(Note: This article has local interest because of the number of Washington Parish sweet potato growers.)
“Would you like regular or sweet potato fries with that?” is an oft-asked question to diners across America. And for those looking for a higher-fiber, nutrient-dense option to accompany their main course, the latter is often the way to go — especially if they are baked rather than fried.
The sweet potato is so crucial to Louisiana that the state Legislature named it the official state vegetable in 2003. Its rich history and economic importance led to the designation, as the root vegetable has been grown here for more than 200 years and, to date, is the No. 1 horticulture crop, according to LSU AgCenter crop specialist David Picha.
But sweet potato acreage has dwindled over the decades, going from nearly 100,000 acres statewide circa World War II to a little more than 5,000 today. This precipitous decline has AgCenter researchers like Picha and visiting scholar Sofia Catucuamba looking at ways to diversify the number of commercial products in which the root might be included.
“At one point, we were the top sweet potato-producing state in the U.S., but now we’re No. 5 in terms of acreage,” Picha said. “However, there are a lot of opportunities for growth and expansion of the industry in developing new products high in nutrition and bioactive compounds.”
The product expansion that Picha foresees is possible in no small part due to the AgCenter having world-renowned sweet potato research programs, which include cultural practices, breeding, pest management and postharvest physiology. This includes work being conducted on 300-plus acres in northeast Louisiana at the Sweet Potato Research Station.
One of the most widely consumed cultivars of sweet potatoes in the U.S. is the Beauregard, which was released in 1987 by AgCenter entomologist Larry Rolston. It was later improved upon with the development of the Orleans cultivar by AgCenter breeder Don La Bonte in 2012, which has the same quick 90-day maturity but more uniformly shaped roots.
Orleans purees well, which makes it ideal for use in products like smoothies, yogurt, ice cream and baby food, just to name a few.
The opportunity to develop new outlets for sweet potatoes is one of the reasons that Catucuamba chose to continue her studies and conduct research at LSU in the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences.
“Growing up in an agricultural area inspired me to study agronomy,” the Ecuadorian said. “Studies like these are important for the innovation of new products with local ingredients.”
With sweet potatoes being a nutrient-dense superfood that, among other benefits, can support vision, gut health and regulate blood pressure, Picha believes market expansion is not only viable, but important to the state’s economy.
According to Picha, expanding domestic consumption and exports to markets like Canada and Mexico through new product development could help revitalize the industry by appealing to health-conscious adults who want the best for both themselves and their children.
Picha said that while Louisiana is no longer the No. 1 state in sweet potato production, demand for the product and its health benefits remains high, and there is no better place for research and development than the AgCenter.
"We have to recapture the strength we once had in the sweet potato industry because we have one of the world’s foremost breeding and research programs here,” he said. “We’re looking at all aspects of the industry to strengthen all the links in the value chain.”
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