BASSETERRE St. Kitts – FARMERS in St. Kitts and Nevis have been warned about a certain pest that affects the production of sweet potatoes, and members of two internationally-recognised agriculture organisations have provided training in their detection and subsequent eradication.
This training took the form of a two-day (Aug. 8-9) workshop by the Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI) in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture (DoA) and the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas Inc. (FAVACA).
The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Abner Hammond of FAVACA, DOA and Ms. Titus of CARDI in an effort to educate the farmers in controlling the spread of the Cylas Formicarius, commonly known as the sweet potato weevil.
The workshop featured discussions on the sweet potato weevil – what they are, what the symptoms of infestation looks like, the damages the pests can do, and what can be done to help diminish their appearance in the fields.
In the opening ceremony, it was explained that there are tremendous opportunities for sweet potato development in St. Kitts and Nevis as there is a demand of 492 000 kgs for that provision, and so strengthening the need to have control over the Cylas Formicarius.
Titus explained that CARDI has been trying to manage the pest for a long time using Thermo, but with limited success.
She further explained that they have also used different traps, including one from the Republic of China (Taiwan) and that they have been doing a lot of work with it, but there still remains a challenge in managing the pests.
She said that with the help of Dr. Hammond, farmers would be better equipped with knowledge to help manage the pests.
The farms visited during the workshop were those of Solomon Morton of Cayon, the CARDI Demonstration Farm in Estridge and Carson Nisbett of Newton Ground.
The Cylas Formicarius is one of the most serious pests of the sweet potato.
Normally, the adult emerges from the pupation site by chewing a hole through the exterior of the plant tissue, but sometimes it remains for a considerable period and feeds within the tuber.
The adult is striking in form and colour.
The body, legs and head are long and thin, giving it an ant-like appearance. The head is black, the antennae, thorax and legs orange to reddish brown, and the abdomen and elytra are metallic blue. The snout is slightly curved and about as long as the thorax; the antennae are attached at about the mid-point on the snout.
The beetle appears smooth and shiny, but close examination shows a layer of short hairs.
The adult measures 5.5 to 8.0 mm in length.
