Sweet potato harvest lags
Nov 3, 2009 10:11 AM, By David Bennett, Farm Press Editorial Staff
Unlike many other Mid-South crops, Louisiana’s sweet potatoes were planted at the ideal time this year. And just like other Mid-South crops, major rainfall has delayed harvest.
“We started planting in late May,” says Tara Smith, LSU AgCenter sweet potato specialist and research coordinator at the LSU AgCenter’s Sweet Potato Research Station in Chase, La. “Plantings continued into June. That’s the proper planting period and the majority of sweet potato plantings take place in that window.”
Towards the end of June, “we got into some dry conditions. But most of the south Louisiana crop had been planted and producers in north Louisiana were able to stay on track because of irrigation capabilities. For the most part, we had adequate soil moisture and very good stands were established across the state.”
South Louisiana was particularly dry during the months of June and July. Growers there were without significant rainfall for several weeks.
Sweet potato harvest usually begins in August, but dry conditions during the growing season resulted in an undersized crop. That meant producers delayed harvest until the crop “sized up a little. Initial reports indicated the crop would have good quality and average yields.”
Then, in mid-September, rain began to fall.
“Morehouse Parish in north Louisiana received the brunt of the rainfall with some producers getting in excess of 15 inches in only a few days.”
With sweet potatoes, “the concern isn’t necessarily the amount of rain but how long the ground remains saturated. The initial rain event did cause excessive concern, but as the rain continues to fall and drying time is limited, producers will become increasingly concerned.”
During the last week of September, sweet potato harvest kicked off in earnest across north Louisiana. Then, more rain arrived and shut down harvest operations again.
“Now, we’re in a holding pattern just waiting until we can get back in the field and assess the situation. We have received 7.5 inches of rainfall at the LSU AgCenter Sweet Potato Research Station since Sept. 15. But north of here, producers have received anywhere from 10 to 20 inches. Seven inches is a significant rain event, but it seems like a drop compared to 20 inches.”
Smith remains cautiously optimistic. “Right now, we’re okay but the quality of the crop will decrease if the current weather conditions persist. We know that we will have some crop loss and we need some dry conditions so we can resume harvest. This is the second week of October and we’re about 35 to 40 percent harvested across the state. We should be 70 percent complete at this time.”
Once sweet potatoes are ready for harvest how rapidly does degradation occur?
“It’s important to get them out in a timely manner for several reasons. Most of the producers across the Southeast — Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama — are growing the Beauregard and Evangeline varieties. The Covington variety is also being grown, but to a lesser extent. Both Beauregard and Evangeline are 100- to 120-day varieties. Of course, several variables like fertilization and environmental factors dictate when the crop will be harvested. However, in average, 100 to 120 days is usually when the crop is the ideal size for harvest.”
