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The goal of this study was to determine the agronomic performance of 13 sweet potato genotypes for their cultivation in Costa Rica. Ten were introduced from North Carolina State University's Micropropagation and Repository Unit, and were grown for the first time in Costa Rica. Two (Exportación and Zanahoria) were more recent introductions into the country, having been cultivated here for at least 5 years, and the one remaining (Criollo) is the most widely used locally. The field experiment was conducted at the Fabio Baudrit Experiment Station, of the University of Costa Rica, located in Alajuela province. The treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design, with 13 genotypes and 4 repetitions. The analysis of variance showed significant differences (p=0.0001) among genotypes for all evaluated variables: fresh and dry foliar weight; storage root fresh and dry weight; number of storage roots, storage root weight/plant, dry matter content and yield (t⋅ha-1). The root yield of all genotypes evaluated was higher than that of the local variety Criollo (6 t⋅ha-1) as well as the national average (5 to 7.8 t⋅ha-1), ranging from 12 to 48 t⋅ha-1. These results indicate that some varieties are promising for release in Costa Rica, not only because of their good performance in terms of yield, but also due to quality traits such as orange or yellow flesh, associated with high carotene content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to study whether avocado dry matter content (DMC) could be used as an appropriate harvest index in substitution of fruit oil content (OC), for Hass avocados grown in intermediate elevation areas (1750 masl) at Los Santos geographical region, Costa Rica. A total of 2000 pollinated flowers were tagged in 100 trees after fruit set. Thirty five fruits were evaluated each week, from week 31 to 44. It was found that both, OC and DMC, showed a rapid and significant increase after week 39 (p≥0.05), with a correlation coefficient between them of 0.92. Other observed simultaneous changes, related to fruit ripening, were the development of skin purple color (covering 74% of the surface area), the reduction of the adherence of the seed coat to the fruit pulp, and of the skin and seed to the pulp, as well as the decrease of the fruit firmness, from 118 N during the 31st week down to 57 N at week 40 and beyond. The use of 23% DMC in fruits is recommended as a harvest index for Hass avocado in Los Santos growing area, as an alternative to fruit oil content (OC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]