Morphological Characterization and Evaluation of Different Sweetpotato Entries (Ipomoea batatas L.) in Response to Drought Condition

Abstract

The study was conducted at the Department of Agronomy Greenhouse, Benguet State University, at Balili, La Trinidad, Benguet from November 2015 to April 2016 to characterize the sweetpotato entries, determine the effect of drought on the growth and yield of sweetpotato entries, identify the sweetpotato entry that is most tolerant to drought; and determine the interaction effect of entries and level of drought stress on the growth and yield of sweetpotato. The level of drought stress significantly affected chlorophyll content at 150 DAP and number of days from drought imposition to leaf wilting of the sweetpotato plants. Among the entries evaluated, entry Kalbo-oy produced the longest vines, longest storage root and highest total yield. In addition, entries NSIC 31, Taiwan and Bukagan also produced high total yield. Significant interaction between level of drought stress and sweetpotato entries was noted on vine length, number of days from drought imposition to leaf wilting, relative water content, number of marketable storage roots and sugar content. Entry Kalbo-oy grown in either controlled or drought conditions produced the most numerous storage roots.