If long-term forecasts about climate and temperature changes in the region where Slovenia is located are realized, the country will become suitable for mass planting of sweet potatoes, claim Slovenian experts who have developed three varieties of this subtropical perennial, originating from Central and South America, in recent years.
Sweet potato is a promising crop as it is not yet grown in large quantities in Europe and is drought-resistant, said Dragan Žnidarčič, a professor of horticulture at the Biotechnical Faculty in Ljubljana, for Ljubljana’s “Delo”.
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Experts from that faculty are also engaged in the development of agricultural crops and varieties that could replace those currently dominating the fields due to expected climate changes.
According to Slovenian experts, sweet potato can already be grown in almost the entire area of Slovenia, and as a crop, it could replace the ordinary classic potato, especially if the average temperature in the climatic zone to which Slovenia belongs indeed increases by 2.5 to 3 degrees over the next twenty years due to climate change.
