Sweet Potato Vine Pests

The sweet potato whitefly can drain the plant of nutrients and stunt its growth.

Sweet potato vine pests.

The white legless larvae have brown heads and measure 1. One of the greatest threats to sweetpotato production is the sweetpotato weevil. Overwatering and poor drainage can cause fungal problems such as fusarium wilt root rot or tuber rot. Almost all of the leaves are full of holes and many are also missing huge chunks.

The weevil attacks all parts of the plant. Possible insect problems include sweet potato looper whitefly aphids thrips slugs flea beetles and weevils. In some areas sweet potato weevils may pose problems as well. The sweet potato plant is a branching creeeping vine with spirally arranged lobed heart shaped leaves and white or lavender flowers.

Sweet potato weevils are most numerous close to the soil surface. Adults feed directly on vines and larvae tunnel into the roots causing extensive damage both in field and storage. So i thought it was slugs sprinkled snail slug bait around them. When kept healthy plants are resistant to most pests and diseases.

The adult weevil feeds on all parts of the plant but reproduces only in the stems and roots. You might want to check to see if they are in your area. The sweet potato looper is a caterpillar that chews on the leaves. Depending on where you live there are a couple other pests that feast on sweet potato vines.

Long hind legs for jumping give metallic bronze or black potato flea beetles their name. It s driving me mad mad. I bought 4 ornamental sweet potato vines and over the last 2 weeks they have become the meal of some bugs. Usually less that 1 10 inch long the adult beetles infest sweet potato vines in.

But the holes kept on coming lol when i went to the local nursery i saw that their sweet potato vines had the holes. Even low numbers of larvae reduce sweet potato quality and marketable yield. The sweet potato weevil is one of the most destructive sweet potato vine pests notes the international potato center. The sweet potato weevil is a serious pest in the field and in storage.

The plant has enlarged roots called tubers which act as an energy store for the plant.