Haenam-gun Leads Domestic Production of Sweet Potato with New Variety 'Sodammi'

"A Sweet Potato This Beautiful Is a First" Praised for Outstanding Appearance and Taste

On the 27th, a Sodammi field evaluation meeting was held at a sweet potato farm in Masan-myeon, Haenam-gun. Photo by Asia Economy

[Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Jeonnam Haenam-gun (Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan) announced on the 28th that it is actively promoting the localization of sweet potato varieties with the new sweet potato variety ‘Sodammi’.

Sodammi is a honey sweet potato variety strategically developed to replace foreign varieties. It was named Sodammi in a nationwide new variety naming contest, meaning “the appearance is attractive and appetizing.”

While the existing domestically developed sweet potato varieties ‘Hogammi’ and ‘Jinyulmi’ hold the number one market share in pumpkin sweet potatoes and chestnut sweet potatoes respectively, the honey sweet potato ‘Beniharuka’ had no replacement variety, limiting the expansion of domestic market share.

Sodammi, which began its first cultivation this year, was found to be excellent in both taste and marketability according to the field evaluation held on the 27th, and is expected to greatly contribute to replacing foreign varieties and expanding the market share of domestic sweet potato varieties.

The evaluation meeting held at a sweet potato farm in Masan-myeon, Haenam-gun was jointly organized by the National Institute of Crop Science and Haenam-gun Agricultural Technology Center, with about 40 participants including officials from the National Seed Management Office, Agricultural Technology Commercialization Foundation, farmers, distributors, and processing companies.

Sodammi showed a yield of 24.4 tons per hectare after 150 days of cultivation, about 60% higher than foreign varieties. It has the characteristic of being storable for a long time, and its sweetness increases and flesh softens even during storage.

In particular, its appearance is outstanding, with tuber skin of a purplish red color, uniform and smooth exterior, resulting in excellent marketability.

Namgung Gi-dong, a farmer cultivating Sodammi, said, “In my 50 years of sweet potato farming, I have never seen a variety as beautiful in appearance as Sodammi,” and expressed satisfaction, saying, “It has strong sweetness and good taste, so it will soon become the most popular variety nationwide.”

Kim Ki-su, director of Haenam-gun Agricultural Technology Center, said, “Haenam, the most famous sweet potato production area in the country, is taking the lead in upgrading sweet potato quality,” and added, “We hope that the cultivation area of domestic varieties will expand through this evaluation meeting.”

Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun kh0424@asiae.co.kr