Sweetpotato and Climate Resilience

In recent years, extreme weather events have occurred frequently, especially in summer, leading to prolonged periods of high temperatures and low rainfall. This has had a serious impact on the growth and development of crops. Sweetpotato [ Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.] is an important economic crop, rich in polysaccharides, dietary fiber, polyphenols, vitamins, and other essential nutrients for human health. Compared to other crops, sweetpotatoes have advantages such as high yield, strong resistance to adversity, and rich nutritional content. They offer many benefits in addressing global food security and climate change challenges. This chapter reviews the latest research progress in sweetpotato breeding, focusing on its growth characteristics, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, modern molecular breeding methods, scope of AI-assisted breeding, and underscores the important role sweetpotatoes play in ensuring global food security and sustainable agricultural development for humanity.