How to grow sweet potatoes to get high yields and large fruits? New techniques and tips for growing sweet potatoes

How to grow sweet potatoes for high yield

Sweet potato cultivation may seem simple, but there are many things to pay attention to. Scientific transplanting can make the sweet potato seedlings have a high survival rate, produce more fruits, and have good quality. So what sweet potato should be planted to achieve high yields?

Selecting sites and varieties

Sweet potatoes are tuberous root crops, so generally you need to choose a location that is sheltered from the wind, facing the sun, with a deep soil layer, loose and breathable soil, good drainage, and rich in humus.

The selection of sweet potato varieties should be based on local climate characteristics, soil characteristics, etc. A sweet potato variety suitable for local planting is the key factor in increasing sweet potato yields.

Land preparation and fertilization

First, remove the dead branches and leaves from the previous crop, especially those with insect eggs or pathogens. Then use a hoe to plow the soil to a depth of 20-35 cm.

Combined with tillage, base fertilizer is applied, and well-rotted farmyard manure, organic fertilizer, and cake fertilizer are applied to promote the vigorous growth of sweet potatoes. After tilling the soil, the soil clods should be broken up, and the soil should be raked and ridged to prepare for planting.

Planting at the right time

The best time to plant sweet potatoes is after May 1. Long-vine varieties and fertile land should be planted sparsely; short-vine varieties and thin land should be planted densely.

When planting, choose strong seedlings and plant them in a shallow horizontal planting method. Plant the seedlings with their heads facing southeast and in the direction of the wind to prevent the wind from scratching the seedlings. It is best to bury them 1.5-2 inches deep in the soil with 3-4 leaves exposed on the ground. Pay attention to watering them enough and replenish the seedlings in time to ensure that all seedlings are fully grown.

Field management

① Watering

Sweet potatoes are drought-tolerant crops, so they should not be watered much in the early stage, but if the soil is too dry, they can be watered lightly. In the later stage, there is less rain and drought often occurs, which affects the expansion of tubers. Watering can prevent the premature aging of stems and leaves and promote the expansion of tubers.

② Fertilization

In the middle stage, long-vine varieties can be sprayed with paclobutrazol 2-3 times per mu, and short-vine varieties such as stems and vines can also be sprayed in appropriate amounts. In the later stage, for plots with yellow leaves and premature aging of stems and leaves, 10 kg of urea can be applied per mu as a potato-promoting fertilizer in combination with watering.

In addition, spraying sweet potato growth hormone can increase the root absorption of fertilizer, shorten the length of internodes, induce the transfer of nutrients to the tubers, and accelerate the enlargement of the tubers.

③ Intertillage and weeding

There are two types of tillage: one is animal-powered tillage, using a hoe or a three-toothed hoe; the other is manual tillage, using a hand hoe.

Intertillage can loosen the soil, increase soil aeration, raise ground temperature, and eliminate weeds. In addition, intertillage should be combined with weeding, and attention should be paid to removing weeds hidden at the roots of seedlings.

Harvest at the right time

There is no exact harvest time for sweet potatoes. Generally, they can be harvested according to the temperature and the growth of sweet potato tubers. Usually, early and mid-maturing varieties are harvested from the end of August to the beginning of September , and late-maturing varieties are harvested from mid-October. The latest harvest time is before frost. However, be careful not to harvest on rainy days.

Should I cut the vines when growing sweet potatoes?

When planting sweet potatoes, you need to cut the vines to reduce the consumption of excessive nutrients and allow nutrients to be supplied to the root tubers . Sweet potato vines are extremely prone to excessive growth, especially in the rainy season, when the soil is moist and the air temperature is suitable, which makes it particularly easy for sweet potato vines to grow wildly.

If you let it grow freely without taking care of it, it is easy to grow vines but no sweet potatoes. To prune the vines of sweet potatoes, pruning the vines generally means cutting off the growth points of the sweet potatoes, thereby inhibiting the crazy growth of the sweet potatoes and achieving the purpose of controlling their growth.