Production of sweet potato branches in suspended pots depending on nitrogen fertilization

Abstract

The use of branches from selected plants may favor the productivity of the sweet potato crop, which makes necessary high production of branches per unit of mother plant. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the branches production of sweet potato plants grown in suspended pots containing substrate fertilized with different doses of nitrogen. For this study, the experiment was installed in randomized blocks with time split plot, with 10 repetitions. It was used a factorial 5 x 2, being five doses of N (0; 0.24; 0.48; 0.72 and 0.96 g per pot) and two the amount of plants per pot (one or two plants). The sweet potato seedlings were produced in trays and planted in pots. The fertilization of the substrate with urea occurred every 30 days. The branches of the plants were collected at 60, 105, 150 and 195 days after transplantation, keeping the potted plants with branches of 0.30 m. It were evaluated length and dry mass of the branches of sweet potato produced in pots. As a result, it was found that the use of nitrogen in doses of 0.72 and 0.96 g per pot and the cultivation of only one plant per pot favored greater growth of sweet potato plant branches. Therefore, the addition of nitrogen to the substrate where sweet potato plants are cultured is feasible to obtain greater amount of plant material in order to produce new plants. Additional keywords: cutting; Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam; mother plant; multiplication; substrate; vegetative propagation.