Nov 3, 2022
Horticulture’s Yencho and Pecota Win NC State’s Innovator of the Year Award
Craig Yencho and Ken Pecota were both recognized with the Innovator of the Year award for their work to develop a cultivar that now accounts for nearly 90% of sweet potato production in North Carolina. Released in 2005, Yencho and Pecota’s “Covington” sweet potato makes up 20% of the total acreage of sweet potatoes grown in the U.S. and has become a lucrative European export.