The use of the sweet potato branches in the hay production

Abstract Sweet potato branches have satisfactory characteristics for animal feed, but have not been exploited in the form of hay. The objective of this work was to evaluate the use of the sweet potato branches for the hay production and genetic divergence in sweet potato clones. Were evaluated ten sweet potato clones, conducted on the field in randomized blocks and 5 repetitions. Dry matter content, green mass and dry mass yield (DMY), leaf and stem ratio of branches and total and commercial root production (CRP) were determined. Gotten the hays, were evaluated the characteristics: DM, CP, NDF, ADF, lignin, starch, soluble sugars, macro and micronutrients. The genetic divergence among the sweet potato clones was estimated. The UFVJM-54 clone allied high CRP with bigger DMY. The hay presented content of CP ranging from 11.99% to 15.09%, NFD 47.22 to 55.55%, ADF 22.92 to 28%, and 6.87 to 13.72% of LIG. In a general way, the contents of minerals in hays were satisfactory. The clones were separated into 5 different groups. The sweet potato branches can be used for the hay production. The UFVJM-37, UFVJM-46 and UFVJM-54 clones are recommended for crossing with the other genotypes.