Craig Yencho and Mercy Kitavi work with sweet potato samples in a lab in Nairobi, Kenya.

Dec 12, 2023

A Patented Winner

The National Academy of Inventors named NC State University's Craig Yencho a 2023 fellow for his contributions to improved sweetpotato and potato breeding and genetics, with an impact reaching from North Carolina to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Nov 22, 2022

Sweet-APPS Yielding Sweet Success

From deploying innovative sensors to creating productive relationships with stakeholders, the Sweetpotato Analytics for Produce Provenance and Scanning project has had a rewarding first two years.

Oct 14, 2022

Modesta Abugu: Improving Sweetpotato Flavor for Nutrition Security

Ph.D. student Modesta Abugu is researching flavor compounds in sweetpotatoes with a goal of increasing consumption and improving global nutrition security.

Apr 12, 2022

CALS Economist Joins the Fight to Curb the Effects of Invasive Nematode on Sweetpotatoes

Daniel Tregeagle will conduct an economic analysis to determine the costs of adopting new growing methods to stop the spread of the guava root-knot nematode.

Mar 2, 2022

“Sweet” Research at National Sweetpotato Collaborators Group Meeting

North Carolina’s sweetpotato production has surpassed every other state in the United States for the past 50 years despite increasing challenges like weather events, herbicide-resistant weeds and labor shortages.

Daniela Jones holding and ear of corn in a corn field

Jan 7, 2022

Enhancing NC State’s Data-Driven, Climate-Smart Agriculture Talent Pool

NC State research assistant professor Daniela Jones is passionate about many things, including finding renewable energy solutions and creating a more diverse workforce for the bioscience and agriculture industries.

Students surrounded by large boxes of sweetpotatoes

Nov 5, 2021

ASABE Students Putting on a ‘Sweet’ Fundraiser Sale

Sweetpotato harvest marks the beginning of fall for many North Carolina farmers and a primary fundraising opportunity for the NC State University ASABE chapter.

Craig Yencho gives a presentation at a recent field day

Oct 29, 2021

Protecting Our State’s New Rural Cash Crop

The true profit potential of sweetpotatoes has been held back by an aggressive and invasive pest. NC State’s Craig Yencho will lead a $5 million grant-funded project to fight it.

Portrait of Lina Quesada-Ocampo holding basket of sweetpotatoes in greenhouse

Sep 13, 2021

Quesada-Ocampo Picked for ‘40 Under 40’ Honor

An NC State expert on plant diseases is honored for building a research and Extension program that meets growers' needs.

Lina Quesada and Camilo Parada examine a petri dish

Aug 17, 2021

Ph.D. Candidate Camilo Parada Wins Prestigious Award

Doctoral research on soilborne diseases in sweetpotatoes attracted support from a foundation.