What are the key management techniques for sweet potato during the tuber bulking stage?
Sweet potatoes once played a very important role in our country, and could be said to have been a savior for many people. Even now, sweet potatoes are still grown on a large area, and when growing sweet potatoes, their management work is very important. Moreover, sweet potatoes have different management methods at different growth stages, especially during their bulking stage. So below, the editor brings you the management methods for the sweet potato bulking stage. Let's take a look together!
1. Water management
During the bulking stage, sweet potatoes have a relatively high demand for water. If high-temperature and drought weather occurs 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 the accumulation of nutrients, and benefits the expansion of sweet potato storage roots. However, note that watering should be stopped three weeks before harvest. This prevents excessive water from reducing the storability of sweet potato storage roots. Also, if there is rainy weather and excessive watering, drainage should be carried out in time to prevent waterlogging damage to the storage roots, which can cause hard-core rot and reduce yield.
2. Timely fertilization
Under normal circumstances, the bulking stage of sweet potatoes is generally around September each year, and cracks will form in the field due to the expansion of the sweet potatoes. At this time, we should use these cracks to apply crack fertilizer in time, avoiding premature aging of sweet potatoes caused by nutrient deficiency, and it can also effectively promote sweet potato expansion. The main fertilizer for crack fertilizer is nitrogen and potassium fertilizer. When applying fertilizer, pay attention 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 appropriately applied.
3. Strictly prohibit vine turning
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 potatoes, leading to a decline in the photosynthetic capacity of sweet potato leaves, reducing the accumulation of photosynthetic substances, and hindering the expansion of storage roots. In severe cases, yield can be reduced by 30%. Therefore, we should not turn vines throughout the entire growth period of sweet potatoes. For some sweet potato fields with strong growth, vines can be appropriately cut or lifted to control growth. This prevents fibrous roots from consuming too many nutrients, improves the photosynthetic capacity of leaves, and achieves the purpose of expansion.
4. Apply foliar fertilizer
During the sweet potato bulking stage, the nutrient absorption capacity of the roots will decline somewhat. 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 strong growth, foliar fertilizers such as potassium sulfate can be sprayed. When spraying foliar fertilizer, ensure thorough coverage, with the dosage per mu kept at about 85 kg. It should be done at the early stage of sweet potato expansion, as far as possible on sunny days when 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 sweet potatoes should be managed 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 potatoes, 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.