Potatoes: Management and Impact of Pests and Diseases

Question 1

What is the life cycle of a potato moth?

Answer 1

Adult Moth: The eggs are laid on the plant or tubers at night.
Eggs: Eggs are laid under the surface of leaves or tubers around the eye.
Larvae: Once hatched, it crawls to the surface and eats away the leaf. This causes the leafs to become brittle and dies.
Pupa: Inside the cocoon, the dark brown pupa develops into a moth in a week of two.
Adult Moth Resting: Lays more eggs and the cycle repeats.

Question 2

How does the potato moth infest and damage the plant?

Answer 2

When the larvae of the moth eats the leaves, it stunts the plant growth by infesting the potato tuber and destroying terminal growth of the plant. Heavily infested plants will die. The larvae can also tunnel through leaves, leaf stalks, main stems and points of terminal shoots.

Question 3

What methods of the IPM (Integrated Pest Management) program being used to combat this problem?

Answer 3

• Hilling
• Irrigating the soil - stops moths from digging into the soil
• Crop rotation - maintains soil quality and prevents soil from cracking
• Insecticide/Pesticide