Use of Mocap and Other Soil And Foliar Insecticides to Control Insects in Sweet Potatoes, Painter, VA, 1995

Sweet potatoes were transplanted on 19 Jun at the Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Painter, VA. Each plot consisted of 3 rows 20 ft long, planted on 3 ft row spacing. Each plot was separated from each other by an untreated guard row. Treatments were replicated 6 times in a RCB design. Mocap band treatments and the initial foliar sprays were applied with a single nozzle boom backpack sprayer. Temik was applied using a hand-held shaker. The broadcast treatments and the later foliar sprays were applied with a backpack sprayer using 6 flat fan nozzles/row delivering 21 gal water/acre for the broadcast treatments and 42 gal water/acre for the foliar sprays. Mocap treatments were applied on 25 May to avoid phytotoxicity. Regent foliar sprays were applied on 7 and 21 Jul. Sevin schedule foliar sprays were applied weekly from 7 Jul until 24 Aug. The Sevin threshold sprays were applied on 7, 14, 21, and 27 Jul to coincide with the peak flights of click beetles (adult wireworms), as determined by the black light trap at Painter, VA. On 11 Oct, the center row of each 3 row plot was harvested and 25 market sized roots were randomly selected, washed, and evaluated for insect damage.