Response of four varieties of sweetpotato to increased plant density
1995
Amante, V.D.R. | Reyes, M. | Rasco, E.T. Jr. (Southeast Asian Program for Potato Research and Development, P.O. Box 933, Manila (Philippines))
It is common for semi-subsistence farmers to use two or more cuttings per hill in planting sweetpotato, a practice which can be wasteful. Working on the theory that the number of cuttings required per hill is variety-dependent, four varieties with contrasting traits were used in a trial where number of cuttings per hill was altered. Three of the varieties are traditionally used and popular in the trial site. Interaction effects between variety and plant density were generally not significant. The difference in yield of root and shoot was also not significant between the two plant densities used, though there was a slight tendency for double density planting to give a higher shoot weight than single density. In contrast, single density planting tended to give a higher root yield, which is the opposite of farmers' expectations. Furthermore, there was a larger percentage of large and medium roots with single density than double density planting. The use of single density planting is advantageous because of savings in the cost of preparing the cuttings. Among varieties, the improved variety 88 WS623 produced a yield exceeding 10 t/ha, which is approximately twice that of the leading local variety. However, its market acceptability was rated low because of its pink skin and irregular shape
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