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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #322771
Title: First field collection of the Rough Sweetpotato Weevil, Blosyrus asellus(Olivier)(Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Hawaii Island, with notes on detection methods

Author
item McQuate, Grant
item Sylva, Charmaine
item KUMASHIRO, BERNARR - Hawaii Department Of Agriculture

Submitted to: Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/21/2016
Publication Date: 12/12/2016
Citation: Mcquate, G.T., Sylva, C.D., Kumashiro, B.R. 2016. First field collection of the Rough Sweetpotato Weevil, Blosyrus asellus(Olivier)(Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Hawaii Island, with notes on detection methods. Hawaiian Entomological Society Proceedings. 48:1-8.

Interpretive Summary: Sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas(L.)Lamarck, is one of the top ten staple crops produced worldwide. Among the nations of the world, the United States is the 12th greatest producer of sweetpotatoes, with production greatest in the states of North Carolina, California, Mississippi and Louisiana. Sweetpotato is also produced in Hawaii where its production has been increasing in recent years. Sweetpotato production in Hawaii is adversely affected by a number of insect pests, some of which are quarantine significant because they are not present on the U.S. Mainland or some other potential shipping destinations. One newly invaded sweetpotato pest in Hawaii is the rough sweetpotato weevil, Blosyrus asellus(Olivier). The immature stage of this weevil species feeds on the outside of the underground sweetpotato root, causing channels or grooves along the surface of the root. This destroys some of the root and also adversely affects the marketability of the root. The rough sweetpotato weevil was first detected in the state of Hawaii at a commercial Okinawan sweetpotato farm in Waipio, Oahu, on 14 November 2008. Reported here are the first detections of this pest in sweetpotato fields on the island of Hawaii. It is important to keep track of the geographic range of pest species so that growers are aware of pests that may be of concern in the fields where they grow their crops. This paper also reports on a trap design that can be used to detect the presence of rough sweetpotato weevils, as well as provide some level of control. The ability to detect the presence of rough sweetpotato weevil is an important component of an integrated pest management system needed for control of this pest. Because other weevil pests of sweetpotato in Hawaii have shown some response to baited green light traps, it is thought that this trap design could also detect the presence of other weevil pests of sweetpotato that might invade Hawaii.

Technical Abstract: Rough sweetpotato weevil, Blosyrus asellus(Olivier)(Coleoptera: Curculionidae), was first detected in the state of Hawaii at a commercial Okinawan sweetpotato farm in Waipio, Oahu, on 14 November 2008. Reported here is, the first detection of this pest in sweetpotato fields on the island of Hawaii (Pepeekeo), in October 2014, with subsequent documentation in Paauilo (November 2014) and Papaikou (May 2015). Also reported is, a trapping system that incorporates a solar powered green light emitting diode (LED) that can be used for detection, and some level of control, of this pest species in the field. Given our experience that a green light trap containing a sweetpotato-based bait has some attraction for the sweetpotato weevil (Cylas formicarius[Summers][Coleoptera: Brentidae]), the West Indian sweetpotato weevil(Euscepes postfasciatus[Fairmaire][Coleoptera: Curculionidae]) and the rough sweetpotato weevil, there is hope that this trap design could also detect the presence of other weevil pests of sweetpotato that might invade Hawaii.