Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Georgia Ballroom (Sheraton Hotel Atlanta)
Consumption of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) has increased in the past decade in part due to its nutritional and health attributes, and to the availability and convenience of processed products. Virginia used to raise 15,000 to 19,000 acres of sweetpotato in the 1960’s with a market value of $5 to 8 million for the state, but this market share was gradually lost in the 1970’s. With the expansion in sweetpotato production in the southeast, farmers in the coastal plains of Virginia and in the DelMarVa Peninsula have expressed their interest in growing sweetpotato and getting back their market share. This study investigated sweetpotato production in Virginia and the performance of recently released cultivars. A survey was conducted in 2015 including farmers from Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Northern Neck area, Virginia Beach Co., and Dinwiddie Co. Most field surveyed ranged between 2 and 4 acres except one organic field with 30 acres. Four 1-row plots 10ft-long were randomly selected and hand harvested to determine yield. Cultivars grown by farmers included 'Covington', 'Beauregard', 'Bellevue', 'Burgundy', 'Diane', 'Evangeline', 'Bonita', and 'O’Henry'. In addition, the NSCG cultivar trial was conducted at the Eastern Shore AREC, Virginia Tech. The local 'Hayman' cultivar was included to compare with 'Bonita' and 'O’Henry'. Experimental design was a CRB with four replications and plots consisted of one 20-ft long row planted at 12 by 36 inches. Marketable yield among all cultivars from surveyed commercial fields ranged from 340 bushel/acre to over 1,100 bushel/acre. Irrigation appeared to be the main factor for the significant differences in yield. Marketable yield from the cultivar trial at the Eastern Shore AREC ranged between 532 and 956 bushel/acre. These yields are well within the yields obtained in the main sweetpotato production states and therefore it appears to be a good alternative crop for farmers in Virginia.