Potato Pests

Pests of National Significance

Insect pests

• Aphids: Myzus persicae Sulzerand, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae)
• Potato tuber moth: Phthorimaea operculella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)
• Jassids/ leaf hoppers: Amrasca devastans Dist. and Empoasca fabae Harris (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)
• Whitefly: Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Nematode

• Root-knot nematode: Meloidogyne sp.

Diseases

• Late blight: Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary
• Black scurf: Rhizoctonia solani J.G. Kühn
• Leaf spot complex: Alternaria sp, Phoma sp.
• Septoria leaf spot: Septoria lycopersici var. malagutii Ciccarone & Boerema
• Early blight: Alterneria solani Sorauer
• Common scab: Streptomyces scabies Lambert and Loria
• Bacterial wilt: Ralstonia solanacearum Smith
• Viral diseases : (Potato virus X, S, Y and Potato leaf roll virus)

Weeds

Kharif

Broadleaf

• Pigweed: Amaranthus viridis Hook. F. (Amaranthaceae)
• Swine cress: Coronopus didymus (L.) Sm. (Brassicaceae)
• Black nightshade: Solanum nigrum L. (Solanaceae)
• Common purselane: Portulaca oleracea L. (Portulacaceae)
• False amaranth: Digera arvensis Forsk. (Amaranthaceae)

Grasses

• Rabbit/ crow foot grass: Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Beauv. (Poaceae)
• Crabgrass: Digiteria sanguinalis (L.) Willd. (Poaceae)
• Barnyard grass: Echinochloa crusgalli (L.) Beauv. (Poaceae)

Sedges

• Purple nutsedge: Cyperus rotundus L. (Cyperaceae)
• Flat sedge: Cyperus iria L. (Cyperaceae)

Rabi

Broadleaf

• Lamb’s quarter: Chenopodium album L. (Chenopodiaceae)
• Scarlet pimpernel: Anagallis arvensis L. (Primulaceae)
• Sweet clover: Melilotus indica (L.) All. (Fabaceae)
• Fine leaf fumitory: Fumaria parviflora Lam. (Fumariaceae)
• Corn spurry: Spergula arvensis L. (Caryophyllaceae)
• Goat weed: Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae)
• Rough medic: Medicago denticulata Willd (Fabaceae)
• Broad leaf wood sorrel: Oxalis latifolia Kunth. (Oxalidaceae)
• Horse purslane: Trianthema portulacastrum L. (Aizoaceae)
• Onion weed: Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav. (Liliaceae)
• Field bindweed: Convolvulus arvensis L. (Convolvulaceae)

Grasses

• Blue grass: Poa annua L. (Poaceae)
• Canary grass: Phalaris minor Retz. (Poaceae)

Rodent and non-rodent vertebrate pests

• Lesser bandicoot: Bandicota bengalensis
• Indian creased porcupine: Hystrix indica
• Wild boar: Sus scrofa

Pests of Regional Significance

Insect and mite pests

• Cut worm: Agrotis segetum Denis & Schiffer müller (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (Tripura, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh)
• White grub: Lachnosterna longipennis Blanchard and L. coracea (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)(Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh)
• Leafminer: Liriomyza huidobrensi Blanchard (Diptera: Agromyzidae)
• Spider mites: Polyphagotarsonemus latus Banks (Acarina: Tarsonemidae) (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa)
• Thrips: Thrips sp (Hemiptera: Aphididae) (Orissa)
• Tobacco caterpillar: Spodoptera litura Fabricius (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka)
• Leaf eating caterpillar/gram pod borer: Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (Punjab, Haryana, Himanchal Pradesh)
• Semi looper: Trichoplusia ni Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (Haryana, Himanchal Pradesh)

Diseases

• Potato spotted wilt virus (Karnataka)
• Charcoal rot: Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. (Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Central provinces, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh)
• Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) (Himachal Pradesh, Bihar)
• Pink rot: Phytophthora erythroseptica Pethybr. (Himachal Pradesh)
• Soft rot: Erwinia carotovora Winslow (Delhi)
• Black heart (disorder): Acute oxygen deficiency

Nematodes

• Golden nematode: Globodera rostochinensis (Wollenweber) (Tamil Nadu)
• Potato cyst nematode: Globodera pallida (Stone) (Tamil Nadu, Kerala)

Rodent

• Indian porcupine: Hystrix indica Kerr

IPM for Potato

To know the IPM practices for Potato, click here.

Source: NIPHM,  and Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage