Sweetpotato plant named ‘Covington’

Abstract

Ipomoea batatas ‘Covington’ is an orange-fleshed, smooth-skinned, rose-colored, table stock sweetpotato. ‘Covington’ produces yields equal to ‘Beauregard’, the dominant sweetpotato variety produced in the United States, but it is 5-10 days later in maturity. The storage roots of ‘Covington’ are generally shorter and more uniformly shaped and fewer “jumbos” are produced as compared with ‘Beauregard’, resulting in higher “pack-out” by sweetpotato packers. The dry matter content of ‘Covington’ storage roots is slightly higher than that of ‘Beauregard’. ‘Covington’ is also resistant to the russet crack strain of sweetpotato feathery mottle virus, moderately resistant to southern root knot nematode, and appears to be less sensitive genotype by environmental interactions (measured as an improved overall appearance score, and the percentage of culls and off-types present at harvest), all of which are considered to be major flaws in the variety ‘Beauregard’. The flavor of the baked storage roots of ‘Covington’ has been judged to be excellent by standardized and informal taste panels. ‘Covington’ typically scores better in this regard when compared with ‘Beauregard’.

1. A new and distinct cultivar of  Ipomoea batatas  plant named ‘Covington’ substantially as illustrated and described herein.