Sweet Potato Variety Descriptions

Vermilion

Skin Color: bright red-purple skin.

Flesh Color: reddish underlayer so minor skinning.

Susceptible/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Fusarium root rot: Resistant
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Intermediate resistance
  • Guava root knot nematode: Susceptible
  • Bacterial root rot: Susceptible to intermediate
  • Southern root-knot nematode: Susceptible
Vermilion Sweet Potatoes.jpg thumbnail

Orleans

Skin Color: light rose skin indistinguishable from Beauregard.

Flesh Color: orange flesh with an intensity similar to Beauregard.

Susceptible/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate: Intermediate to Resistant
  • Root knot: Susceptible
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Resistant
  • Bacterial soft rot: Susceptible (Beauregard is Susceptible)
  • Fusarium root rot: Resistant

Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station.

Reference: 2012 HortScience submission

Production license available

Patent Information:
LaBonte, D.R., C.A. Clark, T.P. Smith, and A.Q. Villordon. 2011. Patent Applied.

Orange skinned sweet potato in basket.

Bayou Belle

Skin Color: red to purple skin; fades slightly in storage, but very different from the light rose skin of Beauregard.

Flesh Color: deep orange flesh, intermediate between Evangeline and Beauregard.

Susceptible/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate: Resistant
  • Root knot: Intermediate to resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Highly resistant
  • Fusarium root rot: Resistant

Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station.
Exclusive license holder.
Special sub-license needed for out-of-state production

Patent Information:
LaBonte, D.R., C.A. Clark, T.P. Smith, and A.Q. Villordon. 2011. Patent Applied.

LA_07146.jpg thumbnail

Bellevue

Skin Color: copper skin

Flesh Color: bright orange flesh

Susceptible/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate - Resistant
  • Root knot: Highly Resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Intermediate
  • Bacterial soft rot: Very Susceptible

Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station

Reference: 2015. HortScience 50:930-931.

Patent Information:

LaBonte, D.R., C.A. Clark, T.P. Smith, and A.Q. Villordon 2014. LA 06-52 Sweetpotato. Patent applied for.

Orange skinned sweet potato in basket

Burgundy

Skin Color: red

Flesh Color: deep orange flesh

Susceptible/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate - Resistant
  • Root knot: Highly Resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Susceptible
  • Bacterial soft rot: Intermediate - Susceptible

Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station

Reference: 2014. HortScience 49:669-671.

Patent Information:

LaBonte, D.R., C.A. Clark, T.P. Smith, and A.Q. Villordon. 2015. LA 04-175 Sweetpotato. U.S. PP 25308

Red skinned sweet potatoes in basket.

Beauregard

Skin color: light rose skin, fades slightly in storage

Flesh color: moderately deep orange

Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate -Resistant
  • Root knot: Very Succeptable
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Bacterial root rot: Susceptible
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Resistant
  • Sclerotial blight: Intermediate
  • Fusarium root rot: Resistant

Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station

Reference: HortScience 27:377. 1987.

Two light rose skinned sweet potatoes. One has end cut revealing orange flesh.

Beauregard

A hill selection from Beauregard grown in North Carolina. Skin and flesh color

generally similar to B-63. In addition, the B-63 assumes a distinct "twining

habit" starting around 50 days after transplanting. This twining habit is

markedly absent in B-14.



Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases:



Please see information available for Beauregard 'B63.'

Two light rose skinned sweet potatoes. One has end cut revealing orange flesh.

Evangeline Sweet Potato™

Skin Color: light rose skin; fades in storage; slightly more red than Beauregard at harvest.

Flesh Color: intense deep orange flesh.

Susceptible/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate - Resistant
  • Root knot: Highly resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Resistant
  • Sclerotial blight: Susceptible
  • Fusarium root rot: Resistant

Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station

Reference: 2008 HortScience 43:258-259.

Patent Information:

LaBonte, D.R., C.A. Clark, and A.Q. Villordon. 2009. Evangeline Sweetpotato. US PP 19710.

