Recently, 'Taizhong 17', a fresh-eating sweetpotato variety jointly developed by the Tai'an Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Zhang Peng's team at CEMPS was officially registered as a non-major crop variety by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (Registration No.: GPD Sweetpotato (2026) 370013). Derived from open-pollinated 'Guangshu 87' used as the maternal parent, the variety yielded an average of 2,143.92 kg of fresh roots per mu in the 2023–2024 multi-location joint identification trials for new sweetpotato lines in Shandong Province, representing an average yield increase of 19.28% over the control variety 'Taizhong 6'.

'Taizhong 17' is a mid-maturing cultivar with a growth period of 160 days. It produces fusiform roots with light red skin and pale yellow flesh, featuring concentrated and uniform tuberization with a high marketable root rate. The variety exhibits a dry matter content of 32.4% and reducing sugar content of 2.4%, delivering a soft, glutinous texture and sweet flavor upon steaming or baking. It demonstrates resistance to black spot disease and stem nematode disease, moderate resistance to root rot, and strong tolerance to drought, barren soils, and storage conditions with broad adaptability.

Suitable for spring and summer planting in Shandong Province, 'Taizhong 17' should be planted in late April for spring crops and in early-to-mid June for summer crops, with crop rotation, adequate phosphorus and potassium fertilization, and timely drainage during rainy seasons recommended. Combining high yield, superior quality, disease resistance, and wide adaptability, 'Taizhong 17' holds promising potential for commercial production and is expected to provide strong cultivar support for enhancing the fresh sweetpotato industry in the Huang-Huai-Hai ecological region.