STEMS AND TUBERS FOR REARING SWEET POTATO WEEVIL

Abstract

Sweet potato weevil, Cylas formicarius elegantulus Fabr. was successfully reared on mature stems using longitudinal halves and on tubers using thin chips held between plastic rearing blocks. There were no differences in size and behavior of larvae, pupae and adults but there was only slight difference in duration of life cycle and mortality of weevils reared on tubers and mature stems. Results show that mature stems were as suitable as tubers in rearing sweet potato weevil. However, the use of tuber chips was the most suitable and economical method of rearing sweet potato weevil in the laboratory.