Delayed Sweet Potato Harvest

posted 08 October 2009 | by nataliefinnegan

Heavy rain since mid-September has severely delayed the sweet potato harvest in some northern Louisiana parishes, according to the LSU AgCenter. “Some production areas have had from 7 to 20 inches of rain,” said Tara Smith, LSU AgCenter sweet potato specialist. “We know we’ll see some losses in low-lying areas of some fields.” Smith said the sweet potato harvest has been delayed by a couple of weeks in some areas, and harvest statewide is about 35 percent to 40 percent completed, compared with 50 percent to 60 percent completion at this time in a typical year. Although rain itself isn’t a problem, “prolonged wet conditions can cause roots to break down and affect yields…..”