In the last four decades of the twentieth century the use of sweetpotato was diversified beyond their classification as subsistence, food security, and famine-relief crop. In developing countries they serve both as human food and for feeding livestock. In Western countries they appeal to health conscious consumers because of their nutritional aspects. The sweetpotato is very high in nutritive value, and merits wider use on this account alone. The book has 2 parts. A general one giving up-to-date information on the history, botany, cultivars, genetic engineering, propagation, diseases and pests, nutritional data and marketing; and a second part presenting data on sweetpotato growing practices in different areas of the world. The information should be useful to researchers, practitioners and crop administrators in different countries.

"In the last four decades of the twentieth century the use of sweetpotato was diversified beyond their classification as subsistence, food security, and famine-relief crop. In developing countries they serve both as human food and for feeding livestock. In Western countries they appeal to health conscious consumers because of their nutritional aspects. The sweetpotato is very high in nutritive value, and merits wider use on this account alone. The book has 2 parts. A general one giving up-to-date information on the history, botany, cultivars, genetic engineering, propagation, diseases and pests, nutritional data and marketing; and a second part presenting data on sweetpotato growing practices in different areas of the world. The information should be useful to researchers, practitioners and crop administrators in different countries."

General.- Introductory Remarks.- Origin, Distribution and Economic Importance.- Botany and Physiology: Storage Root Formation and Development.- Important Cultivars, Varieties, and Hybrids.- Genetic Engineering.- Propagation of Sweetpotatoes, In Situ Germplasm Conservation and Conservation by Tissue Culture.- Major Fungal and Bacterial Diseases.- Virus and Phytoplasma Diseases.- Nematodes.- Sweetpotato Insects: Identification, Biology and Management.- Uses and Nutritional Data of Sweetpotato.- Economics of Sweetpotato Production and Marketing.- Marketing Sweetpotatoes in the United States: A Serious Challenge for Small-to-Moderate Volume Growers.- Sweetpotatoes in Different Regions.- Sweetpotato Production in the United States.- Sweetpotato in China.- Sweetpotato in Sub-Saharan Africa.- Sweetpotato in the Indian Sub-Continent.- Sweetpotato in South America.- Sweetpotato in West Africa.- Sweetpotato in Southeast Asia: Assessing the Primary Functions of a Secondary Crop.- Sweetpotato in Israel.- Sweetpotato in Oceania.- Concluding Remarks.