When to plant Sweet potato in Muleba

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Sweet potato

Kagera, United Republic of Tanzania

Known here as kiazi kitamu · viazi vitamu

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

Sweet potato in Muleba, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure Rain-fed With irrigation
Fit Favourable
When to plant 28 Aug 2026 – 26 Feb 2027 open now 21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027
Expected harvest about 21.1 t/ha about 23.9 t/ha
Harvest From 26 Nov 2026 to 26 Jul 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 5 Jan 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's outlook for Muleba leans wet. Plant at the early end of the window, and make sure water can drain off the field — a wet year does more damage through waterlogging than through the rain itself.

Planting after 26 Feb 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Muleba

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

For sweet potato in Muleba, 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 2026/27 season in Muleba

Rainy seasonsOne each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expectedSeptember 2026 to June 2027
Rain in a typical yearAbout 963 mm
This season's rainLeaning wet — January, February, November and December look heavier than usual. Make sure water can drain off the field; a wet year does more damage through waterlogging and disease than through the rain itself.
This season's heatHotter than usual — about +1.2 °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 45% of this area.
Agro-ecological zones covering this area
45% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 292 growing days · about 930 mm · September to June
40% enough rain for a long crop, or two in a year; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 309 growing days · about 1,230 mm · August to June
12% enough rain for one full main crop; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 249 growing days · about 830 mm · September to May

last updated 16 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 Muleba

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 — manageable

Grow Sweet potato with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Muleba 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

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 Muleba?

Muleba rates as favourable for sweet potato.

When should I plant sweet potato in Muleba?

Typically 28 Aug 2026 to 26 Feb 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Muleba, 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 Muleba

Keep going

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