Sweet potato (ipomoea batatas): an alternative within raw materials

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), commonly called sweet potato (from Taino), camote (from nahuatl camohtli) or boniato, is a plant of the Convolvulaceae family, cultivated in much of the world for its edible tuberous root. Unlike the potato sweet potato is not a tuber, it is a reserve root.

Sweet potato is versatile and its genotypes can be selected to meet the needs of a particular use.

• Sweet potato storage roots are consumed directly as food. The tips of the foliage are an important protein resource although they are not used very often.
• In the tropics, edible roots are not stored for long periods due to the indeterminate growth of sweet potatoes and the fact that multiple planting allows harvesting of reserve roots for most of the year.
• Both the roots and foliage serve as animal feed.
• Roots can also be used as a starch resource and for fermentation products such as: wine, ethanol, lactic acid, acetone and butanol.

The People’s Republic of China produces about 75% of the world’s sweet potato production. Making it the country’s second after rice.

In general, sweet potato is an important food crop in many tropical countries.

In the United States it is produced for consumption as a vegetable supplement and in many regions it is strictly associated with religious holidays.