Pontotoc Sweet Potatoes by Kieran

 

Good day everyone and welcome back,

 This is day 5 of the 2022 Riverview High School FFA agriculture tour of the southern states of North Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Our only and last stop for day 5 was the Mississippi State University (MSU) Pontotoc Experiment Station in Pontotoc, MS. This station does a lot of things. They mostly grow sweet potatoes, corn, soybeans, cotton, conduct research, and collect data. The person who gave us this spectacular tour was Mr. Lorin Harvey. The position he told us that he considers to have is a “sweet potato specialist”. When he tells you he’s a sweet potato specialist, he isn’t wrong.

 We’re going to take it up a notch this time. Let's do farm to table 2.0 this time, shall we. First the sweet potatoes are planted in the middle of May. Sweet potatoes are planted by a transplanter. The transplanter is towed by a tractor and plants the leaves with the stems on into the ground. Someone sits in each chair of the transplanter to put the stems in the slots as the tractor is moving. The slots guide the stems into the ground. Now, the potatoes need some time to grow.

 While we wait for them to grow, let’s talk about the scientific research MSU does. MSU collects different samples of sweet potato stems from the field and greenhouses and tests them for various viruses. Another thing that has been successful as far as growing sweet potatoes in the greenhouse is biosecurity. Biosecurity is important because it can prevent invasive bugs from coming into the greenhouses and killing the plants. The way biosecurity works is by using a double door entrance and water bathing your shoes before entering. Aphids and whiteflies are the most common insects to cause virus transfers for sweet potatoes. This program does this research throughout the year.

It’s now August, the time of harvesting for Mississippi sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes are harvested through a machine also towed by a tractor. The sweet potatoes come on the conveyer belt once picked from the ground. As they come up on the belt, there are people who pick up the potatoes and put them in the boxes. After they’re in the box, they go to a temperature-controlled room to be graded by the USDA standards for size and texture of each potato.  After they’re graded, they’re shipped off to a warehouse and then to your local grocery store. Make sure to bake that sweet goodness when you have an opportunity. You're missing out if you don’t.

 Before I check out here, I want to state some fun facts, 

1. Sweet potatoes can range from a variety of colors. Such as orange, bright purple, neon pink, and a dark yellow. Orange sweet potatoes are the most common potatoes for the market.
2. 85% of sweet potatoes come from Mississippi.
3. Sweet potatoes need a temperature higher than 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Frost can also kill sweet potatoes.
4. 33,000 acres of sweet potatoes are grown in Mississippi.
5. Did you know that Vardimon, Mississippi is the sweet potato capital of the world?

  

After the sweet potatoes are harvested they are sorted for size and quality. This machine is very similar to the one we saw at the clam farm.

Being a research facility, they propagate new varieties of sweet potatoes using a process called tissue culture. 

This is Kieran checking out from the Ag Tour 2022 blog and I’ll see you in the next ag tour blog.