Sweet potatoes with orange skin in basket with one cut open revealing deep orange flesh.

O-Henry

Skin color: cream

Flesh Color: A white-fleshed mutation selected from Beauregard.

Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases: assumed to be similar to Beauregard.

Two sweet potatoes with cream skin. One has end cut revealing white flesh.

Murasaki-29

Skin Color: dark purple skin

Flesh Color: white flesh

Susceptible/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate -Resistant
  • Root knot: Highly resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Highly Resistant
  • Fusarium root rot: Resistant

Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station

Reference: 2008 HortScience 43:1895-1896.

Patent Information:

LaBonte, D.R., C.A. Clark, and A.Q. Villordon. 2009. Murasaki-29 Sweetpotato. US PP 19955

Bright red-skinned sweet potatoes in basket.

Bonita

Skin Color: light tan skin with a pink cast at harvest; fades in storage

Flesh Color: white with a tinge of yellow; ‘O’ Henry’ has a more yellow flesh

Susceptible/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate
  • Root knot: Highly resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Intermediate - resistant
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Susceptible
  • Fusarium root rot: Susceptible
Released by Louisiana Agriculture Experiment Station in 2010.

Reference: 2011 HortScience (in review)

Patent Information:
LaBonte, D.R., C.A. Clark, A.Q. Villordon, and T Smith. 2010. Bonita Sweetpotato. US PP applied for. Trademark applied for.
Tan skinned sweet potatoes in basket.

Porto Rico (PR-6)

Skin color: copper

Flesh color: salmon-colored

Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Susceptible
  • Root knot: Susceptible-Intermediate
  • Fusarium wilt: Susceptible
  • Bacterial root rot: Resistant-Susceptible Intermediate
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Unknown
  • Sclerotial blight: Susceptible
  • Fusarium root rot: Intermediate-Resistant

Released by North Carolina Agricultural Research Service

Reference: N.C. AES Bul. 429. 1966.

Two sweet potatoes with copper skin. One has end cut revealing salmon-colored flesh.

Texas Porto Rico

Red-skinned mutation of Porto Rico.



Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases: assumed to be similar to Porto Rico.

Two sweet potatoes with red skin. One has end cut revealing orange flesh.

Heartogold

Skin color: flesh-colored

Flesh color: deep orange

Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Susceptible-Intermediate
  • Root knot: Resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Susceptible
  • Bacterial root rot: Intermediate
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Unknown
  • Sclerotial blight: Susceptible
  • Fusarium root rot: Susceptible-Intermediate

Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station

Reference: La. AES Annl. Rept. 1947-1948.

Two sweet potatoes with tan skin. One has end cut revealing deep orange flesh.

Hernandez

Skin color: red

Flesh color: deep orange

Notes: Late developing.

Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate -Resistant
  • Root knot: Intermediate-Resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Intermediate-Resistant
  • Bacterial root rot: Resistant-Susceptible Intermediate
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Susceptible-Intermediate
  • Sclerotial blight: Unknown
  • Fusarium root rot: Intermediate


Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station

Reference: HortScience 27:377. 1992.

Two sweet potatoes with red skin. One has end cut revealing deep orange flesh.

Jewel

Skin color: copper

Flesh color: orange

Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Susceptible
  • Root knot: Resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Bacterial root rot: Intermediate
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Intermediate
  • Sclerotial blight: Intermediate
  • Fusarium root rot: Intermediate

Released by North Carolina Agricultural Research Service

Reference: N.C. Unnumbered Mimeo. Rept. Jan. 1970.

Two sweet potatoes with dark copper skin. One has end cut revealing orangeflesh.

Bienville

Skin color: light rose that fades at harvest

Flesh color: uniform orange, darker than Beauregard

Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases:

  • Soil rot: Intermediate -Resistant
  • Root knot: Resistant
  • Fusarium wilt: Resistant
  • Bacterial root rot: Resistant-Susceptible Intermediate
  • Rhizopus soft rot: Resistant
  • Sclerotial blight: Unknown
  • Fusarium root rot: Resistant

Released by Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station

Reference: HortScience 38:473-474. 2003.

