Introduction to the Growing Characteristics and Daily Management Methods of Sweet Potato

Sweet potato is a trailing herbaceous plant of the genus Ipomoea in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae); in various places it is also called red sweet potato, sweet potato, purple sweet potato, taro, and so on. Its main product is the swollen storage root, which comes in shapes such as spindle-shaped and cylindrical, and whose skin color and flesh color vary with the cultivar; common types include red skin with yellow flesh and yellow skin with white flesh.

Sweet potato likes warmth and fears cold, and is not tolerant of frost; it is suited to growing in loose, well-drained sandy loam. Its vines grow prostrate, and adventitious roots readily form at the stem nodes. In production, slips are usually raised from the storage roots and then cut for vine cuttings, which gives a high survival rate and relatively extensive management. Sweet potato has strong drought and poor-soil tolerance, and can grow and form storage roots normally even on hilly slopes.

Divided by use, sweet potato can roughly be classified into fresh-eating types, starch-processing types, and vegetable types. Fresh-eating cultivars have a sweet, glutinous taste and are suitable for steaming and roasting; starch-type cultivars have a relatively high starch content in the storage roots and are mostly used to make starch, vermicelli, and other processed products; the tender stems and leaves can be eaten as a vegetable, and the vines are also a commonly used green fodder.

In cultivation, attention should be paid to raising strong slips and cutting them at the right time. In the early growth stage, the focus is on promoting stems and leaves, while in the middle and late stages it is necessary to control excessive growth and promote storage root swelling. If too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied, the slips are prone to rampant growth with few storage roots formed, and this can be adjusted by measures such as lifting the vines and controlling nitrogen. In addition, watch out for damage from underground pests such as white grubs and leaf-eating pests, and control them promptly when found, so as to reduce rotten storage roots and missing plants.