Sweet Potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] Yield Influenced by Seedlings and Mulching

Abstract

Summary Sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] needs a yearly minimum of three month with air temperatures above 15o C for its growth and development. For the purpose of achieving the highest possible sweet potato yield during a relatively short vegetation period in continental part of Croatia, a trial with diff erently produced seedlings and polyethylene (PE) mulch was set up. A trial was set up to study the production of seedlings from dormant sweet potato root sprouts by standard methods, and the most recent method of seedling production in containers, along with testing black PE-fi lm mulched soil, and uncovered soil. Th e method of seedlings production had signifi cant eff ect on the yield. Higher mass of marketable roots was achieved by growing seedling with a substrate lump about the root, as compared to the seedlings produced by traditional procedure. Compared to the uncovered soil, a signifi cantly higher yield of marketable roots was obtained with black PE-fi lm mulch.