How to grow sweet potatoes to get high yield?

Sweet potato , also known as yam or sweet potato, is an important food crop in China. As people's attention to healthy eating has continued to increase in recent years, the demand for sweet potatoes in the market has also been growing year by year. To cultivate sweet potatoes that are large in size and high in yield, it is crucial to master advanced planting techniques. So how can we grow sweet potatoes to achieve high yields?

1. Sweet potato transplanting techniques

Sweet potatoes are usually transplanted through seedlings, but the following two methods should be noted when transplanting:

1. Shallow planting principle: The tuberous roots of sweet potatoes develop close to the ground, and transplanting too deep will hinder their growth. Therefore, the transplanting depth should be controlled at 5-7 cm to facilitate the healthy development of the tubers.

2. Advantages of oblique planting: Compared with upright transplanting, oblique planting is more conducive to sweet potato formation. When transplanting, the seedlings should be inserted into the soil at a larger angle, and the longer the part inserted into the soil, the better. For example, a 20-centimeter seedling can be inserted obliquely into the soil 15 centimeters, leaving about 5 centimeters above the ground.

2. Reasonable fertilization

Sweet potatoes have a high demand for potassium fertilizer, and the base fertilizer should be mainly decomposed organic fertilizer , combined with superphosphate and potassium sulfate. Avoid using nitrogen fertilizers such as urea and ammonium bicarbonate. If organic fertilizer is not used in the base fertilizer, topdressing should be applied in time before the seedlings are covered with ridges. It is usually done by irrigation, combining potassium fertilizer and manure water. At the same time, starting from 20 days after transplanting, spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate once every 10 days or so to increase yield.

3. Turning and lifting vines

After transplanting sweet potatoes, the vines need to be turned and lifted regularly, especially when the vines grow to more than 40 cm. This is because sweet potato vines may grow adventitious roots at the nodes during their growth process. If these roots penetrate into the soil, they will affect the development of the taproot. Therefore, the vines should be lifted about three times during the growing season, especially after consecutive rainy days.

4. Controlling the growth

In the later stages of sweet potato growth, it is important to avoid excessive growth of the seedlings, as this will result in reduced yields. Vigorously growing seedlings will compete with tubers for nutrients, affecting the development of tubers. In addition to reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizers, you can also control the growth by pinching the tips of the seedlings before they are covered with ridges, or spraying high concentrations of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (diluted with 150 times water).

5. Weeding and loosening the soil

As a dwarf crop, sweet potato is easily affected by weeds. Weeding should be carried out in a timely manner throughout the growing period to keep the soil surface clean and ensure that the soil is loose and breathable. Weeding can be combined with soil loosening to promote the healthy growth of sweet potatoes. For large-scale plantings, consider using appropriate herbicides to prevent weeds from competing for nutrients.

The above are the key management points for sweet potato planting . If you do these well, you can effectively increase the yield of sweet potatoes. I hope this will be helpful to fellow growers.