What's eating my water spinach 'pak boong'?

Water spinach 'Pak Boong' — the Thai culinary name for Ipomoea aquatica — faces the same pest profile as all water spinach: caterpillars (especially armyworms) are the primary threat, stripping the fast-growing soft leaves. Aphids cluster at shoot tips, and whitefly is a secondary concern in warm or greenhouse-grown crops.

Extensive ragged holes in leaves; entire stems defoliated in heavy infestations; frass visible on leaves and nearby soil. Apply Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spray; hand-pick large caterpillars; use floating row covers on young crops; inspect at dusk.

Dense soft-bodied colonies on shoot tips and young leaves; leaves curl; growing tips distorted; honeydew fouling harvest. Strong water-jet knockdown; neem oil or insecticidal soap spray; plant near companion plants that attract beneficial insects.

Yellowing leaves; sticky honeydew on leaf surfaces; clouds of white adults when plants are disturbed; secondary sooty mould. Yellow sticky traps; neem oil or insecticidal soap sprayed on leaf undersides; avoid excessive nitrogen fertilising which encourages soft growth.