Plants
sweet potato
Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.
Family: Convolvulaceae · Genus: Ipomoea
Short-cycle creeping tuber crop. Pasini lists it in the low stratum of Tabela 3. Excellent living ground cover early in the agroforestry cycle, edible roots in 4–6 months, edible leaves year-round.
Götsch succession
- Götsch stage
- Placenta I
- Ecological role
- Pioneer
- Primary stratum
- Ground cover
- Strata
- Ground cover, Low
- Biomass class
- No biomass production
Environment
- Light requirement
- Full sun
- Water requirement
- Moderate
- Drought tolerance
- High
- Soil pH range
- 5–7
- Preferred soil texture
- Sandy, Loamy
- Hardiness zones
- 10–12
Morphology
- Mature height
- 0.2–0.4 m
- Root system
- Fibrous
- Root depth
- Shallow
- Growth rate
- Very fast
- Lifespan
- ≤ 1 year
- Time to first harvest
- 4 months
Biomes & climate
- Atlantic Forest Naturalized
- Cerrado Naturalized
- Amazon Naturalized
- Caatinga Suitable
Köppen classes
- Tropical savanna with dry winter (Aw) Suitable
- Subtropical with dry winter (Cwa) Suitable
- Tropical monsoon (Am) Suitable
Where it fits in a guild
Sweet potato takes the Ground cover stratum in the Placenta I phase of succession — in a guild it shares the line with species from the other strata, each harvesting light at its own height, in its own time.
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🪴 Cultivation
Prefers light, sandy-loam, well-drained soils with pH 5–7 (tolerates 4–8.7); notably drought-tolerant (350–5,000 mm rainfall) once established. Propagated from terminal-shoot cuttings (slips); tuberous roots harvested in ~4 months (90–120 days). Frost-sensitive — vines die at around 5 °C.
❓ Frequently asked questions
How long until the first harvest of sweet potato?
The first harvest of sweet potato comes around 4 months after planting.
How tall does sweet potato grow?
At maturity, sweet potato reaches 0.2–0.4 m tall.
What stage and stratum does sweet potato occupy in a syntropic system?
In a syntropic system, sweet potato belongs to the placenta i stage, occupying the ground cover stratum.
Functions
Propagation
Cutting
Citations
- Pasini, F. & Guimarães, L. (2017) — Conceitos e princípios práticos da agrofloresta sucessional, Tabela 3 (Incaper) , p. 116 (primary_stratum)
- PFAF Plant Database — Ipomoea batatas (ph_min, ph_max, hardiness_zone_min, hardiness_zone_max, root_system, root_depth, drought_tolerance, propagation, time_to_first_harvest_months, soil_texture_preference, cultivation_notes)
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. (gbif_taxon_key, family, genus)
External references
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