What's eating my okinawan sweet potato?

Okinawan sweet potato (purple-fleshed, white-skinned) faces the same core threats as other sweet potatoes. Sweet potato weevil is the gravest risk in warm zones, ruining tubers with bitter-tasting tunnels. Hornworms strip vines rapidly; wireworms attack underground roots. Deer graze the vigorous sprawling foliage in open gardens. Start with certified slips every season.

Adults nick leaf petioles and stems; larvae bore into roots producing off-flavour, dark tunnels that make tubers inedible Certified slips only; strict 3-year rotation; remove all vines and root debris immediately post-harvest

Caterpillars consume all leaf tissue leaving bare stems; a single mature larva can clear a square foot of vine per day Scout leaf undersides daily; hand-pick; apply Bt kurstaki for heavy infestations

Larvae feed inside leaves creating window-pane damage; adults cut round holes across the canopy Row covers at planting; neem oil spray; hand-pick colonies from leaf undersides

Cylindrical tunnels bored into tubers reduce quality; purple flesh discolouration around tunnels is especially visible Bait traps; avoid former pasture ground; apply nematodes (Steinernema feltiae) in late summer