摘要
美洲作物之引種中國大多發生在明清時期，其中間有玉米、番薯、馬鈴薯這樣重要的糧食作物，也有花生、向日葵一類油料作物；既有番茄、辣椒、菜豆、番石榴、番茄枝等蔬菜果樹，也有煙草、陸地棉這樣的嗜好作物和衣被原料，總數接近三十種。雖然它們傳入時有先後、途徑不一，但在不長的時間中獲得了相當快的發展，不少在今天的作物構成中佔據舉足輕重的地位。究其原因，與明清以來人口激增導致的人地矛盾加劇及市場經濟的發展有著密切的關係。美洲作物的傳播與發展不僅滿足了日益增長人口的生存需求，適應了人們對營養和享受多方面的需要，對充分用地和養地，提高農業生產的效率也發揮了積極的促進作用。
並列摘要
It is widely agreed that the American-originated crops were introduced into China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, among which there were not only grain crops like maize, sweet potato and potato; oil crops like peanut and sunflower; but also vegetables and fruits like tomato, capsicum, hobby crops like tobacco; and crops for textile use like upland cotton, exceeding 20 species in total. Though brought into China from different routes and at different time, they were fast expanded and occupied an important position in Chinese agricultural production. The reason for such a rapid development might be due to the dramatic increase of the population and the booming of market economy during this period. The development of the American crops not only helped meet demand of the increasing population, it also played an important role in raising the agricultural productivity by a more reasonable use of the land.