Improvement of North Carolina Organic Sweet Potato Production Systems

Recipient Organization
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV
(N/A)
RALEIGH,NC 27695

Performing Department
Crop & Soil Sciences

Non Technical Summary
North Carolina is one of the largest producers of sweet potatoes in the nation. Increasing numbers of growers are turning to organic production to meet the market demand. Organic production methods offer the ability to improve the environmental impact of sweet potato production; however, there is a general lack of information for growers as to how to best produce organic sweet potatoes. Our research is aimed at improving organic production methods and creating means by which growers can easily obtain this information.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
205	1450	1060	50%
102	1450	1060	30%
111	1450	1060	10%
213	1450	1060	10%

Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 205 - Plant Management Systems; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water; 213 - Weeds Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
1450 - Sweet potato;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);

Keywords

Goals / Objectives
The major goalsof this project are to improve understanding of best practices in the production of organic sweet potatoes in North Carolina and offer growers information to improve their production systems. Specific objectives include, but are not limited to:1. Comparison of new and emerging sweet potato germplasm for their performance in organic systems. This includes yield, pest and disease resistance, weed competition, and consumer preference.2. Development of no-till/reduced tillage systems that aid in the improvement of soil health while minimizing weed pressure and dependence on external nutrient application.3. Screening new wheat germplasm performance under organic production systems as a more viable and profitable rotation option for sweet potato growers.4. Screening emerging crops, such as Stevia, as a potential rotation crop for organic sweet potato growers.

Project Methods
Research will be conducted on NCDA research stations and on-farm. These studies will range in their design but will be based off of the scientific method and all will contain conventional checks so as to allow for comparison among new treatments and traditional methods. These studies will be repeated both in different environments around the state as well as across multiple years to allow for a estimating variability and, more importantly, the stability of our treatment effect(s).