The effects of early harvesting on yield, root size

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the stated research gap and future-work section and recommendations of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2024 and 2026, spanning 3 journals.

Supporting evidence — 4 representative gaps

• Genotype × harvest time effects on yield, root size distribution, and sensory quality in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) (2026) · BMC Plant Biology · doi

  The effects of early harvesting on yield, root size distribution, and marketable value of sweet potato genotypes are not well understood. There is a need to understand genotype-specific growth patterns and harvest responses.

  generalstated research gap
  Keywords: effects early harvesting yield root size distribution marketable
• Impact of sweet potato growing methods on the yield of three sweet potato varieties in eastern Zimbabwe (2024) · African Journal of Agricultural Research · doi

  Further studies can investigate the impact of other growing methods on sweet potato yield and harvesting index. Studies can also explore the effects of different fertilizer application rates on sweet potato yield and harvesting index.

  generalfuture-work section
  Keywords: further studies investigate impact other growing methods sweet
• Genotype × harvest time effects on yield, root size distribution, and sensory quality in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) (2026) · BMC Plant Biology · doi

  Principal Component Analysis (PCA) summarized the multivariate variation among sweet potato genotypes based on yield- and quality-related traits [72, 73]. The first two components accounted for the majority of total variation, with PC1 primarily associated with yield- related traits—including total root number, total root mass, economic root number and mass, and total yield per hectare—while individual sugar contents (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) loaded negatively [58, 74–76]. Genotypes with higher PC1 scores exhibited greater root number and mass, whereas genotypes with lower PC1 scores had higher concentrations of individual sugars. PC2 was mainly influenced by vegetative traits and indi- vidual sugar accumulation, reflecting variation in second- ary characteristics. Pearson correlation analysis further supported these patterns, showing negative associations between yield- and sugar-related traits (Figure S6) [77]. Integration with genetic analysis revealed that traits contributing strongly to PC1—particularly total root mass and economic root number and mass—also exhib- ited high heritability and genetic advance, suggesting an important contribution of additive gene action and substantial potential for improvement through pheno- typic selection [27, 77–81]. In contrast, vegetative traits and individual sugar contents (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) generally showed low to moderate heritabil- ity and genetic advance, reflecting strong environmental influence and limited potential for direct selection [78, 82]. Temporal variation in individual sugar accumula- tion across harvests further underscores environmental effects, such as temperature, rainfall, and char land con- ditions [82–84]. Consequently, selection focusing on root yield components may achieve higher genetic gains than direct selection for glucose, fructose and sucrose [85–87]. This study raises the question of whether increased root size at later harvests coincides with continued shoot growth. The findings highlight the importance of align- ing harvest timing with genotype-specific performance within the evaluated harvest stages under the specific Modak et al. BMC Plant Biology (2026) 26:849 environmental conditions of this study. Further multi- time-point studies are needed to fully understand growth dynamics and optimize production efficiency, profitabil- ity, and consumer satisfaction.

  generalrecommendationsevidence 5/5
  Keywords: root traits yield total mass sugar variation number individual genetic selection genotypes related glucose fructose
• Pre-extension demonstration of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) varieties under the sedeni irrigation scheme in Habru district, North Wollo (2026) · Innovations in Agriculture · doi

  Further studies can be conducted to evaluate the performance of sweet potato varieties under different environmental conditions. Research can be done to develop new sweet potato varieties with higher yields and better disease resistance.

  generalfuture-work sectionevidence 5/5
  Keywords: further studies conducted evaluate performance sweet potato varieties

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