Sweet Potato
| Ipomoea Batatas {{{latin_name}}}
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| Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture |
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Sweet Potato. The plant Ipomoea Batatas, grown for its large edible root-tubers (Fig. 3750). The origin is not definitely known (see page 1662, Vol. III), but it is probably tropical American. It is a widely variable plant in foliage, as shown by the leaf-forms in Fig. 3751. The top is herbaceous, form a running vine. Flowers and fruits are rarely seen. Neither the acreage, production, nor the money value of the sweet potato crop give an adequate idea of its economic importance. In those parts of the earth's surface where it thrives, it forms an important food staple for the inhabitants, and thus occupies a position not accorded crops which, though of great money worth, do not contribute directly to the food-supply of the territory in which they are grown. The sweet potato, being native to tropical and subtropical regions, is restricted in its range of cultivation more by climatic than by soil conditions, although its commercial cultivation is confined almost exclusively to sandy or loamy soils. It is, in fact, one of the staples of the southern states which thrives well on lands that have been considerably depleted by cropping with other plants, and one which can be made to produce a profitable return on light sandy soils carrying little humus, provided an adequate supply of plant-food in the form of commercial fertilizer is available. The ability of this plant to thrive and produce under such conditions, together with its great food value, which is considerably higher than that of the Irish potato, has served to advance it to the position of second place among the truck crops grown in the South and to seventh place among the standard agricultural crops of the nation. Botanically the sweet potato belongs to the Convolvulus or morning-glory family. The edible part is the thickened root. It does not possess eyes or scars as do some other roots and tubers, but it possesses the ability to develop adventitious buds, which character is taken advantage of in reproducing the crop by vegetative means. Roots to be used for seed purposes, selected at the time of harvest, are usually small, from 1 to 1 1/4 inches in diameter, of uniform shape, and characteristic of the variety. These roots are cured and stored under conditions most certain to insure an adequate supply of seed material, which, at the northern limit of the cultivation of the crop, is needed for bedding in April to insure a supply of "draws" for planting during the second and third weeks in May. The seed-supply should not only be selected as above stated but it should be chosen from healthy plants and, in addition, should be carefully examined for disease. All specimens showing the slightest trace of decay or rot of any kind should be discarded. The soil for the plant-bed, whether it be in the open or a manure- or fire-hotbed, should be free from contamination—preferably sterilized. If such precautions are observed, the first step in the insurance of the crop against loss from rot either in the field or in the storage house has been taken. Young sprouts which grow from the bedded seed roots are known as "draws" or "sets." These are chiefly used for planting in the field, but roots, or pieces of roots, may be and sometimes are used. In the warmer sections where seasons are long, it is a common practice to grow enough early draws or sets to plant an area large enough to give a sufficient quantity of vine cuttings to plant the commercial area. This is a good system as it insures disease-free plants, so far as the root-rots are concerned, for setting the field. An even closer approach to a let-alone system is followed in some sections. Instead of harvesting and storing seed and propagating sets, a portion of last season's crop is allowed to remain unharvested over winter and it is from the volunteer plants of such an area that a supply of vine cuttings for the commercial plantation are secured. Sweet potatoes are for the most part long-stemmed, creeping, or viny plants. They can be planted in hills but are more often set on parallel ridges thrown up 30 to 36 inches apart. The ridges are often made by throwing two furrows together over a trench in which well-rotted stable-manure has been scattered, or in which commercial fertilizer containing a liberal percentage of potash has been placed. On such ridges the draws are usually planted, either by the use of a hand dibble, tongs, or transplanting machine, 14 to 16 inches apart. The subsequent culture consists in keeping the area free of weeds with horse-drawn implements as long as the growth of the plants will permit even by the use of a vine-lifter, after which all large weeds are removed by hand. The signal which summons all hands to the sweet potato harvest is the first frost which causes the leaves to blacken. The home-garden plantation will be harvested with potato forks or with a turning plow after the vines have been cut away with a hoe, but the commercial area will be entered with a special digging-plow with rods in place of a moldboard and two rolling coulters so arranged on a cross-piece fastened to the beam of the digger that they cut the vines on either side of the ridge, thus preventing their interference with the operation of digging. As soon as the roots have been turned out and have dried in the sun, they should be carefully gathered, so as to avoid breaking or bruising, into one-half- or five-eighths-bushel hampers and hauled on spring wagons to the curing and storage