Effects of severity and frequency of apical shoot harvest

This book is based on a dissertation research. Experiments were conducted at the Federal University of Agriculture in Abeokuta to determine severity and frequency of apical shoot harvest on growth and tuber yield of two sweet potato varieties SHABA and SPK-004 which growth within a forest Savannah transition zone of sub-Saharan with two distinct seasons the wet season, which extends from March to October, and the dry season, which usually occurs from November to February in Nigeria. The results of the study and recommendations are reflected in the book. Cutting sweet potato apical shoots at 30cm is recommended for optimum shoot production while cutting at 15cm is recommended if the root yield is of interest. Apical shoot harvested at an interval of 2 weeks interval is recommended for optimum gross economic returns from both shoot yield and root yield production.Variety SHABA is recommended for production intended for optimum tuber yield while variety SPK-004 is recommended is shoot yield is of interest. A repeat of this study is recommended for the purpose of validation, especially in regions where both sweet potato shoot and root production is of significant economic importance.