In Brazil, the average yield of sweet potato is consistently below the potential of the crop due to the cultivation of local varieties and unimproved genotypes. Increase in yield is achieved by the adoption of appropriate cultural practices and use of more productive cultivars. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of root yield traits in sweet potato cultivars. Six sweet potato cultivars were evaluated: Princesa, BRS Amelia, BRS Cuia, Brazlândia Roxa, Beauregard and BRS Rubissol in an experiment conducted in Canoinhas-SC. These cultivars were planted in the field, in the agricultural years 2012 and 2013, in a randomized block design with three replications and plots consisting of 11 plants. At 150 days after planting, the plants were harvested and the root yield components were evaluated. In general, the cultivars assessed in this study are good choices for sweet potato growers, with yields greater than the country's average. Cultivars Beauregard and BRS Rubissol showed the best results for the traits related to root yield. Cultivars Princesa, BRS Amelia and BRS Cuia showed intermediate performance for commercial roots, especially in the second year of the assessment. The cultivar Brazlândia Roxa had the worst performance for yield root characters at 150 days after planting, which was probably due to its longer cycle.
Ipomea batatas (L.) Lam; commercial roots; root mass
