Sweetpotato plant named ‘Charleston-163’

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of sweetpotato plant named Charleston-163, characterized by high anthocyanin content, high yield, with storage roots having smooth dark purple skin and medium purple flesh. When baked the storage roots have a deep violet color and a unique, sweet flavor with a dry, smooth texture. Storage roots have a long shelf life and will remain marketable up to one year in storage. The new cultivar Charleston-163 has field resistance to common soil insects and diseases and a wide adaptation for production in the southeastern United States and California.

Claims

1. A new and distinct sweetpotato plant named Charleston-163 as illustrated and described herein.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) The accompanying photographs (as shown in FIGS. 1-6) illustrate the overall appearance of the new sweetpotato cultivar Charleston-163. These photographs show the colors as true as can be reasonably obtained in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description, which accurately describe the colors of the new sweetpotato cultivar.

(2) FIG. 1 shows storage roots of the new sweetpotato cultivar Charleston-163 as well as a bowl of baked, mashed flesh to show the color and consistency;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a single plant of the new sweetpotato cultivar Charleston-163 having sixteen storage roots (petite and fingerling size);

(4) FIG. 3 shows a flower and upper surfaces of leaves attached to a stem of a main plant of the new sweetpotato cultivar Charleston-163;

(5) FIG. 4 shows flowers and lower surfaces of leaves attached to a stem of a main plant of the new sweetpotato cultivar Charleston-163 (with the cyme structure of the flower shown);

(6) FIG. 5 shows a flower and upper surfaces (top row) and lower surfaces (bottom row) of leaves detached from a stem of the main plant of the new sweetpotato cultivar Charleston-163; and

(7) FIG. 6 shows a field of plants of the new sweetpotato cultivar Charleston-163, grown organically, in Livingston, Calif.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CULTIVAR

(8) In the following description, color references are made to the Munsell Book of Color, Matte Finish Collection, 1976 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

DESCRIPTION OF GROWING CONDITIONS

(9) Plants of the new sweetpotato cultivar Charleston-163 used for the description herein were planted in May and harvested between 120 and 140 days after planting, and were grown using standard growing conditions and fertilization. In all trials on sweetpotato farms in Colleton County, S.C., Hastings, Fla., and Merced County, Calif., it was found that the new cultivar performed well on local sandy loam soils low in organic matter. Soil samples were submitted for soil testing, and in South Carolina, the field was fertilized according to recommendations for sweetpotato production (90 lbs of nitrogen, 110 lbs of phosphorus, and 110 lbs. of potash) using a split fertilization, with half applied at planting and half applied at about 45 to 50 days after planting. Further, micro nutrients were applied based on test results for production of sweetpotato in South Carolina, which recommended a micronutrient composition of 5 lbs of sulfur, 0.38 lbs of boron, and 10 lbs of manganese. At California and Florida locations, 90 lbs per acre of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium were applied according to recommendations based on local soil tests.

(10) To control weeds, 1.5 pints per acre of a pre-emergent herbicide were applied at 2-10 days after transplanting, as well as a grass herbicide at 1 pint per acre. No fungicides, nematicides, or insecticides for soil insect pests were required. In trials in South Carolina and California, it appears that the new cultivar is as field resistant and/or tolerant to soil pathogens and insect pests and diseases as the female parent Camote morado, even though Charleston-163 was not subjected to screening under standard conditions. Such pests and diseases include bacterial root rot, bacterial stem rot, Fusarium root rot, WDS complex (involving wireworms, Canoderus spp.; cucumber beetles, Diabrotica spp.; and flea beetles, Systena spp.; as well as, in some cases, beetles such as the flea beetle (Chaetocnema confinis), white grubs (Plectris aliena), and/or Phyllophaga ephilada). In contrast, the cultivar Covington (commercial cultivar, not patented) grown in the same fields as Charleston-163 showed damage to these pests and/or diseases. In California trials, plants of the new cultivar were grown under certified organic field conditions with no soil insect pest and/or disease damage observed. In the same field, Covington showed insect damage on the storage roots due to WDS complex and flea beetle.

