Sweet Potato Vine Pests

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

Sweet potato vine pests.

In some areas sweet potato weevils may pose problems as well. Almost all of the leaves are full of holes and many are also missing huge chunks. The adult weevil feeds on all parts of the plant but reproduces only in the stems and roots. The sweet potato weevil is a serious pest in the field and in storage.

Depending on where you live there are a couple other pests that feast on sweet potato vines. It s driving me mad mad. Usually less that 1 10 inch long the adult beetles infest sweet potato vines in. Possible insect problems include sweet potato looper whitefly aphids thrips slugs flea beetles and weevils.

But the holes kept on coming lol when i went to the local nursery i saw that their sweet potato vines had the holes. The sweet potato plant is a branching creeeping vine with spirally arranged lobed heart shaped leaves and white or lavender flowers. The weevil attacks all parts of the plant. The sweet potato looper is a caterpillar that chews on the leaves.

So i asked them what was causing the holes and i was told it was an annoying pest call the flea beetle. Some leaves have been eaten so much that they are practically gone now. Sweet potato weevils are most numerous close to the soil surface. Even low numbers of larvae reduce sweet potato quality and marketable yield.

You might want to check to see if they are in your area. The white legless larvae have brown heads and measure 1. Sweet potato ipomoea batatas is an herbaceous perennial in the family convolvulaceae grown for its edible storage roots. The plant has enlarged roots called tubers which act as an energy store for the plant.

Overwatering and poor drainage can cause fungal problems such as fusarium wilt root rot or tuber rot. 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. The sweet potato weevil is one of the most destructive sweet potato vine pests notes the international potato center.

I bought 4 ornamental sweet potato vines and over the last 2 weeks they have become the meal of some bugs.