Ipomoea batatas - breeding of Sweet Potato - Camote - New Zealand

[Chris Morrison]

Should be plenty Bee action Richard, it's sooo dry, bugger all other flowers out for bee food. I have to check for pods at mid day or later, it's almost sticking your hand in a hive, early morning! Also have noted some ants, and lady bugs crawling thru the plants.

[Richard Watson]

I'm not seeing bees at all, ants though

[Richard Watson]

looks to be my first seed pods are forming. Apart from one clone all the camotes are flowering and both clones Chris sent are not either. Having 12 days so far this summer over 30Cdeg has helped kick off good flowering.



Today I tied the flowering clones to some short bamboo sticks so as to keep them above the rambling EFR and Okinawan clones, bit easier for the bumble bees to find the flowers

[Richard Watson]

Bumble bees are just brutal on flowers, watching a few buzzing around the flowers on dawn before the flowers had opened fully for the day and one bee couldn't get in so he/she ripped it down the side to get in.

[Chris Morrison]

Oh Wow! I have seen ripped flowers, and wondered WTF! Well spotted, they love that pollen huh.

[Richard Watson]

They prefer pumpkin flowers i reckon, watching this morning where the pumpkin flowers had heaps of bees, just the odd one comes over from there

[Chris Morrison]

Some flowering variations on Native EFR. First 2 pics are one stem with 3 flowers only, and all open at same time. Have not seen this before. More usual, is the 3rd pic, with 6~7 flower heads per stem, and each opens over a period of a bout a week? Currently have 2 Native pods harvested, in the house, and 3 more on plants, and a whole heap (50?) on G1 Camote, a few on BB. Weather has cooled off a tad. Next 7 days between 23 and 30 degree highs, consistent 16 degree overnight lows.

[Richard Watson]

Me being closer to Antarctica than you must be why Native EFR has no flowers, big plant though

[Richard Watson]

No luck with these pods, they fall off.

looks to be my first seed pods are forming. Apart from one clone all the camotes are flowering and both clones Chris sent are not either. Having 12 days so far this summer over 30Cdeg has helped kick off good flowering.

[reed]

That's a bummer.  They looked fine, it might be the plant is non self compatible and didn't have an appropriate mate. They will just fall off if not pollinated.

I think you might need some more seeds. I'm fixing to get mine out and send some to folks here in NH. Want me to drop a few more your way when I do? I could send some of the 25% or so that matured OK in the cold wet summer of 2018. Maybe they would adapt a little better for you. 

[Richard Watson]

I have lots of flowers from all but one of the clones atm which the bumble bees are doing there thing, so I'm thinking that these flowers should be the one that produce seed, problem is we are now at the start of the cool down period, so Ive arranged a heap of bamboo stakes with glass bottle on the tops so my clear plastic cover can be pulled over on cool nights, that should help hopefully 

[Richard Watson]

Thanks for your generosity Mark, but between the three of us in different NZ latitudes currently growing what has came from your seed I think we should be ok, as a starting point you will know acclimatizing to 'further downunder' is our target. Hopefully our MPI people keep the door open on Ipomoea batatas imports and a number of others. you never know what can happen, I may have to take up you offer again.
Chris should have a few seedlings come spring, even if its only one or two, crossing them over the first clones will be another step. Unfortunately me being the furthermost south makes it challenge, Chris on eastern side of the North Island had a quite a run of above normal extreme temperatures which has helped him. Mike is the third gardener who received cuttings from both Chris and me, he didn't get them till later so its taken him longer to get to flowering stage. His climate sounds idyllic being on a small frost free island directly north of Auckland, but then it can be one hell of a challenging climate also, like at the moment next to no rain for three months and then they can get so so wet too. But in normal year he grows huge kumara crops, the I cant see why Camote shouldn't do just as well.

[reed]

His climate sounds idyllic being on a small frost free island directly north of Auckland, but then it can be one hell of a challenging climate also, like at the moment next to no rain for three months and then they can get so so wet too. But in normal year he grows huge kumara crops, the I cant see why Camote shouldn't do just as well.

All climates are getting that way, that's one reason I think sweet potatoes from seed is so important. In "normal" or a dry year here I can get great harvest plus lots of seeds.  A year like 2018 I still get a pretty good harvest even if fewer seeds.

With my strain of 100 day seed to seed or "seed to feed" as the one feller put it I still get at least some good roots in a bad year and lots of seeds in good years. Since the seeds stay viable for years even not frozen I can always start where I left off  in case of a total crop failure. Perpetual cloning can't touch that level of security and I can't think of many other crops that could either.

[Chris Morrison]

Pelled first 2 Native EFR pods today. On left, the 'ovate' larger pod, that indeed held 2 good hard, although lighter brown colored, seed.

On right, a small pod, that dried off quickly on the vine, and held a soft, useless 'seed'. I suspect not properly pollinated?

Still happy to have perhaps NZ's very first native Kumara seeds, in the tin :-)

[whwoz]

Good Work Chris, you are helping to inspire us here in Oz, and to keep our hopes up