Latest Key Management Techniques for the Sweet Potato Bulking Stage
Sweet potato once played a very important role in our country and could be called the savior of many people. Even now, sweet potato still has a large planting area, and when growing sweet potato, its management work is very important. Moreover, sweet potato has different management methods at different growth stages, especially during its bulking stage. So below, the editor has brought you the management methods for the sweet potato bulking stage. Let's take a look!
1. Water management
During the bulking stage, sweet potato has a relatively high water requirement. If high-temperature and drought weather is encountered during the bulking stage, then water should be applied in time, using water to improve the utilization rate of fertilizer. This promotes the growth of sweet potato stems and leaves, enhances the photosynthetic capacity of sweet potato leaves, increases nutrient accumulation, and benefits the expansion of sweet potato storage roots. However, note that watering should be stopped three weeks before harvesting sweet potato, to prevent excessive water from reducing the storability of sweet potato storage roots. Also, if rainy weather occurs and too much water is applied, drainage should be carried out in time to prevent waterlogging damage to the storage roots, which can cause hard heart and rot and reduce yield.
⟦NL>2. Apply fertilizer in time
Under normal conditions, the bulking stage of sweet potato is generally around September each year, and cracks will form in the field because of the expansion of the sweet potato. At this time, we should use these cracks to apply crack fertilizer in time, to avoid nutrient deficiency in sweet potato causing premature aging, and it can also effectively promote sweet potato expansion. The main fertilizer for crack fertilizer is nitrogen and potassium fertilizer. When applying fertilizer, attention should be paid to reasonably controlling the amount according to the plot area. Apply the fertilizer along the cracks to promote nutrient absorption by the sweet potato storage roots. If there are plots with premature aging and late maturity, then a mixed fertilizer solution such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium can also be properly applied.
3. Strictly prohibit turning vines
Many farmers have the habit of turning vines during the sweet potato bulking stage, but in fact this is not conducive to sweet potato expansion. Turning vines will damage the stems and leaves of sweet potato, cause the photosynthetic capacity of sweet potato leaves to decline, reduce the accumulation of photosynthetic substances, block the expansion of the tubers, and in severe cases reduce yield by up to 30%. Therefore, we should not turn vines throughout the entire growth period of sweet potato. For some sweet potato fields with relatively strong growth, vine cutting and vine lifting can be appropriately used to control growth. This prevents fibrous roots from consuming too many nutrients and improves the photosynthetic capacity of leaves, achieving the purpose of expansion.
4. Apply foliar fertilizer
During the sweet potato bulking stage, the nutrient absorption capacity of the roots will decline to some extent. Therefore, we should appropriately spray foliar fertilizer to ensure the nutrients needed for storage root expansion. In fields with premature aging, urea should be appropriately sprayed. For plots with relatively strong growth, foliar fertilizers such as potassium sulfate can be sprayed. When spraying foliar fertilizer, ensure it is comprehensive, and keep the dosage at about 85 kg per mu. It should be carried out at the early stage of sweet potato expansion, as far as possible when the weather is sunny and the temperature is relatively low. If rainy weather occurs after spraying, then it should be re-sprayed in time.
The above is a brief introduction to how to manage sweet potato during the bulking stage. The management work during the sweet potato bulking stage is very important. It is closely related to the yield and quality of sweet potato, so everyone must pay close attention. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you for reading and supporting.