Sweetpotato weevils are the most destructive insect pests of sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas. Cylas formicarius is one of many species of sweetpotato weevils which occur worldwide, but it is the only one in the United States. Cylas occurs in Texas, Louisana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. In North Carolina, the weevil is restricted to the barrier islands of the southern coast, where it feeds on alternate hosts, seaside morning glory, Ipomoea sagitata. North Carolina, Tennesse, Arkansas, Oklahoma and California have had quarantines in recent years and have eradicated the pest from commercial sweetpotato fields. However movement of the weevil by humans remains a constant threat. Sex pheromone septa and traps have been evaluated in North Carolina since 1986 and every plant bed and field is monitored each year. Best management practices for sweetpotato weevil include quarantine and compliance monitoring, weevil free planting material and containers, cultural and sanitation measures, facility and site management and education, research and regulatory activity. Studies on micropropagation and DNA finger printing are in progress.
Species 1: Coleoptera Curculionidae Cylas formicarius elegantulus (sweetpotato weevil)
Keywords: trapping, management
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