2025 Vol-5 Issue-2 | AGRONOMIC CHARACTERIZATION AND EVALUATION OF FIELD PERFORMANCE OF VARIETIES OF SWEET POTATO IN FEDERAL CAPITAL TERITORY (FCT), ABUJA.

The study involved three field trials. First, a survey identified the sweet potato varietiescultivated in each of the six Area Councils of the FCT-Abuja. Subsequently, the fieldperformance of selected varieties was evaluated in two trials conducted at the University ofAbuja Teaching and Research Farm. Fresh biomass yield (t/ha), percentage of standsurvival, number of storage roots/plots at harvest, number of marketable and unmarketablestorage roots/plot, harvest index, root yield (t/ha), vine length (cm), number of vines perstand, number of leaves per stand, and tap root length (cm) were all recorded. The Rstatistics software was used to do an analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the acquired data.The Least Significant Difference (LSD) was employed to differentiate treatment means thatwere significantly different (p≤0.05). In both cropping seasons, the results indicated thatthere was no significant difference (p≤0.05) in the varieties' length, number of leaves, leafarea, number of vines per stand, percentage of survival, total number of storage roots perplot, and number of unmarketable roots. The quantity of marketable roots, fresh biomassweight, and tuber length and weight of the chosen varieties, however, varied substantially(p≤0.05). Furthermore, significant variations in tuber weights were noted between the firstand second trials. In the first trial, Ex-Igbarima exhibited the highest weight (5.00 kg),while Pofan dan Kano had the lowest weight (1.97 kg). In the second trial, King J had the highest weight (10.67 kg), and Pofan dan Kano had the lowest weight (5.63 kg). Based onthe superior and efficient performance of King J, Ex-Igbarima, TIS-8164, and orange fleshed varieties, farmers in the FCT are encouraged to cultivate these cultivars for commercial production.