General Production Requirements · Sweet potato is very sensitive to frost and cold. It requires hot days and warm nights for optimum growth, with mean monthly temperatures of 21°C to 29°C. · Popular varieties are Lukulu, Mulungushi, Kalungwishi, Lwangwa, Lunga, Kafue and Chingovwa. · Sweet potato requires 4 to 6 months to produce economic yields. · A well-managed sweet potato crop should yield 5 to 7.5 tons per Lima (20 to 39 tons/ha). Land Preparation/Soil Type · Deep, loose well drained loamy soils (does poorly on clay soils) with a pH range from 5.5 to 6.5 are ideal for sweet potato. · Effective rooting depth is 60cm. Deep plough field and harrow to a 60cm fine tilth seedbed. · Sweet potato is relatively tolerant to drought but cannot withstand waterlogging; therefore vines must be planted on 30 to 50cm ridges to avoid waterlogging. Preferred soil moisture is 60 to 75% of maximum water holding capacity.
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