Effect of planting methods and vine harvesting on shoot and tuberous root yields of sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] in the Afar region of Ethiopia

Abstract

In the arid pastoralist Afar region of Ethiopia, scarcity of food and fodder owing to recurring droughts is a major problem imperilling livestock and human survival. Therefore, sweet potato production as a dual purpose food-security crop has been steadily increasing in the region. However, there is scarcity of information on agronomic practices that may lead to optimum production of tuberous roots and shoots. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted at Werer Agricultural Research Centre with the objective of evaluating the influence of planting methods and vine harvesting time on yields of tuberous roots and shoots of the crop plant. The treatments consisted of three planting methods (ridge, flat, and sunken), and three vine harvesting times (45, 75 and 105 days after planting including one control treatment without vine harvesting). The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement and replicated four times. The results revealed that planting sweet potato on ridges and harvesting the vines 105 days after planting (when about 60% of the growth phase of the plant was completed) led to optimum production of herbage for fodder without compromising yield of tuberous roots. Key words: Planting method, shoot (vine) yield, tuberous root weight, tuberous root dry matter weight, tuberous root number, vine harvesting.