Sweetpotatoes 
The chief pest of sweetpotatoes is the sweetpotato weevil, which 
is partly a farm-storage problem. Althouch there is no satisfactory 
method for centrol during the growing season, weevil losses in the 
field are not appreciable at this time (except in Louisiana) because 
of quarantine and regulatory measures, farm and storage sanitation, 
and the use of DDT on the harvested ecrep,. Losses from the weevil 
are now less than those frem soil insects such 3s wireworms and flea 
beetle larvae. 
The sweetpotato weevil occurs in commercial sweetvotato-prodicing 
areas in all Gulf Coast States, in Gecrgia, and in two counties of 
South Caroline. Infested potatoes are unfit for human consumption, 
and livestock refuse to eat those heavily infested. Losses to 
growers result from reduction of vield and costs of complying with 
State quarantine regulations. Packers and shippers exnerience 
losses in storage, increased packing costs, and the expense of 
sanitation treatments to prevent infestation in storage. In 195, 
for example, a $1 million business was destreyed in Georgia as a 
result of infestation by this pest, and in 1952 losses to certified 
plant. growers in Alabama and Mississippi amounted to ahout $30,900, 
In 1946 losses in six major sweetpotato-producing parishes in 
Louisiana were estimated to be about $3,900,000. Through the efforts 
of the State and Federal governments, growers, and packers, they 
had been reduced to ahout $210,000 in 1951. The annual loss for the 
period 196-51 was $1,740,000. 
Tomatoes 
Tomato seedlings are attacked by cutworms, flea beetles, and other 
general feeders. Older foliage is injured by various caterpillars, 
athids, leaf miners, the Colorado potato beetle, spider mites, thrins, 
blister beetles, the notatc psyllid, and the tomato russet mite. The 
fruits are damaged chiefly by the tomato fruitworm and the tomato 
pinworm, Aphids and the beet. lesfhorver transmit various virus 
diseases, losses by which were discussed in Chanter IV. Damece by 
the potato psylilid is confined chiefly tc Utah and Colorado, where 
the annual loss during 19):2—5] was about 4,500 tons, worth $129,000. 
Damage by the tomato fruitworm and horrworm was reduced during 
this period by improved control measures and is estimated at. approxie 
mately $6,660,000. The tomato ninworn, which had previously caused 
heavy losses, principally in California, caused little damage. Leaf 
miners, however, caused greatly incressed damage in California, Texas, 
and Florida. The temsto russet. mite became a new pest of tomatoes 
