When to plant sweet potatoes? When to harvest?

Sweet potato, also known as sweet potato , is an annual herb with tuberous roots of varying shapes and leaves that vary depending on the variety. Therefore, farmers who grow sweet potatoes must master the planting time and harvesting time. So when should sweet potatoes be planted? When to harvest? Let’s take a look with the editor below.

1. When to plant sweet potatoes? When to harvest?

1. Planting time

In spring, sweet potatoes are generally planted from late April to early May in northern regions and from late March to early April in southern regions. Sweet potatoes should be planted as little as possible between July and August in the summer, as high temperatures may lead to diseases and insect pests. Sweet potatoes are generally planted between August and October in the autumn.

2. Harvest time

Sweet potatoes generally mature between August and November, and the specific time depends on factors such as the characteristics of the variety, the climatic conditions of the growing area, and the sowing time. The growing period of sweet potatoes planted in spring is about 160 to 200 days. The growing season for summer planting is shorter, about 110 to 120 days. When harvesting, you should choose after the tubers have swollen, generally between 120-150 days in the growth cycle.

2. How to harvest sweet potatoes

1. Standards for sweet potato maturity

Sweet potato is an asexually propagating vegetative body with no obvious maturity standard and harvest period, but whether the harvest is early or late will affect the yield, seed retention, storage, processing and utilization, and crop rotation of sweet potato. Harvesting too early will significantly reduce the yield of sweet potatoes. Harvesting too late will often cause the sweet potatoes to be affected by low temperature and chilling damage, become intolerant to storage, and have a reduced cutting rate.

The maturity of sweet potatoes can be judged by observing the changes in their leaves and tubers. When the leaves of the sweet potato gradually turn yellow and dry, and the tubers become hard and have the characteristics of the variety, it generally means that the sweet potato is ripe. The timing of sweet potato harvesting can also be determined by observing the condition of the root tubers. If the sweet potato tubers are plump, the skin is smooth and the color is bright, it means that the sweet potatoes are ready to be harvested.

2. Notes

When harvesting sweet potatoes, avoid over-digging or damaging the tubers, as this will affect their quality and storage life. After harvest, sweet potatoes should be stored in time and maintained under suitable temperature and humidity conditions to prevent rotting or deterioration.

The above is an introduction to when to plant sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes generally reach their peak harvest period in October. However, due to different sweet potato planting times in different regions, there will be certain differences in harvest time.