The Prospects and Challenges of Sweet Potato as Bio-ethanol Source in Indonesia

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is potential as one of bio-ethanol sources as it had the greatest calculated bio- ethanol yield per acre. Innovation of suitable improved varieties and cultivation technologies for different agro- ecological systems has been available in Indonesia. Three sweet potato varieties with high yield and starch content have been released, namely Shiroyutaka, Sukuh and Jago. These three varieties can yield >30 t fresh tubers per hectare with starch content of 22.5%, 19.0% and 18.0%, respectively. Bio-ethanol from sweet potato appear to have considerable potential to be used as substitution of gasoline and diesel fuels because it is more potential than cassava.