle long dry periods. But to get more roots, they need extra water.
Plant Food Needs
When ahipa is harvested, its seeds have a lot of nitrogen. Some nitrogen stays in the leaves. These nitrogen-rich leaves can be used to feed animals or as fertilizer for the soil. In one season, the roots and seeds can take up about 67 kg of nitrogen per hectare.
This nitrogen mostly comes from tiny helpful bacteria in the soil. Ahipa plants work well with nitrogen-fixing bacteria like Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium. They can add 58–80 kg of nitrogen to each hectare of soil. This means farmers don't need to add extra nitrogen fertilizer. If the plant tops are left in the field, a lot of this nitrogen goes back into the soil. This helps keep the land healthy for future crops.
When the plant forms root nodules (small bumps where bacteria live), more phosphorus helps. Phosphorus makes the nodules better and helps the roots and seeds grow more. The pods and seeds store the most phosphorus. About 7-9.6 kg of phosphorus per hectare is taken from the soil.
At harvest, the pods and roots have the most potassium. About 20.2 kg of potassium per hectare is removed when the plants are harvested.
Plant Problems
Ahipa plants are not usually bothered by many pests. But tiny worms called nematodes, like Meloidogyne species, can be a big problem. Some types of bean weevils can also cause harm.
The most serious virus disease is the bean common mosaic virus (BCMV). If ahipa plants get this virus, their yield can drop by up to 30%. If the plants don't get enough water or too much water, the roots can also rot.
Harvesting Ahipa
Farmers harvest ahipa roots when they reach a good size for selling. This depends on what buyers prefer, but usually, the roots should weigh at least 0.4 kg. Harvesting can take between 10 and 30 days. The leafy tops of the plant are often left in the field. They can be mixed into the soil later.
If the roots are not needed right away, they can even be left in the soil until they are needed. Only the plant tops need to be cut off. The amount of plant parts harvested can be:
- Roots: 28-53 tonnes per hectare.
- Fruits (pods): 18-36 tonnes per hectare.
- Dry seeds: 1.3-2.7 tonnes per hectare.
After Harvest
The best temperature to store ahipa roots is 12.5 to 17.5 °C. When stored, the roots get sweeter. Most people like this change. Some farmers even leave their roots in the sun before selling them.
Because the roots have a lot of water, they can shrivel and lose quality during storage and shipping. Having a thicker skin might help stop them from shriveling.
It's important not to damage the roots when harvesting. If they get damaged, they can be attacked by fungi. Common fungi are Rhizobus stolonifer, Cladosporium species, and Penicillium species. If these fungi attack, the roots can change texture, decay, and turn brown inside. This happens especially when stored in cool, humid places.
Storing seeds can also be tricky. In humid conditions, seeds quickly lose their ability to sprout. This is a challenge in tropical areas, which are very humid during the rainy season.
Selling Ahipa
Ahipa plants are sometimes small, which makes them good for growing on large farms. However, ahipa is not traded much between different countries.
What's Inside Ahipa
Ahipa Roots
The roots of ahipa are full of carbohydrates. You can eat them raw. They give you energy (calories), vitamin K, vitamin C, and potassium. People usually eat them fresh, like a fruit. Sometimes, they are made into juice.
The roots taste sweet and are crunchy, like an apple. They are a nice addition to green salads. You can also boil them, and they stay crunchy even after cooking. Some people believe ahipa roots help clean the body. They are thought to help with throat and breathing infections. The dry part of the root makes up 15-30% of its weight.
The roots also contain 48-54% starch. Most of this starch (96-99.9%) is a type called amylopectin. This is very useful for making food products. Because of its high starch and amylopectin content, ahipa is good for the starch industry. The starch particles in the root are very evenly spread out after nine months. Most of them are the same size, about 12-18 micrometers wide. This shows the root is fully grown.
Ahipa roots can also produce 19-28% sugar.
The protein content in the roots is between 8 and 18%. In Europe, there is interest in using this protein for animal feed, especially for cattle. The protein might also be useful for the food industry. About 80% of the protein dissolves in water. The fat content is very low, less than 1%. Overall, the root has a very good mix of nutrients. But because it has a lot of water, the protein and energy levels are considered medium.
Ahipa Seeds
The seeds of the ahipa plant have high protein levels. To protect themselves from insects, ahipa plants store a substance called canavanine in their seeds. This substance is very harmful to some insects. It can be a problem for farm animals if they eat wild ahipa plants.
The oil from the seeds has special qualities. It has high levels of palmitic acid and γ-tocopherol. It also has low levels of linolenic acid. These features are interesting for the food industry.
Improving Ahipa Plants
Scientists are working to make ahipa plants even better. Besides being a vegetable or a basic food, it could be used in industry. Some main goals for improving ahipa are:
- Making the plant grow faster.
- Reducing the number of pods it forms. This is important because if farmers don't have to remove flowers by hand, it saves time and money.
Ahipa plants must be grown from seeds. It's very hard to grow new plants by taking cuttings from the roots (cloning). Growing from seeds is good because it helps avoid spreading plant viruses. Also, storing seeds is cheap.
Scientists have tried to cross different Pachyrhizus species. They are most interested in the ahipa's root quality, how it grows, and how early it matures. The results of these crosses have shown some very good new plant types. These new types produce a lot of roots and can grow well in many different places. However, sometimes these new plants have problems, like fewer seeds or seeds that don't sprout well.
Ahipa's Future
More farmers should grow Pachyrhizus ahipa for several reasons:
- It can adapt very well to different climates and soil types.
- It has a good balance of nutrients like protein and starch, and it tastes good.
- It stores well and handles being moved after harvest.
- It's good for the environment because it fixes nitrogen, can be used for fuel, and provides food.
See also
In Spanish: Ahipa para niños
