Do sweet potatoes need vine turning? Read this article and you will understand
Do sweet potatoes need vine turning? Please share this with readers: experiments have proven that when sweet potatoes (also called shan yu or di gua) are not vine-turned during the growing period, they can increase yield by about 25% compared with plots where vines are turned, and some even reach as high as 30%. The main reason vine turning reduces sweet potato yield is: damage to vines and leaves. Practice has proven that each time vines are turned, 66...
Do sweet potatoes need vine turning? Please explain
Experiments shared with readers prove that when sweet potatoes (shan yu, di gua) are not vine-turned during the growing period, they can increase yield by about 25% compared with plots where vines are turned, and some even reach as high as 30%. The main reasons vine turning reduces sweet potato yield are:
Damage to vines and leaves. Practice has proven that each time vines are turned, about 10 kg of vines are broken per 667 sq m. If vines are turned after overcast or rainy weather, they break even more easily because the vines have plenty of moisture. In addition, after vine turning the leaves are artificially piled up, which affects photosynthesis, causing severe yellowing of leaves, dead vines, leaf drop, and similar problems.
Affecting underground tuber growth. After vine turning, the root crown is severely twisted, some small roots are broken, and even the whole plant may be twisted off, resulting in fewer tubers or even complete "root loss." According to experimental statistics from 2005, in a 0.13-hectare trial field, plants whose vines had been turned 4 times averaged 2.7 tubers per plant, weighing 0.34 kg; those whose vines had never been turned averaged 3.8 tubers per plant, weighing 0.56 kg, with an increase of 348 kg per 667 sq m.
Affecting photosynthesis. Vine turning also causes the stems and leaves to shift, disrupting the originally very ingenious natural distribution of the crop's leaves. Each vine turning requires 5-7 days for the stems and leaves to recover normal growth, and during this period tuber growth is affected.
Causing new branches to grow in clusters and consume large amounts of nutrients. When vines are not turned, more deep lateral roots form, the root system absorbs more nutrients, the vines are thick and strong, the leaves are thick and plump, photosynthesis is good, and drought resistance is strong. Some tubers form on the lateral roots, which can promote greater sweet potato growth.
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