LIME APPLICATIONS INCREASE EXTENDED SWEET-POTATO TRANSPLANT PRODUCTION IN HEATED BEDS

This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of aged pine me dia (sawdust and bark) and lime amendments (0.0, 2.2, and 4.4 kg/m(3)) on the production of 'Georgia Jet' sweetpotato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] transplants at four harvests. At the first harvest, transplant p roduction with aged pine sawdust and aged pine bark increased quadrati caly and linearly, respectively, with increasing lime rates. Aged pine media did not differ in their effects on transplant number or mean tr ansplant weight and length at the early (first two harvests) or extend ed (four harvests) harvest periods. Transplant numbers increased linea rly, but mean transplant length decreased linearly with lime applicati on during both periods. A reduction in mean transplant weight was also observed. The results of this experiment provide evidence that the po sitive effect of amending aged pine sawdust and bark with lime continu es through an extended harvest period. Transplant production, however, decreased considerably following the second harvest. Greatest early- and extended-season transplant yields were 1840 and 2200 transplants/m (2), respectively. Media pH or leaf mineral nutrient concentrations di d not adequately reflect the yield responses.