Growth and Yield Response of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) Varieties to Lowland Agro-Ecology of Raya Azebo, Ethiopia

Evaluation activity was conducted using four sweet potato varieties (Awassa-83, Kabode, Kulfo and Tulla) at Mehoni Agricultural Research Center (MeARC) during 2015 and 2016 testing years. The treatments were arranged in randomized complete block design with three replications. The analysis of variance table indicated the existence of significant variation among sweet potato varieties for all the characters considered in this study in both 2015 and 2016 testing years except number of nodes/plant and tuber diameter during 2016 cropping year. From this investigation, significantly higher marketable yield (29.20 t ha-1) and total yield (33.42 t ha-1) were obtained from Kulfo variety. Overall, Kulfo was found well adapted and produced higher yield in the testing location. Hence, it is possible to use Kulfo variety for the production of marketable and total tuber yield by farmers and investors in Raya Azebo, Ethiopia