Insect Pest of Sweet Potato
1. Sweet Potato Weevil:
Sweet potato weevil is a most serious pest of this crop. A red and blue ant like weevil that makes holes in the stem and tubers. The pale yellow grub of this pest having no feed bores into the vines.
Control Measures:
i) Cultural practices such as destruction of alternate host, removal of infested vines and tubers, deep ploughing of land harvest and earthling up to prevent entry of weevil into tubers have been found effective for controlling for this pest.
ii) This pest can be controlled by spraying the crop with Endosulfan (Thiodane 35 EC) @ 2 ml per liter of water of carbaryl @ 2.5 gm per liter of water.
2. Sweet Potato Sphinx:
It is a serious leaf eating caterpillar of sweet potato. A stout long horn caterpillar that completely that defoliate the plants.
Control Measures:
i) Hand picking and destroying the caterpillar is the best method, if infestation is less.
ii) This pest can be controlled by spraying the crop with lead arsenate of Endosulphan, if infestation is very severe.