Small Farmers in Antigua and Barbuda Supports Biocontrol of Sweet Potato Weevil with Trapping Exercise.
(IICA); The sweet potato weevil (Cylas formicarius Fabricius) is the most destructive pest of the sweet potato crop in Antigua and Barbuda and across the Caribbean. This pest inflicts significant damage both in the field and during storage, resulting in crop yield losses ranging from 5% to as high as 80%. The impact of this pest on sweet potato production underscores the urgent need for effective control measures to protect this vital crop and support regional food security.
The regional project, “Next Generation Sweet Potato Production in the Caribbean,” has officially launched its Sweet Potato Weevil Trapping Exercise in Antigua and Barbuda. This is the first step to identify effective biocontrol agents to manage the sweet potato weevil as conventional methods using chemical control are costly with diminishing effectiveness.
Focused on supporting sweet potato farmers in Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, and St. Lucia, the project offers farmers access to improved sweet potato varieties and the knowledge necessary for sustainable production. This effort marks a significant step forward, empowering farmers to increase yields and diversify product offerings, such as mash, fries, wedges, animal feed, and fresh roots, targeting both local and international markets.
The sweet potato weevil is an ant-like insect about one-fourth of an inch long, which feeds on leaves and stems, but prefers the sweet potato roots. Crop damage is from feeding of young larvae or grubs that hatch from eggs laid in the sweet potato stems and roots. After hatching, the larvae begins to tunnel into the roots and these tunnels increase in size as the grubs grow. This damage to the root cause bitter tasting toxic terpenoids to be produced resulting in the sweet potatoes being unfit for consumption. Cutting and throwing away root parts with tunnels and larvae is a common practice in the Caribbean. However, this practice results in more sweet potato weevils, as the tossed living larvae become adults that seek a new crop in which to lay eggs for their larvae to infect and damage.
A team of technicians and staff members from the Ministry of Agriculture, with support from other agencies, spent the day deploying over 30 traps on 12 farms across several farming districts in Antigua ranging from small to medium in size. The traps placed on the perimeters of the sweet potato fields at a ratio of 1-4 traps per every 0.5 – 1 acre were at an angle, which enables the wind to better disperse the pheromones within the field, to extract and trap mainly male sweet potato weevils. The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), in collaboration with partner agencies, coordinated the activity, as sweet potato is a top priority for the Ministry of Agriculture. This collaborative effort is aimed at enhancing sustainable sweet potato production, improving crop yields, and strengthening resilience for local farmers and the broader community. This activity in October (mid wet season) is in the month in which sweet potato is customarily planted and as expected the initiative was welcomed by the sweet potato farmers rapping.
The collection of the weevils will be conducted by the Plant Protection Department periodically, every 7-10 days over a 4 to 6 week period. At the Dunbars Analytical Laboratory, the weevils will be prepared, incubated and shipped to the UK before the end of the year.
The goal of this activity is to identify effective biocontrol agents such as Beauveria bassiana strains from Antigua and Barbuda which can be used in the development of a bio-pesticide for use by local farmers. This action will be supported by the Centre for Agriculture for Biosciences International (CABI) in the UK.
The project is currently funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) through the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is a legally binding agreement that aims to conserve and sustainably use plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. The treaty was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in 2004.
The ITPGRFA’s main features include:
• Multilateral System (MLS): A shared pool of genetic resources for important crops and forages that can be used for research, breeding, and training.
• Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS): A system that ensures that the benefits from using genetic resources are shared fairly and equitably. This includes exchanging information, sharing technology, and capacity-building.
• Links to other agreements: The ITPGRFA is linked to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
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