YIELD AND QUALITY GAPS IN SWEET POTATO: MULTI-ENVIRONMENT DATA INTERACTIONS IN BRAZIL

• Grant number: 25/22609-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2026
• End date: February 28, 2030
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: André Ricardo Zeist
• Grantee: Julia Roberta Sanches de Pieri
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] shows broad adaptation, high rusticity, and recognized nutritional value, and is cultivated across all regions of Brazil. Despite a productive potential exceeding 30 t ha¿¹, the national average remains between 12 and 18 t ha¿¹, revealing yield gaps associated with genetic, edaphoclimatic, and management constraints. Although recent breeding programs have advanced biofortification and crop adaptation, integrative analyses that jointly relate productivity, root quality, and environment are still lacking. This project aims to quantify yield and quality gaps in sweet potato, identifying the genetic, nutritional, climatic, and management factors that most influence the expression of productive potential. The study compiles data from more than 60 trials conducted between 2019 and 2025 in different regions of the country, with 30 additional experiments planned over the next three years, encompassing contrasting soil, climate, and cultivation technology conditions.The data will be validated, standardized, and integrated into agronomic, edaphoclimatic, nutritional, and management categories, including postharvest assessments in selected environments. Analyses will comprise correlations, multiple and quantile regressions, ANOVA, and hierarchical mixed models (restricted maximum likelihood, REML; best linear unbiased predictors, BLUPs), as well as multivariate approaches such as principal component analysis (PCA) to integrate productivity, stability, and quality attributes. This framework will allow estimation of potential yield, calculation of yield gaps, and identification of more responsive environments and practices, as well as genotypes with greater adaptation and stability.The study intends to provide a national synthesis of the determinants of sweet potato productivity and quality, establishing benchmark yield models and supporting environment-specific technical recommendations. The results are expected to help reduce yield gaps, improve input use, guide genetic improvement, and strengthen the sustainability of the crop in Brazil. (AU)