ASHS 2025 Conference

Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) is a new crop to western Washington and has been evaluated for yield and wireworm resistance in trials at Washington State University’s Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center (WSU NWREC) in Mount Vernon, WA since 2019 and in on-farm trials across western Washington since 2023. Trials at WSU NWREC have included over 20 different sweetpotato cultivars and breeding lines, some of which have proven well suited for production in the region due to high yield and/or wireworm resistance. To assess marketability in the region, in February 2025 we evaluated eating quality of 21 sweetpotato cultivars and breeding lines, including nine orange-fleshed, five yellow-fleshed, and six purple-fleshed entries. Participants in the taste test (IRB exempt