North Carolina is the country’s largest sweet potato producing state, totaling nearly half the entire production in the U.S. Wireworms, which live in the soil and feed on sweet potato roots, are the #1 insect enemy of sweet potato growers. Mark Abney, North Carolina State University entomologist, explains what his research has determined about the value of insecticide treatments for wireworm control…

“Abney was part of the multi-state project that ran from 2004-2007 and was designed to document which insects were major pests of sweet potatoes and begin the process of developing comprehensive IPM programs to best manage these pests. … ‘So, growers who don’t treat with an insecticide for wireworm control on sweet potatoes should expect 40 percent or more of their crop to be damaged by wireworms and for 17-20 percent of the crop to be unmarketable,’ he adds.”

Author: Roy Roberson
Title: Wireworm management a must in North Carolina sweet potatoes.
Publication: Southeast Farm Press. 2012. January 11.