Quantitative Analysis of Qualitative Traits of Different Genotypes of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.)

In this research the health and qualitative traits were evaluated of different sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) cultivars grown in Veneto Region. Although sweet potato is a niche crop in Italy, it is also a traditional cash crop for some farmers. The experiment was conducted during 2009 at the Experimental Station of the University of Padova. Four different genotypes, 2 white skinned and fleshed (CV1 and CV2), one red skinned and orange fleshed (CV3) and one purple skinned and white fleshed (CV4) were compared following the normal agronomic techniques used in Veneto Region. At harvest roots were divided into 4 weight classes (<99; 100-199; 200-299; >400g) and intrinsic quality was evaluated. The highest production of heavy roots was recorded in CV3, followed by CV1, CV2 and then CV4. The latter also showed a very different root shape which was less round than the others. CV2 exhibited the highest antioxidant activity and phenols content, whereas CV4 performed better than the others for ascorbic acid and magnesium content. QDA (Qualitative Descriptive Analysis) was also used to represent the global quality of the CVs.