Some effects of potassium gibberellate on sweet potato sprout production

Early planting of sweet potato slips is necessary for maximum yield in the midsouthern and northern sweet potato producing regions of the United States because cool weather limits the length of growing season.

Proximal dominance in sweet potato roots causes the production of slips to be extended over a period of approximately three weeks. For this reason, sweet potato growers must maintain twice as much bed space and bed twice as many roots as would be necessary if all of the slips were produced in a shorter period of time. Alternatively, growers may wait for the slips and accept reduced yields.

Since the gibberellins have affected the growth of many kinds of plants in various ways, including the breaking of apical dominance in plants of some species, this series of trials was undertaken to test some of the effects of potassium gibberellate on sweet potato slip production.