Zhangtai Wutian Honey Sweet Potato

Zhangtai Wutian Honey Sweet Potato

Zhangtai Wutian Honey Sweet Potato is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　I. Selecting Quality Varieties

　　　　Choose early-maturing varieties that produce many tubers per plant, with uniform size, attractive shape, smooth skin, and good taste. Examples include Xinxiang, Jinyu (Zhe 1257), Zhe 6025, and Liangyuan.

　　　　II. Land Selection

　　 Prefer loose, fertile loamy soil, with purple soil and yellow sandy loam as the first choices.

　　 III. Seedling Management

　　　　1. Select disease-free seed tubers, and soak them in an 80% "402" solution at 2000 times dilution for 5 minutes before planting.

　　 2. Choose a sheltered, sunny plot with good fertility and convenient management for the seedbed. The seedbed should be 150 cm wide and 16–25 cm high. Use well-rotted manure as base fertilizer, level the bed surface, and dig drainage ditches around.

　　 3. Generally start seedling cultivation in mid-to-late March, though early sowing is also possible. When arranging the seed tubers, place them diagonally with the top end up and the bottom end down, spaced 3–5 cm apart. After arranging, water with diluted manure, then cover with 3 cm of soil, and finally set up a shed with plastic film.

　　　　4. Before sprouting, keep the seedbed soil moist and maintain a temperature of 28–30°C. After sprouting, control the temperature at around 25°C. If the temperature under the film exceeds 35°C, provide ventilation to cool down. After the seed tubers germinate, apply human manure liquid. When the seedlings reach 10–13 cm, apply human manure liquid or compound fertilizer mixed with water for the second fertilization. When seedlings grow over 15 cm with 5–7 large leaves, they can be cut for transplanting. Water and fertilize after each cutting.

　　 IV. Field Cultivation and Management

　　 1. Land Preparation

　　 Till the land on sunny days. Use wide double-row or narrow single-row planting methods, with wide row spacing of 110–120 cm and narrow row spacing of 75–80 cm, and ridge height of 20–25 cm. When forming ridges, apply 1000 kg of well-rotted organic fertilizer per mu in strips along the ridge center, then shape and level the ridge surface.

　　 2. Transplanting

　　 Start transplanting in mid-May; for those using plastic film mulching, it can be done earlier. Use shallow flat or diagonal planting methods. For wide double-row planting, space plants 25–30 cm apart; for narrow single-row planting, space them 20–25 cm apart, with 4000–4500 plants per mu. Check and replant any missing seedlings immediately after transplanting.

　　 3. Hoeing, Weeding, and Fertilizing

　　 The first hoeing should be done when the vines begin to spread, then repeat every 10–15 days for a total of 2–3 times. About 15–20 days after transplanting, apply 30–40 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer per mu. Thirty days after transplanting, apply 10–15 kg of ash fertilizer per mu. In the mid-to-late growth stages, choose a sunny day after dew has dried to lift the vines. Adjust the frequency and intervals to prevent adventitious roots from forming.

　　 4. Pest and Disease Control

　　 Common diseases include viral disease, black spot disease, and purple root rot. Control methods: Select disease-free seed tubers, and soak seedlings in an 80% "402" solution at 2000 times dilution for 5 minutes before planting. Transplanted seedlings can be soaked in a 25% carbendazim solution at 1500 times dilution or a 50% thiophanate-methyl solution at 2000 times dilution for 10 minutes. Main pests include Spodoptera litura (armyworm) and sweet potato leaf beetle. For S. litura, in late June, spray 10% chlorfenapyr at 1000 times dilution or 5% tebufenozide at 800–1000 times dilution per mu, or spray 48% chlorpyrifos at 1000 times dilution. For sweet potato leaf beetles, 30 days after transplanting, use 20% triazophos EC at 600 times dilution or 2.5% deltamethrin at 4000 times dilution. WW

　　　　5. Harvesting

　　 Early-to-mid-season varieties can be harvested starting at the end of August or early September, while late-season varieties start in mid-October. The latest harvest should be before the first frost. Harvesting is prohibited on rainy days. When harvesting, dig, load, transport, and unload gently to avoid bruising the skin or flesh of the tubers.

　　 V. Post-Harvest Storage

　　 Store in a location kept at 10–15°C with relative humidity maintained at 85–90%. The storage area must be clean and hygienic, with rodent and toxin prevention measures in place. Use insulation to prevent freezing or crushing, and ensure proper ventilation to dissipate heat.