house. In placing the roots in the house, care should be exercised to avoid breaking or bruising them. Some growers spread layers of pine straw between each 12- or 15-inch layer of roots placed in the storage house. This practice is less common at the present time since especially designed storage houses have come into general use. The storage houses in most general use both North and South are frame structures built entirely above ground, although there are a few houses at the North that possess a basement or semi-basement story used for the storage of sweet potatoes. These frame structures are so built that their contents are exposed in the least possible degree to outside changes of temperature. While the buildings are not insulated, they are provided with paper between the studding and sheeting, between the sheeting and the clapboarding, and on the inside under the sheeting. In the more exposed situations, either back plaster or a strip of paper is used between the studding in addition to the construction above noted. The floors as well as the ceilings are made as nearly frost-proof as possible and to add still greater safety the roots are not placed on the main floor of the building itself but upon slat floors raised at least 2 inches off the main floor. Besides adding a factor of safety against frost, these slat floors serve another important function, that of facilitating the distribution of heat throughout the heap of roots during the curing process. The partitions between the bins should also be double-slatted partitions in order to act as ventilators or chimneys so that the ventilation of the material in the storage may be insured as well as more rapid and more uniform curing. The curing of sweet potatoes at harvest-time is of equal importance with a proper storage room, good ventilation, and the maintenance of a proper storage temperature subsequently. As the sweet potatoes come from the field, they should be placed in the bins in layers distributed evenly over the surface, and during the time the house is being filled and for a period of ten days or more thereafter the temperature of the storage house should be maintained at 85° to 90° F. both night and day. After this drying or curing period, the temperature should be gradually reduced, but at no time during the storage period should it fall below 45° F. The temperature which has proved most satisfactory for holding the roots after the curing period is 50° F. While sweet potatoes can be successfully stored in hampers or crates, most commercial storages depend on the use of bins with slat floors separated by hollow slat partitions. A convenient arrangement is so to construct the storage that each bin holds one carload or other unit quantity, depending on marketing facilities. In no case should sweet potatoes once placed in storage be rehandled or disturbed in any way until the contents of that particular receptacle, be it hamper, crate, or bin, is to be prepared for immediate delivery to the market. Sweet potatoes will not tolerate sorting or handling of any kind while in storage. The successful keeping of sweet potatoes in storage, therefore, depends on care in using disease-free seed or sets, careful handling of the roots from field to storage, a frost-proof storage provided with adequate heat for curing and ventilators for insuring rapid change of air during the curing-period as well as at subsequent periods when atmospheric conditions demand it, and the load of the house so placed, at time of storing, that any given unit may be discharged without disturbing the remainder of the material in storage. At harvest-time, and at all subsequent periods, except in severe weather when there is liability of injury from frost, sweet potatoes can be distributed in double-headed or burlap-covered, ventilated barrels. Such containers are economical, are more convenient to handle than crates or hampers, and form a satisfactory market unit. Bags should never be used. In cold weather when perishable freight or express is liable to frost-injury, strong hampers holding one and one-half bushels or one-half barrel are often used as containers for sweet potatoes. Such packages are prepared for shipment by first lining them with a tough grade of paper, and, after the container has been filled and covered, wrapping it with a similar material. One of the great handicaps to the sweet potato industry at the present time is the highly perishable nature of the crop, making it difficult for those who do not have the best of facilities to market the crop during severe weather except to nearby markets. There are two important types of sweet potatoes grown in the United States, one with a dry mealy flesh and another with a flesh of a soft, moist, sugary consistency when cooked. The northern markets generally prefer the dry mealy varieties with yellow color, while the soft, moist sorts, either light or deep yellow in color, are preferred by the southern markets. The commercial grower will therefore grow the sort or sorts demanded by the markets in which he expects to dispose of his product. His own likes and dislikes should not be given any weight in choosing market sorts. Among the dry mealy-fleshed sorts may be mentioned Big Stem Jersey, Yellow Jersey, Early Carolina, and Triumph; characteristic representatives of the other class include such sorts as Nancy Hall, Georgia, Pumpkin Yam, Dooley, and Porto Rico. CH
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References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Sweet Potato. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Sweet Potato QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)
