Project
Integrated Pest Management of Major Pests affecting Sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas, in the Caribbean
Details
Project Code:
Not Available
Start Date:
1999
End Date:
2004
CRSP Phase:
Phase 2
Budget:
Not Available
Countries:
Jamaica
Participants
Lead University:
Not Available
Other Partners:
Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute CARDI (CARDI); USDA-ARS (US)
Principal Investigator(s):
None
Co-Principal Investigator(s):
Kathy Dalip (CARDI), Kingston, Jamaica, D. Michael Jackson, (USDA-ARS, U. S. Vegetable Laboratory, Charleston, SC); Janice R. Bohac (USDA-ARS, U. S. Vegetable Laboratory, Charleston, SC)
Overview
Sweetpotato weevils, sweetpotato leaf beetles, and the WDS soil insect complex significantly reduce sweetpotato production in Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean. This project sought to incorporate pest management tactics, such as cultivating resistant breeding lines, implementing cultural practices and using environmentally friendly insecticides such as botanicals and biorationals, into the present IPM technology will greatly assist IPM procedures for sweetpotato farmers in the Caribbean to produce high quality, internationally competitive commodities. Additionally, the dissemination of IPM technology to farmers in major sweetpotato-growing areas in theCaribbean is continuing and should facilitate the goal of reducing pest damage and improving sweetpotato production in the Region such that it is competitive in the global market.
Objectives
1. Evaluate the potential of resistant varieties,and biorationals (insect growth regulators,entomopathogenic nematodes, fungi and bacteria) and botanical insecticides for managing sweetpotato weevils and grubs of the sweetpotato leaf beetle. 2. Evaluate new IPM techniques for managing soil insect pests. 3. Demonstrate and disseminate new IPM technology, including new resistant varieties. 4. Regionalize IPM technology to selected countries in the Caribbean through research, demonstration, and training. 5. Investigate the use of organic mulches (ie., killed cover crops) as an alternative tillage option for IPM programs with sweetpotato in Jamaica and the USA
Outcomes
The application of insecticides that are environmentally friendly (e.g. biorationals and botanicals) on sweetpotato entries that have shown tolerance to a variety of pests, including the sweetpotato leaf beetle, is an important component in a sweetpotato IPM strategy.
