67 Days of Sweet Potato — From Vines to Roots

AssalamuAlaikum everyone!

Today I am sharing another update on my sweet potato crop. It has been 67 days since I planted this crop, and at this time a very important stage has begun in the crop. The vines have spread well, have covered the ground to a considerable extent and now the process of forming sweet potato tubers is also starting to appear in the roots below.

When I planted this crop, the most important thing in my mind was to spread the vines properly. In sweet potatoes, just looking green and dense is not enough, the real goal is that the vines stay in the right place and their nodes come into contact with the ground so that new roots can form there and these roots can later turn into sweet potato tubers.

From the beginning, I tried not to let the vines gather in one place Where the vines were overlapping each other, they were lifted by hand and spread to the other side. In this way, the vines were turned over and spread out on the ground in a suitable way so that as much of them as possible were in contact with the ground. This work seems very trivial, but I think it makes a lot of difference in the sweet potato crop.

In this picture too, you can see that the vines have spread out quite a bit and the process of new roots has started in many places. This is the stage that the farmer is waiting for, because now we have to see how well the knot is formed underground and what the final yield will be.

I would definitely like to share an interesting thing here. When the sweet potato vines started spreading out too much, once a friend of mine also helped me turn over the vines and spread them out in the right place. This helped the vines spread out on the ground better and the knots came into contact with the ground in many places, where the process of root formation has now started.

I used weed spray, but the results were not great. That is why this year I also looked into this matter very carefully and observed its effects on the crop myself. The product seen in the picture is Halt 75% WDG, which is used for weed control. But my personal experience is that instead of relying only on the spray, the condition of the crop, the type of weed present, the time and method of application should also be given great importance.

The same result is not obtained every year in agriculture. Soil, weather, humidity, type of weed and the time of spraying all affect the result. That is why I share my crop experiences with you so that those who are cultivating sweet potato or other crops can also compare their experiences.

Now my special focus is on the development of the roots and tubers of the crop. 67 days have passed and the crop still has plenty of time to move forward. If the vines remain healthy, the moisture is adequate, and the soil is nutrient-rich, hopefully the root thickness and nodule formation will improve in the coming days.

For me, the beauty of this crop is that from above we only see the green vines, but the real hard work and the real result is being prepared underground. The farmer watches the crop for several weeks, but the decision is ultimately made by the nodules emerging from the ground.

My goal right now is to maintain the crop well, place the vines in the right place, and use water and fertilizer according to the crop's needs. When the nodules develop further in the coming days, I will definitely share their pictures with you all.

This is a 67-day journey of my sweet potato field. The journey is not over yet, the real result will come when the crop is harvested.

If you are also cultivating sweet potato, then do share your experience in the comments, how long is your crop and at what stage are the tubers forming in your field.