{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T10:36:13Z","timestamp":1787567773101,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":13,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]],"date-time":"2026-08-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787356800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) is a vital crop for food security, yet yields in Cuba remain below potential (2.5\u201310.0 t ha\u22121) due to suboptimal propagation practices. This study investigated the impact of nodal position (1\u201322) on root development in stem cuttings of cv. \u2018INIVIT B-240\u2019 under controlled conditions. Root primordia (24 h), fibrous roots (7 days), and storage roots (60 days) were evaluated. Intermediate nodes (8\u201312) exhibited superior rhizogenic capacity, with node 10 showing the highest root primordia density (3.0 \u00b1 3) and nodes 10\u201312 producing the most fibrous roots (24.6\u201326.7 roots\/cutting). Storage root formation was optimal at nodes 5\u201313, particularly nodes 8\u201311 (1.30+ roots\/node; highest biomass). Multivariate analysis (Integrated Performance Index) confirmed nodes 8\u201312 as the most productive cluster. These findings challenge traditional apical-cutting practices, showing that mid-stem nodes optimize both rooting and tuberization. We propose inverted planting of pre-apical sections to bury high-performance nodes, potentially increasing yields in resource-limited systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants15172548","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T09:20:02Z","timestamp":1787563202000},"page":"2548","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Node Position Determines Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) Cutting Performance: Toward a Targeted Inverted Planting Strategy"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3131-2221","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alfredo","family":"Morales","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute of Tropical Roots and Tuber Crops (INIVIT), Santo Domingo 53000, Cuba"},{"name":"Institute of Food Crops, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), Nanjing 210095, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dania","family":"Rodr\u00edguez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Institute of Tropical Roots and Tuber Crops (INIVIT), Santo Domingo 53000, Cuba"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-6990-8041","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peiyong","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Food Crops, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), Nanjing 210095, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zhaodong","family":"Jia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Food Crops, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), Nanjing 210095, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qian","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Food Crops, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), Nanjing 210095, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shuai","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Food Crops, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), Nanjing 210095, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7660-9160","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xiaofeng","family":"Bian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Food Crops, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences (JAAS), Nanjing 210095, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4598-8118","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iv\u00e1n Javier Pastrana","family":"Vargas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agronomic Engineering and Rural Development, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Universidad de C\u00f3rdoba, Carrera 6 No. 77-305, Monter\u00eda 230002, Colombia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9232-7590","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yinhua","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michel","family":"Leiva-Mora","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Technical University of Ambato, Cevallos 1801334, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5007-7634","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Orelvis","family":"Portal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Central University \"Marta Abreu\" of Las Villas, Santa Clara 54830, Cuba"},{"name":"Agricultural Research Center, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Central University \"Marta Abreu\" of Las Villas, Santa Clara 54830, Cuba"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4395-8660","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luis Rodrigo","family":"Saa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biological and Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, Private Technical University of Loja (UTPL), Loja 1101608, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"FAO (2023). FAOSTAT. Crops and Livestock Products\u2014Production Quantity of Sweetpotatoes, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available online: https:\/\/www.fao.org\/faostat\/en\/#data\/QCL."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"CIP (2024). Hechos y Cifras Sobre el Camote, Centro Internacional de la Papa. Available online: https:\/\/cgspace.cgiar.org\/server\/api\/core\/bitstreams\/95174551-7379-4b3f-ae48-c0061ddf67f9\/content."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Morales, A., Ma, P., Jia, Z., Rodr\u00edguez, D., Vargas, I.J.P., Ventura, V., Gonz\u00e1lez, J.E., Portal, O., Diaz, F., and Parrado Alvarez, O. (2025). Evolution of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.) breeding in Cuba. Plants, 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/plants14131911"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Morales, A., Pastrana Vargas, I.J., Rodr\u00edguez del-Sol, D., Portal, O., Beovides Garc\u00eda, Y., Rodr\u00edguez Garc\u00eda, Y., Jim\u00e9nez Medina, A., Le\u00f3n Valdivies, Y., and Ventura Ch\u00e1vez, V. (2024). Inheritance of the flesh color and shape of the tuberous root of sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.). Horticulturae, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/horticulturae10101032"},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"1","article-title":"Effect of cutting position and vine pruning level on yield of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.)","volume":"5","author":"Netsai","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Arid. Agric."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1040","DOI":"10.3732\/ajb.1400505","article-title":"Adventitious root primordia formation and development in stem nodes of \u2018Georgia Jet\u2019 sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas","volume":"102","author":"Ma","year":"2015","journal-title":"Am. J. Bot."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Loebenstein, G., and Thottappilly, G. (2009). Storage root formation and development. The Sweetpotato, Springer.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4020-9475-0"},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"1","article-title":"A study of tuberous root formation in sweetpotato","volume":"68","author":"Togari","year":"1950","journal-title":"Bull. Natl. Agric. Exp. Stn."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"808","DOI":"10.21273\/HORTSCI.48.6.808","article-title":"Variation in nitrogen rate and local availability alter root architecture attributes at the onset of storage root initiation in \u2018Beauregar\u2019 sweetpotato","volume":"48","author":"Villordon","year":"2013","journal-title":"HortScience"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"419","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tplants.2014.02.002","article-title":"Root architecture and root and tuber crop productivity","volume":"19","author":"Villordon","year":"2014","journal-title":"Trends Plant Sci."},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"Belehu, T. (2003). Agronomical and Physiological Factors Affecting Growth, Development and Yield of Sweetpotato in Ethiopia. [Ph.D. Thesis, University of Pretoria]. Available online: https:\/\/repository.up.ac.za\/server\/api\/core\/bitstreams\/4395cc37-6e17-45db-9c1c-f42a5bfd4e6a\/content."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Song, Y., He, Z., Sun, G., Deng, S., Deng, Z., Lyv, C., Tang, D., and Wang, J. (2026). Effects of node number of vine cuttings and planting methods on endogenous hormone contents at nodes and storage root formation in sweet potato. PLoS ONE, 21.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0351031"},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"455","article-title":"Effect of substrates, planting period, explants nodal level and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on sweetpotato vine cutting production in soil and soilless systems","volume":"32","author":"Ossai","year":"2022","journal-title":"Yuz. Y\u0131l Univ. J. Agric. Sci."}],"container-title":["Plants"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/15\/17\/2548\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T09:43:06Z","timestamp":1787564586000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/15\/17\/2548"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]]},"references-count":13,"journal-issue":{"issue":"17","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["plants15172548"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/plants15172548","relation":{},"ISSN":["2223-7747"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2223-7747","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]]}}}