Effect of axillary bud number on stem cuttings of sweet potato cv. ‘Blesbok’ productivity using sack gardening technology

Increasing urbanisation and the rise in global food prices, which results in severe hunger and micronutrient deficiencies, necessitates the identification of innovative, but affordable vegetable growing-based strategies, that can increase access to food by utilising the limited space available in rural and urban areas. Therefore, sack gardening technology could be a solution to both the lack of arable land and water scarcity in urban and rural areas. The objective of the study was to determine whether axillary bud number will have an effect on the agronomic parameters of sweet potato cv. ‘Blesbok’ produced using the sack gardening technology. The number of axillary buds per stem cutting, namely, 1 (control), 2, 3, 4, and 5 buds, were arranged in RCBD, with 10 replicates. The number of axillary buds had significant effects on vine length (VL), fresh shoot mass (FSM), number of shoots (NOS) and dry shoot mass (DSM). However, no significant effects were observed on fresh tuberous root mass (FTRM), chlorophyll content (CC), stem diameter (ST), tuberous root diameter (TRL), tuberous root length (TRL), dry tuberous root mass (DTRM) and number of tuberous roots (NTR). Relative to the control VL, FSM and DRM was reduced by 8-37, 30-55 and 26-55%, in stem cuttings having 2, 3, 4 and 5 buds, respectively, whereas the NS was increased by 8-17%. The quadratic relationship models were explained by 95, 92, 96 and 98% in VL, NOS, FSM and DSM, respectively. In conclusion, stem cuttings containing 1 and 2 axillary buds showed better growth parameters when grown under sack gardening technology.