Patent Information:

United States Patent PP15,380.

Orange skinned sweet potato in basket

Summary Data on Susceptibility/resistance to common diseases


Untitled Document

Sweet Potato Variety

Rhizopus Soft Rot

Southern Root-knot Nematode

Guava Root-knot Nematode

Soil Rot

Fusarium Wilt

Sclerotial Blight

Fusarium Root Rot

Bacterial Root Rot

Bayou Belle

R

I-R

S

I-R

R

-

-

S

Orleans

R

S

S

R-I

R

-

R

S

Beauregard

R

S

S

R-I

R

I

R

S

Bellevue

I

HR

S

R

R

-

-

S

Bonita

S

R

S

I

I-R

-

S-I

S

Evangeline

R

HR

I-S

I-R

R

-

R

S

Murasaki

R

HR

R

I-R

R

R

Covington

I

I-R

S

I-R

R

-

-

-

Burgundy

-

R

-

I-R

R

-

-

S

Centennial

-

S

R

S

I-R

I-S

I

R

Hernandez

I-S

R-I

S

R-I

I-R

-

I

R

Jewel

I

I-R

R

S

R

I

I

I

Porto Rico (Unit 1)

-

I-S

-

S

S

S

R-I

R


S = susceptible reaction, R = resistant reaction, I = intermediate reaction, – = unknown reaction

Soil Rot is a soil-borne disease favored by dry soil and pH above 5.2. Under severe disease pressure, a susceptible variety such as Jewel produces only a few distorted canner-size roots and no marketable yield while and intermediate-resistant variety such as Beauregard produces a normal yield but some roots may have a few lesions on them. No effect is observed on a resistant variety such as Bienville.

Root-knot nematode produces galls on feeder roots and either small bumps or cracks in storage roots, depending on the variety. This nematode is not as common a problem in sweetpotato fields as it once was and only occasionally are Beauregard roots found with the characteristic small bumps.

Fusarium wilt is caused by a fungus that can be both soil-borne and carried in ‘seed’. Most varieties with a rating of intermediate or resistant can be grown without any problems from Fusarium wilt. If a susceptible variety such as Heartogold or Porto Rico is grown in the same land for several years, plants may develop yellowing of older leaves, wilt and die during the growing season.

Bacterial root rot is caused by a bacterium that is carried in contaminated plants that are often symptomless. On susceptible varieties such as Beauregard, a rapid soft rot can quickly turn roots to mush if they are exposed to warm conditions with inadequate air exchange. Bacterial root rot is rarely seen on resistant varieties such as Porto Rico.

Rhizopus soft rot usually develops on cured roots when they are washed and packed for shipment. It causes a rapid soft rot and ‘whiskers’ of the causal fungus break out of the roots. The disease probably develops to some extent on all varieties but to a much greater incidence on susceptible varieties such as Hernandez than on resistant varieties such as Beauregard. Excessive damage to roots during packing or chilling damage to roots increases the susceptibility to this disease.1

Sclerotial blight is caused by a soil-borne fungus and causes wilting and death of plants in the plant bed. It develops to some extent on most varieties, but is more common on some such as Heartogold.2

Fusarium root rot is caused by a soil-borne fungus that infects wounds that occur during harvest. The disease often does not appear until late in storage. It is more common and more severe on susceptible varieties such as Travis and usually is not a problem in Louisiana on resistant varieties such as Beauregard.


1 Screening for Rhizopus soft rot did not begin until the mid-90’s. Old lines were not screened.

2 Resistance to Sclerotial blight is not screened, but observations are made on natural occurrence in beds. However, it is a very patchy disease in the field and it takes quite a while in large beds to get an impression on resistance.

7/18/2016 9:31:12 PM
Rate This Article:

Have a question or comment about the information on this page?

Innovate . Educate . Improve Lives

The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture

Top