Growth and yield of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) as influenced by number of cutting buds

Sweet potatoes are propagated by rooting shoots with thickened roots, but the number of vine cutting buds can significantly affect the yield. Information on the preparation of quality material for the successful production of sweet potatoes among farmers in Nigeria is not uniform. The most favorable number of shoot buds used as a material for propagating sweet potatoes has not yet been determined. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to estimate the number of buds per shoot that will result in the highest yield of sweet potato roots. Four treatments with 2, 3, 4 and 5 buds per shoot were tested. The field trial was set up according to a randomized block design with five replications. Data on the length of the cuttings, number of leaves and the yield components of the sweet potato thickened are presented. A significant increase in the length of the cutting, the number of leaves and the average length and weight of the thickened root of sweet potatoes grown from shoots with 5 buds was found. Therefore, the use of five-bud shoots is recommended for sweet potato propagation due to its positive effect on rooting, growth and yield of thickened sweet potato root.