Sweet potato pest

DTK

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Hi friends, we have been away a lot recently for various reasons but came home to my sweet potato looking like the attached photo. Any ideas of the pest and the cure?

I have seen a striped caterpillar plus grasshoppers.

Thoughts of brains trust please.

Taaa
 

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Wedgetail

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Hi Dan at a guess I would say yes to both of your uninvited guests . Dave
 
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DTK

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How have been Dave through this time of change? How's Donna? Business as usual?
 

ClissAT

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Help your plant by pulling all that vine down off the wire and burry it!
Take advantage of its leafless state to make more roots. Carefully remove those eaten leaves into the compost.
Sweet potato needs to remain on the ground so it can send out roots from every leaf node.
Help it to do that by continuing to cover the vine, only leaving a few leaves exposed at the tips.
Sweet potatoes like a slightly acid to neutral pH and can do quite well with lots of compost.
They will take longer if the soil is poorer and drier. They don't like soggy soil but can live in soil that is continually being wetted from house drains as long as the ground is very well drained.
House greywater is often fairly alkaline which sweet spuds don't care for.

My purple sweet pot leaves are being eaten every night by wallabies, hares, possums and grubs, but the roots are still forming underground! Having their leaves eaten tells the plant things are not good so best to make roots to divide or multiply themselves.
 

Wedgetail

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Hi Dan have 1 daughter and 2 grandaughters come to stay so busy with putting in the orchard and freshening up the veggy patch but all are well so we will just keep pushing on . Hope you and family are all well and stay safe. Dave
 
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DTK

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Help your plant by pulling all that vine down off the wire and burry it!
Take advantage of its leafless state to make more roots. Carefully remove those eaten leaves into the compost.
Sweet potato needs to remain on the ground so it can send out roots from every leaf node.
Help it to do that by continuing to cover the vine, only leaving a few leaves exposed at the tips.
Sweet potatoes like a slightly acid to neutral pH and can do quite well with lots of compost.
They will take longer if the soil is poorer and drier. They don't like soggy soil but can live in soil that is continually being wetted from house drains as long as the ground is very well drained.
House greywater is often fairly alkaline which sweet spuds don't care for.

My purple sweet pot leaves are being eaten every night by wallabies, hares, possums and grubs, but the roots are still forming underground! Having their leaves eaten tells the plant things are not good so best to make roots to divide or multiply themselves.
Thanks. I will give that a go.
 

DTK

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Hi Dan have 1 daughter and 2 grandaughters come to stay so busy with putting in the orchard and freshening up the veggy patch but all are well so we will just keep pushing on . Hope you and family are all well and stay safe. Dave
Three extra young ladies there mate... take care pal.
 
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Exterminatus by pyrethrum then at the bottom of the mulch pile is my method when the bugs overwhelm
 
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DTK

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I found a caterpillar on my beans. Time to bring out eco oil
 

ClissAT

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Remember that pyrethrum is non specific so it kills the goodies at the same time as the baddies.

Also remember that caterpillars are usually butterflies in waiting. Although the plain green or brown types are often moths or white butterflies so they need to go to the chooks.
 

DTK

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Anybody else used eco-oil on vege seedlings?
 

Wedgetail

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Hi Dan I don't use anything I try and catch them going around at night with a touch you will be surprised how many bugs are there also if you can grow more than you need so if they eat afew it's not the end of the world. Dave
 
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