Divisi
When to plant Sweet potato in Tete
Moçambique
Known here as batata-doce
Sweet potato is a trailing vine you grow from vine cuttings (slips), not from seed and not by planting the root.
| Measure | Rain-fed | With irrigation |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Favourable | |
| When to plant | 6 Dec 2026 – 5 Jan 2027 opens in 9 weeks | 27 Dec 2026 – 21 Jan 2027 |
| Expected harvest | about 25.0 t/ha | about 35.0 t/ha |
| Harvest | From 6 Mar 2027 to 4 Jun 2027, 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 6 Dec 2026. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
No seasonal forecast reaches Tete yet, so these dates follow the rains it usually gets rather than this year's.
Planting after 5 Jan 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in Tete
| Rain and temperature | 96% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 96% |
| The lie of the land | 88% |
For sweet potato in Tete, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 88%. 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 2026/27 season in Tete
| Rainy seasons | One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it |
|---|---|
| When the rains are expected | November 2026 to April 2027 |
| Rain in a typical year | About 985 mm in a typical farming district |
| Across its districts | From about 629 mm in the driest of 15 districts to about 1,109 mm in the wettest |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — January and December look 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 heat | Hotter than usual — about +1.6 °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 supports | enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | 2 kinds of ground. The season below is one typical farming district's, not a figure for the whole of this area. |
| 93% | enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 164 growing days · about 800 mm · November to April |
|---|---|
| 6% | enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 181 growing days · about 1,000 mm · November to April |
last updated 17 September 2026 · from all 15 areas within it
Frost and pest pressure hold back about 15% 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 Tete
| Planting material | About 33,000 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 100 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 38 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 200 kg per hectare |
| In the shops | A 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 work | 70–148 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
Grow Sweet potato with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes Tete 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.
Where to sell Sweet potato nearby
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 Tete?
Tete rates as favourable for sweet potato.
When should I plant sweet potato in Tete?
Typically 6 Dec 2026 to 5 Jan 2027, typical season.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across Tete, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
