Sweet potatoes can be affected by a variety of pests and diseases during the cultivation process, and the following are the common pests and diseases and how to control them:
Melanoma:
Symptoms: Black spots appear on the leaves, which can cause the leaves to die in severe cases.
Prevention and control methods: select disease-resistant varieties, implement crop rotation, remove diseased residues in time, avoid water accumulation in the field, and use fungicides for prevention and control if necessary.
Soft rot:
Symptoms: Water-stained softened areas appear on the surface of the root tuber, which will rot later.
Prevention and control methods: select disease-resistant varieties, improve soil drainage conditions, avoid water accumulation in the field, harvest in time and store in a dry and ventilated environment.
Root-knot nematode disease:
Symptoms: Nodules form in the roots, affecting plant growth and root development.
Prevention and control methods: the implementation of crop rotation, the use of disease-free seedlings, soil disinfection, planting nematode-resistant varieties.
Viral Diseases:
Symptoms: Blocked plant growth, deformed leaves, decreased yield.
Control methods: Use virus-free seedlings to destroy vector insects that transmit viruses, such as aphids.
Leaf carapace:
Symptoms: Both adults and larvae can damage the leaves and roots of sweet potatoes, causing leaf notching and root damage.
Control methods: Implement crop rotation, remove weeds and residues in the field in time, and use insecticides for control.
Cutworm:
Symptoms: The larvae feed on the stems and leaves of sweet potatoes at night, resulting in missing leaves and irregular holes.
Control methods: deep ploughing of the soil, timely weeding, and the use of pesticides for control.
Spodoptera litura:
Symptoms: The larvae feed on the leaves, and in severe cases, the plants will be bare-stalked.
Control methods: use insecticidal lamps to trap adults, manually kill larvae, and use insecticides if necessary.
White whiteflies:
Symptoms: Adults and larvae suck plant juice, causing yellowing, wilting, and spreading viruses.
Control methods: use yellow sticky insect boards to trap and kill adults, plant insect-resistant varieties, and use insecticides if necessary.
In order to effectively control pests and diseases, it is recommended to adopt comprehensive control measures, including the selection of disease-resistant varieties, the implementation of crop rotation, the improvement of soil conditions, the timely removal of diseased residues, reasonable fertilization, and the maintenance of field hygiene. When using chemical pesticides, we should follow the safe use specifications of pesticides, try to choose pesticides with high efficiency and low toxicity, and pay attention to the rotation of different types of pesticides to prevent pests and diseases from developing resistance. At the same time, we should pay close attention to the occurrence dynamics of pests and diseases, and take timely control measures.