Sweet potato, a very common and tasty potato. It comes from a family of potatoes and commonly looks like the potatoes. They are not usually the same as potatoes but a little glimpse of potato, it shows. Sweet potatoes are different in taste, size, colour and farming methods in comparison to potatoes. They are commonly known as “Shakarkandi” in India.
The flowers of sweet potatoes open before sunrise and stay open for few hours. They shut again in the morning and begin to fade. Its edible root is long and tapered, with a smooth skin whose colour differs between yellow, orange, red, brown, purple, and beige. Its flesh varies from beige, white, red, pink, violet, yellow, orange, and purple colour. Sweet potato plants with white or pale yellow flesh are less sweet and humid than red, pink, or orange flesh.
Sweet Potato Cultivation In India
Cultivation of crops is usually common, but it may vary from the crop category and farm machinery. Similarly, there is something different in Sweet potato farming as well. Potato planters mainly do potato farming or sweet potato farming. Although there is a lot of farm equipment, but this farming is particular to potato planters. Farmers can’t run potato planters individually; this machinery is known as tractor attachment. They need the best and efficient tractor to attach the potato planter. They mainly prefer Swaraj 744 tractor for productive results in the farms.
SOIL
It is grown in many soil types, from sandy to loamy soil, but it gives the best result, high fertility when grown under sandy loam soil. However, you must avoid planting sweet potatoes in very light sandy and heavy clayey soil. It requires a 5.8-6.7 pH range for sweet potato cultivation.
LAND PREPARATION
To plant Sweet Potatoes, the land should be well processed. To bring the soil to the fine tilth, you must plough land 3-4 times before sowing. To get weed free land, you must choose a highly productive tractor or farm implement. Most farmers prefer the Swaraj 855 tractor; its amazing performance and attractive design attract farmers. Not only its design but also its satisfactory outcomes make it in high demand.
SOWING
For maximum yield, you should sow seeds in nursery beds from January to February, and the best time for planting plants in the field is from April to July.
HARVESTING
The crops get ready after 120 days of planting. Harvesting is mainly done when plants get ripe, and the leaves turn yellow. Harvesting plants do the harvesting. It gives a standard yield of 100 Quintal/acre. Freshly harvested plants and crops are ready for market purposes.
Large Producers Of Sweet Potato In India
Odisha is the largest raiser of sweet potatoes in India. Sweet potato covers the 0.13 million hectares area for cultivation in India with 1.47 million tonnes.
Sweet potato is extensively grown in tropical and subtropical regions in the world. In India, it is primarily grown in north and eastern parts of India, including Odisha, Bihar, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, which contributes around 90 per cent of the production in India.
Varieties Of Sweet Potato
There are over 400 distinct varieties of sweet potato worldwide, but in India, it is limited. Here we are discussing some of the common varieties of Sweet Potato. They are also categorised in their colour form.
Orange Flesh Sweet Potatoes
Orange flesh sweet potatoes are the most common variety on the market. However, these varieties had an excellent control shelf due to their ability to grow tasty and large amounts on commercial farms.
- Bayou Belle
- Covington
- Jewel
- Porto Rico
- Garnet
White Flesh Sweet Potatoes
Many growers may be more casual with the orange sweet potatoes. Many types of sweet potatoes appear with tanned skin and a cream-coloured interior. At the same time, it’s slightly different in taste from the orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. They taste good after baking and frying potatoes.
- Hannah
- O’Henry
- Sumor
- Murasaki
Purple Flesh Sweet Potatoes
Purple sweet potatoes mainly come in two varieties, purple with purple skin and purple flesh. They are better in nutritional content than the orange sweet potatoes. This creamy flesh is smaller overall but still, tastes good after baking and mashing.
- Stokes Purple
- Okinawa
- Charleston Purple
Decorative Sweet Potatoes Plants
Decorative sweet potato plants have long been grown for their class and elegance. While they grow from actual sweet potatoes, these varieties certainly are not food.
These plants have been grown for their beautiful leaf shapes and colours. Some plants are fertile and meant to cover significant areas as a ground cover. Others are small and thick, best for growing in small spaces or containers. Decorative sweet potatoes can come in green, purple, red or bronze-coloured leaves.
- Blackie
- Margarita Sweet Potato
- Sweet Caroline ‘Bewitched with Envy’
- Desana
- Medusa
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