What Are the Holes in My Sweet Potato Vines?
Whether you're growing an edible sweet potato vine (Ipomoea batatas) for its sweet, starchy tubers or an ornamental sweet potato vine cultivar for its colorful foliage, you have a sprawling, lush-leaved plant on your hands, and leaf-chewing pests won't be far behind. If you're in U. S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11, where sweet potato vines are perennials, expect to battle one or the other of them throughout the year.
Potato Flea Beetles
Long hind legs for jumping give metallic-bronze or black potato flea beetles their name. Usually less that 1/10 inch long, the adult beetles infest sweet potato vines in spring, chewing tiny holes in their new leaves. Although the leaf damage is seldom serious, damage from the beetles' root-feeding larvae might follow.
In Mediterranean climates, cabbage loopers attack sweet potato vines all year, with their activity peaking in fall. The white-striped, pale-green caterpillars crawl across the undersides of the leaves by arching their midsections as they draw their front and back ends together. Young loopers strip the foliage down to its veins; older ones feast on flowers as well as leaves.
Controlling Flea Beetles and Cabbage Loopers
Control both these pests with a spray solution containing 3 to 5 tablespoons -- or the label's specified amount -- of plant-based pyrethrin insecticide in a gallon of water. Wear protective clothing and eyewear, socks, shoes and a hat while you drench the leaves on both sides. The solution kills the pests on contact.
- Missouri Botanical Garden: Ipomoea Batatas
- Walter Reeves.com: Sweet Potato -- Holes in Leaves
- University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Potato: Flea Beetle
- University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Floriculture and Ornamental Nurseries: Cabbage Looper
- University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Cole Crops: Cabbage Looper
- University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program: Pesticide Information: Active Ingredient, Pyrethrin
Passionate for travel and the well-written word, Judy Wolfe is a professional writer with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Cal Poly Pomona and a certificate in advanced floral design. Her thousands of published articles cover topics from travel and gardening to pet care and technology.