Performance of orange-fleshed sweet potato genotypes is affected by the planting date

Abstract

Sweet potato is a vegetable with an important socioeconomic role in Brazil, especially in Western São Paulo state. In this region, there is a predominance in the use of low-yielding and obsolete genotypes that do not meet the most demanding national and international markets. Few orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) genotypes are available to Brazilian producers, although the potential for growth in the national and international market is significant. OFSP has a higher concentration of beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, and can contribute to combating the deficiency of this vitamin, which is considered a public health problem. In this way, a program for breeding sweet potato began in 2019, which seeks to develop superior genotypes that better meet the needs of growers and consumer requirements. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the yield of experimental OFSP genotypes on three planting dates. Twelve experimental OFSP pre-selected for agronomic characteristics, tuberous root quality, and resistance to pests, were tested. The Beauregard cultivar was employed as a commercial standard. The experimental design was in blocks with randomized treatments, with cultivation carried out in three planting times (December 2020, February 2021, and October 2021). The tuberous roots were harvested 150 days after planting and commercial yield and quality parameters were assessed. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and subsequently grouped using the Scott-Knott test (p ≤ 0.05). The experimental genotypes UBD-C-14, UBD-U2-05, UBD-U1-25, UBD-F-34, and UBD-U2-19 showed good results for the evaluated parameters for all or more than one planting date. These genotypes are of interest to continue the breeding program in search of superior cultivars for the Western region of São Paulo and regions with similar edaphoclimatic conditions.