Field Crop 2025, Vol.8, No.1, 11-19 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/fc 11 Case Study Open Access Case Study on Nutrient-Enriched Sweet Potato Varieties: Breeding and Agronomic Performance ZhenLi Hainan Institute of Biotechnology, Haikou, 570206, Hainan, China Corresponding email: zhen.li@hibio.org Field Crop, 2025, Vol.8, No.1 doi: 10.5376/fc.2025.08.0002 Received: 09 Nov., 2024 Accepted: 27 Dec., 2024 Published: 19 Jan., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Li, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Li Z., 2025, Case study on nutrient-enriched sweet potato varieties: breeding and agronomic performance, Field Crop, 8(1): 11-19 (doi: 10.5376/fc.2025.08.0002) Abstract Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), as a versatile crop, has become an important food source in many resource-deficient areas due to its high yield and good storage stability. This study reviewed the breeding technology and agronomic performance of nutrient-rich sweet potato varieties, and explored the potential and application of biofortified sweet potato in global nutrition improvement; and systematically reviewed the main breeding methods for enhancing the nutritional value of sweet potato, including genetic engineering and traditional breeding techniques, as well as the role of these technologies in improving the vitamin A, antioxidant and mineral content of sweet potato. Combined with actual cases, this study aims to provide strategies for future breeding programs and facilitate the development and promotion of nutritionally fortified crops. Keywords Nutrient-enriched sweet potato; Orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP); Biofortification; Agronomic performance; Vitamin A deficiency 1 Introduction To be honest, it’s a complicated matter to address micronutrient deficiencies, but biofortification is a good idea (Garg et al., 2018). This may be especially useful in places where people cannot afford to eat a diverse diet. However, both traditional breeding and genetic modification can be used, and the key is to increase the vitamin and mineral content of crops (Kumar et al., 2022). In Africa, orange sweet potatoes are really helpful because of their high vitamin A content (Laurie et al., 2015). Of course, it’s not suitable for all places, but examples like iron-fortified beans and zinc-enriched rice (Dhaliwal et al., 2022) do show that biofortification can play a significant role in fighting hidden hunger. Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are interesting. You may not know that they are life-saving food in many places. They are high-yielding, easy to grow, and rich in nutrients-especially the orange-fleshed varieties, which are particularly high in beta-carotene (Tanumihardjo et al., 2017). To be honest, in places where agricultural conditions are not good, growing sweet potatoes can indeed help many families solve the problem of food. Of course, not all sweet potatoes are the same, but fortified varieties such as those tested in some African countries have been quite successful (Siwela et al., 2020). Although the effects may vary from region to region, data shows that these new varieties can indeed improve vitamin A deficiency and improve overall nutritional levels (Huey et al., 2022). This study mainly wants to talk about the biofortified sweet potatoes-how to breed, how to plant, and whether farmers will buy them. To be honest, although the nutrition of these new varieties has improved, it is not so easy to promote them. We have looked up many actual cases and found that some places do have good results and can help improve malnutrition (of course, it depends on how it is implemented). But then again, there are many troubles, such as planting habits and market acceptance. All in all, biofortified sweet potatoes are indeed a way, but to completely solve the problem of food security, we may have to observe further. 2 Breeding Techniques for Sweet Potato Varieties 2.1 Combining traditional breeding methods with modern biotechnology When it comes to sweet potato breeding, the old methods such as hybridization and selection have always been used a lot, after all, they can select high-yield and disease-resistant varieties (Zhang et al., 2024). However, in
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