Compact Non-Twining Ornamental Sweetpotato Cultivar
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The horticultural industry lacks ornamental sweetpotato cultivars with new or improved foliage colors, variegation patterns, leaf shapes, and compact growth habits that do not compete with other species in mixed containers, necessitating the development of a compact, non-twining, semi-upright variety with unique yellow-green palmate leaves and semi-erect mounding architecture.
Innovation Solution
The development of the Ipomoea batatas cultivar 'NCORNSP-025SCK', which is a compact, non-twining, semi-upright variety with yellow-green palmate 3-5 moderately lobed leaves and a semi-erect mounding plant architecture, bred through conventional crossing and asexual reproduction methods, including vegetative propagation and tissue culture, to meet the demand for compact and visually appealing ornamental sweetpotatoes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If ornamental sweetpotato cultivars are bred with new foliage colors, variegation patterns, and leaf shapes, then aesthetic value and market appeal are improved, but breeding complexity and time requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple desirable traits (yellow-green foliage color, variegation patterns, leaf shapes, and compact growth habit) into a single cultivar through conventional crossbreeding, creating a unified plant that exhibits all these features simultaneously rather than developing them separately
Solution Approach 2:
The breeding process involved changing key phenotypic parameters including foliage color (yellow-green with variegation), leaf shape (palmate with 3-5 lobes), and growth habit (compact, non-twining, semi-upright) to create a novel cultivar that meets market demands
2Productivity
If ornamental sweetpotato plants are bred with vigorous growth, then plant health and coverage are improved, but they out-compete other species in mixed containers
Solution Approach 1:
The cultivar exhibits localized growth characteristics where vigor is maintained at the individual plant level for health and coverage, but the overall growth rate and spread are moderated to prevent dominance in mixed containers, achieving a balance between individual performance and community harmony
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the growth parameter from vigorous/fast-growing to moderate growth rate while maintaining plant health, creating a cultivar that is productive enough to be healthy and provide coverage but restrained enough to coexist peacefully with other species in mixed container plantings
3Area of stationary object
If ornamental sweetpotato plants are bred with trailing growth habit, then space coverage is improved, but they are less suitable for containerized use
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of selecting for trailing growth habit that maximizes horizontal spread, the patent inverted the selection criterion to favor upright, compact, semi-erect mounding architecture that limits spread while maintaining aesthetic appeal and container suitability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changed the growth habit parameter from trailing to compact, non-twining, semi-upright with mounding architecture, and modified the internode parameter from long to short, creating a plant form that covers space effectively within container boundaries without excessive spreading
Data Source
AI summary
‘NCORNSP-025SCK’ is a moderately compact to compact, non-twining, slightly upright variety producing many short shoots. It is distinguishable from other cultivars by its lime-green palmate shaped leaves with a lobed base; a compact habit and slightly upright mounding plant architecture. Yellow-green leaves, short internodes, and plant architecture makes ‘NCORNSP-025SCK’ unique amongst the current ornamental sweetpotatoes in the marketplace. ‘NCORNSP-025SCK’ also exhibits very good vigor and is well branched.