Macro-propagation of Two Nigerian Varieties of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam) Using three Growth Media.
- May 19, 2022
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: Botany and Microbiology, IJRIAS
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS) | Volume VII, Issue IV, April 2022 | ISSN 2454–6194
Josephine U. Agogbua* and Michael Folorunsho Odeyemi
Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
*Corresponding author
Abstract: This study was conducted to investigate the sprouting potential of two varieties ((purple-skin with white-flesh – PSWF and cream-skin with yellow-flesh – CSYF)) of sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam) commonly grown and consumed in Nigeria. The tubers of the two varieties were cultivated in three substrates (hydroponics, sawdust and topsoil) to generate vines with assigned treatment groups – control (whole tuber), T1 (whole tuber with scarified buds), T2 (whole tuber split into two), T3 (whole tuber split into four) in a humidity chamber. Each treatment was replicated three times. The vines were grown for a study period of five weeks and the number and length of vines were recorded. It was observed that the different treatment levels showed variability for the cream and purple skinned, mean length of vines in topsoil (control 0,110; T1 0,105; T2 5.5,0; T3 0,18.3), in sawdust (control 0,0; T1 0,0; T2 0,0; T3 0,3), and in hydroponics (control 10.2,0; T1 17.7, 10.5; T2 3.6, 6; T3 0,0) respectively and number of vines in topsoil (control 0,4; T1 0,4; T2 1,0; T3 0,3), in sawdust (control 0,0; T1 0,0; T2 0,0; T3 0,3) and in hydroponics (control 5,0; T1 13,3; T2 8,8; T3 0,0) respectively. The result revealed that splitting of tubers and planting in topsoil and sawdust is not viable for the generation of vines for the two varieties as it gave little or no sprouts. The use of whole tubers or whole tubers with scarified buds planted in water is recommended since it produced the highest number of vines.
Keywords: bud scarification, cream and purple skin, sweet potatoes, tuber, hydroponics, sawdust, topsoil
I. INTRODUCTION
The recognition of the great potential of sweet potato crop as a nutritious food for humans and animals has resulted in intensified research efforts to enhance production and consumption in recent decades (Ahmed et al., 2012)
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam) is a major staple food in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and South America (da Conceicao Nhanala, 2021), where they are important sources of carbohydrates, vitamin A and C, fiber, iron, potassium, and protein (Mbusa et al., 2018), used as animal feed and grown over a broad range of environments and cultural practices (Stahr & Quesada-Ocampo, 2020) and is commonly grown in low-input agriculture systems (Conz et al., 2022).
Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) originated from Central America where it was found growing in the wild spreading across the Pacific from Central America and transported to warmer regions of Asia and Africa by Spanish and Portuguese
