NC’s Own: The Covington Sweetpotato

NC State is a hotbed of innovation. The research departments are filled with experienced scientists who are experts in their fields.

In one of the more productive fields grow the sweetpotato, North Carolina’s number one crop. We produce more than 60 percent of the sweetpotatoes sold in the U.S., way more than any other state, and have held that distinction since 1971. In a normal year, our farmers harvest more than one billion pounds.

Americans on average consume more than seven pounds of sweetpotatoes per year; half of them are grown in North Carolina.

The university’s sweetpotato and potato breeding and genetics programs in the horticulture department crank out new varieties with two goals: to appeal to consumers with a variety of colors and flavors, and to appeal to farmers with an easy to grow and marketable crop.

Dr. Craig Yencho and his colleague Kenneth Pecota have bred a few, the Carolina Ruby and the Carolina Rose, “but those were niche varieties,” says Yencho. “They didn’t get a lot of traction.” Then in 2005 they released the Covington.

“It was a stable variety that yielded well from field to field and year to year,” he says. “It retains its shape, it stores well and is disease resistant.” In less than five years it dominated the market.

“It wasn’t our first,” he says, “but it was certainly the biggest.”

So big it now accounts for about 88 to 90 percent of North Carolina’s sweetpotato production.

It’s a major export to Europe; Yencho says people ask for it by name.

The name comes from Henry M. Covington, who was on the horticultural science faculty from 1948 to 1974.

He was an industry giant, who spent a lot of time in the field, says Yencho. “He had a really large impact, back when the industry was much smaller.”

NC State credits him with doubling sweetpotato yield per acre.

There is now an endowment under Covington’s name established by the North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission to fund research and implementation of new varieties and keep the industry sustainable.