Māori potatoes or taewa are varieties of potato cultivated by Māori people, especially those grown before New Zealand was colonised by the British. Māori have grown potatoes for at least 200 years, and "taewa" refers collectively to some traditional varieties, including Karuparerā, Huakaroro, Raupī, Moemoe, and Tūtae-kurī. These are smaller, knobblier, and more colourful than modern potato varieties, which are referred to by the loanword pārete. Other collective names for traditional Māori potatoes are rīwai, parareka and mahetau. Māori potatoes are commonly used as a base ingredient in rewena bread.
Origins and history
Potatoes originate in the Andes and temperate Chile, and were brought to Europe in the 15th century. Māori traditions maintain that taewa were cultivated well before Europeans first visited Aotearoa.,. Despite this, James Cook is presumed by academic scholars to have introduced potatoes to New Zealand in his first voyage, as is Marion de Fresne. More South American varieties came with sealers and whalers in the early 19th century. Taewa became a staple Māori food crop before organised European settlement, displacing sweet potatoes and bracken fern root as a primary carbohydrate source. Taewa were able to grow in cooler climates, and were easier to store than kūmara. They were also an important trade good during the first period of European contact with Aotearoa around 1800 onwards. Māori grew taewa commercially until the late 19th century but these were gradually supplanted by larger commercial potato varieties from Europe, which have higher yields. Māori have continued to grow traditional varieties, passing them from generation to generation. This selection over time has made them hardy and mostly disease resistant.
Cultivation
Taewa are generally grown with the same techniques and technology as commercial varieties. Taewa tend to produce more tubers per plant, but they are smaller than modern potatoes. Traditionally, they are planted in spring, with maintenance tasks during the summer, and harvest in late autumn. Crops were planted according to the maramataka using crop rotation methods, and wood ash for fertiliser. All levels of society took part in production and harvesting.
Naming
Some taewa are known by multiple names. Koanga Institute have identified several that are infact the same variety of potato such as karoro and peru ma.
Prior to widespread European settlement, taewa did not suffer much from pests or disease. The biggest pest were native caterpillars which were controlled through fumigation using kauri gum or dried kawakawa leaves.
Common pests
Today, insect pests include potato tuber moth and wireworm which both feed on leaves, stems, and may directly damage tubers. Aphids in particular are considered vectors for diseases. Taewa can be affected by green peach aphid, foxglove aphid, and potato aphid. Green looper caterpillar and hadda beetle can also affect taewa, but generally only cause damage to the plant's foliage. Tomato and potato psyllid arrived in New Zealand in 2006 and poses a threat to many solanaceous crops, including taewa. Psyllids can reduce crop yields by up to 80%. Rats and wild pigs are known to attack tubers, while pukeko, rabbits and hares may attack new foliage.
Common diseases
Taewa are susceptible to potato leafroll virus, potato virus y, potato virus x, and potato virus s. These are spread by aphids, machinery, and the propagation of infected tubers. As well as viruses, taewa can be infected by a range of fungal diseases. Late blight, pink rot, Verticillium wilt, and Fusarium dry rot have the biggest potential impacts on crops. Early blight, stem canker, powdery scab, and silver scurf will damage plants to a lesser degree. It has been noted that the varieties huakaroro, karupārera, and tūtaekurī show a small natural resistance to late blight. Powdery scab is more likely to affect huakaroro and urenika, while karupārera and moemoe appear highly resistant. The variety pawhero is particularly susceptible to Fusarium dry rot, which affects its ability to be stored. Common scab may cause cosmetic damage to tubers. Bacterial soft rot and Liberibacter and Zebra chip may cause significant crop loss.
