GROWTH AND PARTITIONING IN SWEET POTATOES

Abstract

In 4 sweet potato cultivars studied, harvest indices and dry weight accumulations of sweet potato storage roots and total plant dry weight increased throughout the growing season, but declined during the later part of the season. Vine dry weight slowly increased reaching a maximum at 14-16 weeks after transplanting, then slowly decreased throughout the season except in 1 cultivar where vine weight continued to increase. It is suggested that a balance between vines and roots is a factor in obtaining maximum yield, and that the crop may be either sink or source limited if a suitable balance is not maintained.