Sweetpotato pest challenges and management options

Sweetpotatoes, the seventh most important food crop globally, play a crucial role in agriculture due to their starchy, nutrient-rich roots. Their versatility extends beyond human consumption to include animal feed and various industrial applications such as ethanol and biofuel production. In the United States, the Southeast dominates sweetpotato production, with states like Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina leading the way. One of the remarkable features of sweet potatoes is their adaptability to tropical and subtropical regions, their resilience to drought, and their ability to thrive in low-fertility soils. These qualities make sweetpotatoes well-suited for organic farming. The increasing popularity of organic agriculture aligns with rising consumer demand for organic products, with vegetables like sweetpotatoes cultivated on a significant portion of American organic farms. However, sweetpotato crops face threats from plant-parasitic nematodes and insect pests, particularly in the Southeast, where the southern root-knot nematode is a major concern. Conventional farming relies on chemical nematicides and insecticides for pest management; however, these are not suitable for organic production. Organic growers utilize biopesticides and cultural practices to manage nematode infestations and insect pest populations. These practices include the use of entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes, as well as cover cropping to improve soil health and control pests. Overall, sustainable sweetpotato cultivation involves a combination of biological control methods and cultural practices to mitigate the impact of pests and maintain soil health, thereby ensuring the viability of sweetpotato production for future generations.