Soil
The area defined as crop zone fro the ancient potatoes o Tenerife island is situated preferable at heights over 400 mosl. This area corresponds to the zones known as the midlands. They constitute a landscape unity with singular importance for the islands It's a question of a territory which has been the target of a slow and tough transformation by man. He had to overcome the pitfalls that the great slopes and absence of crop soils involve for agriculture development.
The kind of soils on which this tubers are grown coincide mainly with ‘alfisols' and ‘andisols', which are called, in a popular way, ‘mud soils' and ‘black soils' or ‘dust soils', respectively. The different texture and structure conditions have conditioned tilling as soil's capacity to produce different local varieties of ancient potatoes. Even the special quality of the ‘andisols' to produce ‘seeds'.
Climate
The zones for the ancient potato's cultivation correspond with climate zones of the Oleo-Rhamnatea crenulatae (thermoesclerophyll forests with thermocanarian bioclimate and semiarid-dry ombroclimate) describing a ring between 200 and 600 mosl, y la Pruno-Lauretea azoricae (laurisilva forest, with thermocanaran bioclimate and subhúmid humid ombroclimate), between 600 and 1200 mosl.
The potato is the main crop in the humid midlands of the islands. Is has been a crop for dry farming, conditioned to meteorological hazards.
• Papas Antiguas de Canarias (Web)
• Propuesta de Reglamento de la denominación de origen “Papas antiguas de Tenerife”, Tomo I, (Gil et. al, dic. 1999).
