Sweet Potato Flea Beetle (FB) and Wireworm (WW) Control in Sweet Potatoes, 1988

Sweet potato slips were planted 12-inches apart in 36-inch rows on 19 May in Gadsden County, Fla., on Ruston fine loamy sand. Experimental design was a randomized complete block with six replications. Plot size was 4 rows by 36 ft. Nondessicated Neoaplectana carpocapsae nematode treatments were applied at 30 psi using 1, 8008 flatfan nozzle per row with the amount of spray about 53 gal/acre. Planting-time and root-swell treatments of nematodes were made on 26 May and 4 Aug, respectively. Plots were irrigated with about 0.5 inches immediately after nematodes were applied. Soil insecticides were applied with a tractor-mounted granular applicator in a 12-15 inch band directly over the row. Preplant and root-swell applications of granular insecticides were made on 16 May and 4 Aug, respectively. Thirty-five ft of row from the 2 center rows of each plot were dug, and the weight of U.S. no. 1 sweet potatoes determined. The amount of WW and FB injury was estimated for each plot by determining the number of FB larval tunnels and WW feeding holes on 15 randomly selected U.S. no. 1 potatoes. The data for each plot then were converted to the percentage of sweet potatoes with WW and FB damage and the average number of FB larval tunnels and WW feeding holes per sweet potato.