Breeding programs involve large investments of time and money, but can pay very large returns on investment in the form of improved varieties which benefit farmers, societies and the environment. International breeding efforts involving multiple partners and targeting regionally important constraints have great potential for efficiently and rapidly achieving impact. Standardized information on the performance of progenies and selected clones across environments is necessary in order to assist breeders to efficiently make decisions about selection and variety release. Standardized methods also facilitate the reporting of breeding program results to the agencies that support us. This manual of procedures for the evaluation and analysis of sweetpotato trials provides standard methods for partners in CIP’s global breeding efforts.

The manual is the result of an iterative process involving discussions among breeders at a series of meetings held over the past two years, starting with support from the HarvestPlus program of the CGIAR and continuing under the Sweetpotato for Profit and Health Initiative. The manual is a work in progress and will be refined further in the coming years in response to the needs of sweetpotato breeders and the producers and consumers we serve. We are excited about the application of new methods to sweetpotato breeding, including an accelerated breeding approach that will emphasize recurrent selection and may make systematic use of heterosis, and which will lead to the release new varieties in 3 years. Standardized methodology and reporting will help us to achieve our objectives.