Potato Processing Industry in China: Current Scenario, Future Trends and Global Impact.

Potatoes play an important role in ensuring food security. During the COVID-19 epidemic, consumption of processed potato products decreased, and consumption of fresh potatoes increased. China is the world's largest potato producer with more than 4.81 million hectares of area under potato production and 90.32 million metric tonnes of potatoes produced in 2018. This accounts for 27.36% of the world's planting area and 24.53% of the world's potato production. The proportion of potatoes processed in China was about 12% in 2017, mostly dominated by starch production. However, the recent policy of the Chinese government to popularise potato as a staple food has created new markets for processed potato products other than starch. A very few reports have analysed these future trends of the rapidly growing Chinese potato processing industry and its impact within and outside China. This paper provides an overview of the latest developments with a focus on processed potato products such as potato chips, French fries and dehydrated potatoes, and also, due to the unique Chinese diet culture, it highlights the need for more scientific research dedicated towards the development of novel potato-based healthy foods.

Utilization of proteomics in experimental field conditions--A case study of poplars growing on grassland affected by long-term starch wastewater irrigation.

The presented study verified the possibility of using proteomics as a tool for investigating poplars growing on obviously separate plots. The examination covered poplars planted on grassland irrigated for 40 years with potato industry wastewater and in a plot appropriate for poplar planting, spaced at a distance of 67 km from each other (hereinafter referred to as forest). The work aimed to compare the obtained proteomic results with data on biometric and biochemical parameters and mineral composition as well as to assess, at a molecular level, the usefulness of grasslands for planting. Proteome analysis showed that most of the stress-related proteins detected were less abundant on the irrigated grassland, confirming the viability of its revegetation with poplars. Proteomic data corresponded well with the other results, highlighting the probable reason for the proteome changes; i.e. deficiency of phosphate ions detected in the forest area. Moreover, proteome analysis revealed biotic stress symptoms in plants growing on the grassland, which were also well explained by other data but would not have been detected without performing the proteomic analysis. Therefore, environmental plant proteomics is a useful and valuable tool during field studies, even when samples are taken from plots some distance apart.