Abstract: Based on the apical dominance characteristic of plant,the two years' experimentation showed significant advantages on the sweet potato cultivation using the apical seedling technique.In 31 days after planting,the root growth of the sweet potatoes became earlier and faster than the backward 2-3 part seedlings,i.e.,14.8-17.6 cm longer on the main cirrus,1.4-2.5 more side cirrus and 1.3-4.6 cm longer on the side cirrus.The sweet potato's external appearance was smooth and yield 24%-30% greater than the backward 2-3 part seedlings which was statistically significant at P>0.05.The orthogonal test results showed that(a)the seedling method had the highest F valve of 98.5,approaching the significant difference level of 99;and(b)the planting density and fertilization did not cause any significant growth differences as compared to the control.This new seedling breeding method took only 10 days in a greenhouse to obtain apical seedlings with roots for field application.After 80 days,the seedling cultivation coefficient was 191.3,i.e.,15.9 times higher than that obtained by using the traditional technique.In addition,it cost less than the conventional method,and was believed to be feasible for commercialization.

Key words: sweet potato, apical seedling, root cultivation