Effects of Irrigation Regimes on Yield and Water Use by Sweetpotato

Abstract

Sweetpotatoes [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam cv . Georgia Jet] were grown on two soil types in drainage lysimeters under controlled soil water regimes during 1982 and 1983. Water regimes consisted of irrigating the sweetpotatoes throughout growth when soil water tension at 23 cm exceeded 25, 50, or 100 kPa or by allowing a 100-kPa water stress before root enlargement, during early root enlargement, or throughout root enlargement. Water use and marketable yields were greater when sweetpotatoes were grown on a Tifton loamy sand (fine loamy, siliceous, thermic, Plinthitic Paleudult) than when grown on a Bonifay sand (loamy, siliceous, thermic, Grossarenic, Plinthitic Paleudult). Water use, marketable yield, and yield of U.S. #1 grade roots generally decreased when soil water tensions exceeded 25 kPa before irrigation, although soil water stress of 100 kPa during storage root development did not significantly affect yield. Regression equations are provided to describe the relationships of water use to plant age and to compute daily evapotranspiration: pan evaporation ratios (crop factors) for sweetpotatoes irrigated at 25, 50, and 100 kPa of soil water tension.