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

(11) Botanical classification: Family.Convolvulaceae. Botanical name.Ipomoea batatas, (L) Lam. Common name.Sweetpotato. Cultivar.Charleston-163. Parentage: Female or seed parent.Camote morado. Male or pollen parent.Unknown; open pollination from one of the Charleston, S.C. sweetpotato breeding lines. Propagation: Asexual reproduction of clones by vine cuttings. Unrooted cuttings having a length of approximately 10 in to 11 in were transplanted 12 in apart with a finger transplanter. Storage root description: Color, skin.Dark purple/scarlet (2.5RP (Red Purple) 3/2). Color, flesh.Raw: Purple (5R (Red) P (Purple) 3/6) with very small amounts of white. Color, flesh.Cooked: Uniformly distributed, vivid violet. Rooting habit.Adventitious roots with some developing into storage roots. Storage root size and shape.Small to medium: Roots having a diameter of between approximately 1.5 in and approximately 2.25 in and a length of between approximately 3 in and approximately 7 in. Elliptic in shape. Medium to large: Roots having a diameter of between approximately 1.75 in and approximately 3.5 in and a length of between approximately 3 in and approximately 9 in. Ovate or elliptic in shape. Plant description: Type.Herbaceous vine, can be perennial or annual. Plant form.Trailing herbaceous vine. Growth habit.Annual, non-determinate, moderately to rapidly spreading. Plant height.Rarely taller than 2 feet in height. Stem color.Green (G (Green) lOGY 6/1) specked with medium purple (2.5R (Red) P (Purple) 3/2). Foliage description: Arrangement.Alternate. Shape.Triangular to tri-lobed. Margin.Entire to slightly toothed. Texture, upper and lower surfaces.Coarse. Color, developing and fully expanded foliage.Upper surface, expanded: Medium green (7.5G (Green Yellow) 4/4) with green veins. Lower surface, expanded: Medium green (7.5G (Green) Y (Yellow) 6/4). Petiole.Length: Approximately 4 in. Color: Green (G (Green) 10GY 6/1). Inflorescence description: Unlike most commercial sweetpotato cultivars that bloom only on short days, Charleston-163 is day-length neutral and produces many flowers throughout both long days of summer and shorter days of fall. Charleston-163 starts blooming in late May or early June, and blooms until frost. In contrast, it was reported that Stokes Purple blooms for only about 60 days. Flower type.Cyme. Flowering habit.Peduncle typically bears 3 to 5 flowers, sometimes bearing a single flower, with each flower having a height of approximately 3 cm. The flower opens in the morning and usually closes by evening. The flower does not have a fragrance. Number of flowers per inflorescence: 3 to 5 flowers, sometimes a single flower. Flower appearance.Tubular or funnel-shaped with 5 fused petals. The flowers are complete with a white stigma and having approximately 5 white anthers (2 anthers, each approximately 2 cm in length, and 3 short anthers, each being approximately 1.5 cm in length). The stigma is approximately 2.5 cm long and is exerted longer than the longest anther. Corolla.Arrangement/appearance: Petals (typically 5) are fused into a tube or funnel, limb or top of corolla has round or rotate shape. In contrast, the top of the corolla of the flower of Stokes Purple has a semi-stellate shape. Tube color (mature): Outer surface: Lavender (10P 9/11). Inner surface/throat: Dark purple (7.5R (Red) P (Purple) 4/6). Peduncle.The peduncle is approximately 5 cm long and is the same green color as the stem (green (10GY6/1)). Calyx.The calyx includes 5 sepals, three of which are obovate in shape, with 2 inner sepals having a length of approximately 1 cm and 2 sepals having a length of approximately 0.75 in and being lanceolate in shape.

COMPARISON WITH KNOWN CULTIVARS

(12) Stokes Purple (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 17,976), a purple-skinned, purple-fleshed variety from Asia, is currently the only purple sweetpotato available in several states. Stokes Purple does not typically have a uniform root shape, is often long and lumpy in shape, and often presents with prominent veins on the surface of the skin of the storage roots. In contrast, Charleston-163 produces uniformly shaped storage roots that are elliptical in shape, lacks prominent veins, and has flesh that is medium purple with less white mottling than Stokes Purple.

(13) Okinawa Purple (heirloom cultivar, not patented), a tan-skinned, purple-fleshed variety from Asia, does not produce sufficient yields, shape well, or perform well when field grown in the southeastern United States and California. In contrast, Charleston-163 has purple skin, purple flesh, produces sufficient yield, produces uniformly shaped storage roots, and is adapted for production in California and the southeastern United States.