Cultivation of sweet potatoes - abbreviated text

Agroecological conditions of sweet potato cultivation

Temperature: Sweet potato cultivation is possible in continental, Mediterranean, tropical and subtropical
climates.
Water: Young plants should be irrigated immediately after planting if they are not naturally provided with
a sufficient amount of water. During cultivation, it is necessary to pay attention to the amount of water
and irrigate only in case of drought, since too much water in the root zone will cause a decrease in yield.
The optimum amount of precipitation is from 750 to 1,000 mm per year.
Soil: The best results are achieved on sandy - loamy and weakly skeletal soils. Neutral to slightly acidic soils
(pH 6) are recommended.
Crop rotation: If sweet potatoes are planted on the same plot, it is recommended to return them to the
land after four years.
Soil preparation: Autumn tillage is important for growing sweet potatoes, which is done at a depth of 40
cm and left in an open furrow. In the spring, the furrow closes and beds are formed. This is followed by
the installation of the PE film and the drip irrigation system. It is recommended to use low beds and PE
film with a width of 120 cm on slightly sloping terrain, and on flat terrain with high beds and PE film with a
width of 140 to 150 cm. Sweet potatoes are extremely sensitive to the application of soil herbicides, and
weeds must be removed by hand.
Nutrition: Sweet potatoes have lower fertilization requirements than other vegetable crops. In spring
preparation, the soil should be fertilized with mineral or organo-mineral fertilizer - at least with: 70 kg of
nitrogen, 120 kg of phosphorus and 170 kg of potassium per hectare. In organic cultivation, it is necessary
to use organic-mineral fertilizer with an amount of approx. 7 tons per hectare in the form of pelleted or
granulated organic fertilizer, which can be made from the following raw materials:
1. Manure, dried manure and dehydrated poultry manure (Products containing a mixture of animal
limbs and plant material (mats for animals) in organic farming
2. Composted animal waste, including poultry manure and composted manure (Prohibited origin
from intensive care or industrial production)
3. Flour from hooves and horn. Bone meal and degelatized bone meal. Fish meal. Meat flour.
Feathers, hair and feather meal. Wool. Fur. Animal hair. Dairy products.i (After controlled
fermentation and dilution. Prohibited origin from intensive care)
4. Peat (Direct use limited to horticulture (permitted as a raw material in the production of organo-
mineral fertilizer).
5. Reesidues after mushroom cultivation (In mushroom cultivation, only the starting substrate is
used)
6. Vermicompost and insect excrement. A composted and fermented mixture of plant material. Oil
seeds. Flour cakes. Coconut shell. Malt waste and the brewing industry. Seaweed and their
products. Shavings and wood waste, wood ash. (Wood that has not been chemically treated
after cutting). Composted tree bark

7. Ground phosphate rock, stone flour and all types of clay (Cadmium content less than or equal to
90 mg/kg P2O5). Aluminum calcium phosphate (Cadmium content less than or equal to 90 mg/kg
P2O5). Basic slag, Crude potassium salt, Potassium sulfate with magnesium salt (Products from
crude potassium salts obtained by physical extraction)
 Cultivation of sweet potatoes - abbreviated text
8. Grain residues in the production of alcohol and extracts of such residues (Grain residues in the
production of alcohol with ammonia are excluded)
9. Calcium carbonate - chalk, marl, limestone, chalk (Only of natural origin)
10. Magnesium and calcium carbonate. Magnesium sulfate-kierisite. Solution of calcium chloride and
calcium sulfate (Only of natural origin)
11. Nut products from the production of sugar, sugar beet and sugar cane. Industrial lime from
vacuum salt production. Nus product from the production of vacuum salt from the brine that can
be found in the mountains. Sodium chloride (Only rock salt from the sea and mines).

Note: The fertilizer factory should be built in the place of consumption.

Doing research on the use of organo-mineral fertilizers in production, we concluded that the use of
nutrients applied through organo-mineral fertilizers is more efficient than with mineral fertilizers. This
fertilizer effectively replaces mineral fertilizer and can increase the efficiency of organic production by up
to 24%. The advantages of using oragno-mineral fertilizer are the ability to recover the microbial flora
faster, reduce soil acidification and gradually release nutrients. Such advantages will affect the best
development of the root system, less phosphorus fixation for soil colloids and better water retention.
Sweet potato harvest and yield: Sweet potatoes are harvested when most of the roots reach more than
150 grams, which can be expected 90 to 120 days after planting. The extraction period is from August to
October and should be done before frost. A sign of the technological maturity of the roots is the white
juice that oozes when they are cut. One plant gives up to three kilograms of roots and in commercial
production the yield can be from 30 to 50 tons per hectare. Sweet potato leaves can be harvested
several times a year.

The period of sweet potato biostimulation, according to the phenophases and the consumption amount
of biostimulator "AlpStemin Royal" for 1 hectare is: 15,900 gr = 15 kg and 900 gr.
1. Phenophase: Induction and termination of dormancy. Type of use: Soaking seeds. Number of operations:
1x soaking to start germinationm. Amount: 600 gr.
2. Phenophase: Germination. Type of use: Watering and spraying .Number of operations: 1 x spraying or
watering, for sprout development. Amount: 900 gr.
3. Phenophase: Root and Stem growth. Type of use: Watering and spraying .Number of operations: 4x
spraying and watering. Amount: 4. 800 gr.
4. Phenophase: Stem growth. Type of use: Watering and spraying.Number of operations: 2x spraying and
watering. Amount: 2.400 gr.
5. Phenophase: Foliage growth. Type of use: Watering and spraying .Number of operations: 2x spraying and
watering for leaf development. Amount: 2.400 gr.
6. Phenophase: Flowering. Type of use: Spraying .Number of operations: 1 x spraying for flower
development . Amount: 1.200 gr.
7. Phenophase: Ripening of tubers. Type of use: Watering and spraying .Number of operations: 3 x
watering and spraying for ripening of tubers development . Amount: 3.600 gr.

The calculation was made for the amount of powder preparation used.The formula for using the powder is:
300 grams per 100 liters of tea from: willow bark, field horsetail, nettle. dandelion, chamomile, mint and
marjoram. (Tea preparation: 5 kg of dry matter of the mentioned plants per 100 liters of water, boil for 1
hour or macerate for 10 days, drain and mix with powder). The required amount of liquid intended for one
spraying for 1 hectare is 350-400 liters.
 Cultivation of sweet potatoes - abbreviated text

Remark: If we apply the principles of feeding and biostimulation (budget for 1 hectare) of organic production
by feeding plants: (7 tons of organomineral fertilizer), which is produced from the previously mentioned raw
materials with the recipe necessary to obtain approx.: 70-90 kg of pure nitrogen, 120-150 kg of pure
phosphorus and 170-190 kg of pure potassium in the amount of approx. 7-9 tons of organic-mineral fertilizer
and the correct use of biostimulators in the amount of approx. 15 kg and 900 grams, we expect an increase
in economic efficiency of up to 35%.