Sweet potato, a perspective crop for the sandy soil area in Romania

Abstract

Due to the low natural fertility and climatic conditions characterized by excessive heat and insufficient precipitation, the sandy soils area in southern Oltenia can be characterized as a disadvantaged agricultural area, with farmers having a small variety of crops to ensure the exploitation of the soil in profitable conditions. In the context of climate change, in order to obtain high, safe and stable productions, it is necessary to choose the range of species and plant varieties with high adaptability to the climatic and soil conditions, in this context, Research-Development Station for Plants Culture on Sands Dăbuleni conducting research on the adaptability and profitability of sweet potato culture. Considering that in the tropical and subtropical regions completely replace the potato, F.A.O. mentions sweet potatoes on the 7th place in the world among agricultural crops. Currently, this culture is less known in Romania. With the increase in the import of vegetables, the interest of Romanian consumers for this species of tropical origin has increased. Taking into account these considerations, the researches aimed at establishing the technology of sweet potato cultivation on sandy soils and the biological and biochemical peculiarities of this species. The obtained results were similar to those in the literature, the differences being due to the studied genotypes and to the climatic conditions of the crop year. It is a drought resistant species with vigorous growth and high productivity (20-40 t / ha). Sweet potato is a species of perspective for Romanian vegetable growing, with special nutritional qualities and economically profitable.