Sweet Potato Cultivation Methods and Key Planting Techniques
SummaryPlanting time: Sweet potatoes are sown in spring from April to May. Seed selection: Choose seed potatoes that are large, undamaged, have many bud points and strong vitality. Cultivation: First soak the seed potatoes in a carbendazim solution to disinfect them, then sow them, taking care to distinguish the head from the tail, otherwise sprouting will be affected. You can place them at a slant, cover them with withered grass and rotten wood, then cover with soil. When the sweet potato seedlings grow to 30-40cm, prune the vines and then plant the cuttings. Fertilization: During the growing period, mainly apply urea as a top dressing, and apply fruit-strengthening fertilizer in the later stage.
1. Planting Time
Generally, sweet potatoes are sown around April to May each spring. The most suitable sowing time is mid-May, when the temperature is around 15-20°C, which helps increase the speed of sweet potato germination.
2. Seed Selection
Before planting sweet potatoes, you must select high-quality seed potatoes, as this helps increase yield. You should choose seed potatoes that are relatively large, undamaged and have not been bitten by rats or insects. In addition, choose seed potatoes with more bud points and strong vitality.
3. Sowing
1. Before sowing, to prevent the seed potatoes from being bitten by rats before they sprout, soak the sweet potato seeds in a carbendazim solution for about 10 minutes. This can prevent the occurrence of some diseases. After soaking, they can be sown.
2. When sowing, you must distinguish the head from the tail, otherwise they will not sprout. Another method is to place them at a slant, then cover them with a layer of withered grass and rotten wood, and then cover with a thin layer of soil. If the temperature is relatively low, you can also cover them with a layer of plastic film. When the sweet potato seedlings grow to 30-40cm, you can prune the vines, with three leaves per section, and then plant the cuttings at a spacing of about 30cm per plant.
4. Reasonable Fertilization
After the sweet potato seedlings are planted, in order for the cuttings to quickly grow new roots, apply a dose of decomposed manure and urine water. After the sweet potato seedlings survive, their growth will vary and look very uneven. In order to help the plants grow evenly, appropriately apply a dose of urea. In the later stage, to increase the growth rate of the plants, apply a top dressing of urea once, together with a small amount of compound fertilizer. Finally comes the fruit-strengthening fertilizer, when boron fertilizer and potassium fertilizer can be added.
5. Vine Training
When the sweet potato seedlings grow to a certain stage, vine training should be carried out in time, arranging the sweet potato vines in the field in the same direction and letting them grow in one direction. This is beneficial for harvesting later. At the same time, when training the vines, excess branches and leaves can be removed to prevent nutrient loss.
6. Pest and Disease Control
The main pests and diseases of sweet potatoes are leaf rollers, aphids, field mice and white grubs. Aphids and leaf rollers mainly damage the leaves, thereby affecting normal photosynthesis in the leaves, and can be controlled by spraying trichlorfon solution. Field mice mainly harm the tubers in the ground, and chemical control is not very effective. You can choose foods that field mice like to eat in the field, mix them with rat poison and use them as bait to kill them.
7. Harvesting
Sweet potatoes are generally harvested from September to October. First remove all the sweet potato seedlings, then dig out the sweet potatoes, and finally store them in a cellar. This can slow down water loss and prevent rot.