What's eating my sweet potato?

Sweet potato is most seriously damaged by the sweet potato weevil and wireworms underground, and by deer and voles on the foliage and roots. Aphids spread viruses. Whiteflies colonise foliage in warm regions. Crop rotation, clean slips, and physical barriers protect yields most effectively.

Tunnels in storage roots; distinctive turpentine-like flavour renders roots inedible; adults feed on vines Start only from certified weevil-free slips; rotate beds every year; destroy infested roots; pheromone traps monitor adult populations

Round tunnels through roots; entry wounds allow rot fungi to colonise; worst in soil recently converted from turf Avoid planting in recently turfed beds; bait traps (carrot pieces buried 10 cm); beneficial nematodes (Steinernema carpocapsae) applied to moist soil

Colonies on growing tips; transmit sweet potato virus disease causing mosaic, feathering, and stunting Reflective mulch deters alate (winged) aphids; insecticidal soap on dense colonies; control ants that farm aphids

Deer browse foliage and vine tips overnight; voles gnaw roots in the ground before harvest Fencing or row covers for deer; hardware cloth barriers and vole traps for root protection; remove mulch piles where voles nest