When to plant Sweet potato in Luba

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Sweet potato

Bioko Sur, Guinea Ecuatorial

Sweet potato is a trailing vine you grow from vine cuttings (slips), not from seed and not by planting the root.

Sweet potato in Luba, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure Rain-fed With irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant 24 Apr 2027 – 11 Sep 2027 opens in 29 weeks 2 Mar 2026 – 28 Oct 2026
Expected harvest about 21.1 t/ha about 23.9 t/ha
Harvest From 23 Jul 2027 to 8 Feb 2028, depending on the planting date
Ready to harvest 90–150 days after planting
Work it takes 70–148 days per hectare, by hand

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 24 Apr 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Luba leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.

Planting after 11 Sep 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Luba

Rain and temperature 96%
The soil 96%
The lie of the land 60%

For sweet potato in Luba, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 60%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.

The 2026 season in Luba

When the rains are expectedJanuary 2026 to January 2026
Rain in a typical yearAbout 2,615 mm
This season's rainLeaning dry — January looks short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early.
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +0.5 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supportsenough rain for a long crop, or two in a year, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers3 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 77% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
77% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 365 growing days · about 2,670 mm · January to December
14% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 338 growing days · about 2,440 mm · January to January
8% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 365 growing days · about 2,960 mm · January to December

last updated 17 September 2026

Sloping ground holds back about 20% of yield here.

What sweet potato needs to grow here

Soil it likes well-drained sandy, sandy loam or loam soil
Soil sourness (pH) Happiest between pH 5.0 and 6.5
Rain it needs About 750–1,000 mm across the season
Spacing 100 cm between rows, 30 cm between plants
Feed it most with potassium and nitrogen

What it takes to grow sweet potato in Luba

Planting materialAbout 33,000 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)About 84 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)About 32 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)About 169 kg per hectare
In the shopsA basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work70–148 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a sweet potato crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageableEarly-maturing — escapes late drought

Grow Sweet potato with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Luba as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Sweet potato in nearby districts

This calendar moves

Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.

Frequently asked questions

Will sweet potato grow well in Luba?

Luba rates as favourable for sweet potato.

When should I plant sweet potato in Luba?

Typically 24 Apr 2027 to 11 Sep 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Luba, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.

Also worth considering in Luba

Keep going

Timing is one question. What the crop needs at every stage, what attacks it and where to sell it are the others.