Obtain virus-free planting material for sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes are easy to grow almost all year round, but Bill Kerr warns that you need to guard against viruses taking hold of the crop.

- BILL KERR

Sweet potatoes are susceptible to various viruses, and as they are planted from actively growing runners, the virus can be spread through this material. Thus, you need to ensure that you use virus-free planting material.

Symptoms on the plants are often visible, but not in all cases. If you plant contaminated material, it will result in a reduction in yield reduction.

As planting material is often collected from previous crops year after year over the course of decades, it's no surprise that the runners you receive from your neighbour may not be virus-free.