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Diseases of Sweetpotato
(Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam.)

C. A. Clark, D. M. Ferrin, T. P. Smith, and G. J. Holmes, collators (last update: 5/12/15)

BACTERIAL DISEASES

Bacterial leaf spot

Xanthomonas campestris (Pammel) Dowson

Bacterial stem and root rot

Dickeya dadantii Samson et al.

(syns. Erwinia chrysanthemi Burkholder et al.; Pectobacterium chrysanthemi [Burkholder et al.] Brenner et al.)

Bacterial wilt

Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al.

Crown gall

Agrobacterium tumefaciens (Smith & Townsend) Conn

Streptomyces soil rot (pox)

Streptomyces ipomoeae (Person & Martin) Waksman & Henrici

Sweetpotato little leaf

‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’

FUNGAL DISEASES

Alternaria leaf spot and leaf petiole and stem blight

Alternaria alternata (Fr.:Fr.) Keissl.

(syn. A. tenuis Nees)

A. bataticola Ikata ex W. Yamam.

A. tenuissima (Nees & T. Nees:Fr.) Wiltshire

Alternaria rot

Alternaria spp.

Black rot (Black shank, Black root)

Ceratocystis fimbriata Ellis & Halst.

(syns. Ceratostomella fimbriata [Ellis & Halst.] J. A. Elliott; Endoconidiophora fimbriata [Ellis & Halst.] R. W. Davidson; Ophiostoma fimbriatum [Ellis & Halst.] Nannf.; Sphaeronaema fimbriatum [Ellis & Halst.] Sacc.)

Blue mold rot

Penicillium expansum Link.

Penicillium spp.

Cercospora leaf spot

Passalora bataticola (Cif. & Bruner) U. Braun & Crous

(syns. Cercospora bataticola Cif. & Bruner; C. ipomoeae G. Winter; Phaeoisariopsis bataticola [Cif. & Bruner] M. B. Ellis)

Charcoal rot

Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid.

Chlorotic leaf distortion

Fusarium denticulatum Nirenberg & O’Donnell

(syn. F. lateritium Nees:Fr.)

Circular spot

Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.

Dry rot

Diaporthe phaseolorum (Cooke & Ellis) Sacc.

(syns. D. batatatis Harter & E. C. Field; Phomopsis phaseoli [Desm.] Sacc.)

Foot rot (Die-off)

Plenodomus destruens Harter

Fusarium adventitious root rot

Fusarium javanicum Koord.

F. solani (Mart.) Sacc. f. sp. batatas T. T. McClure

Fusarium root rot and stem canker

Fusarium solani (Mart.) Sacc.

Fusarium surface rot

Fusarium oxysporum Schltdtl.:Fr.

(syn. F. oxysporum f. sp. batatas [Woolenw.] W. C. Snyder & H. N. Hansen)

F. solani (Mart.) Sacc.

(syn. Hypomyces ipomoeae [Halst.] Wollenw.)

Fusarium wilt

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. batatas (Woolenw.) W. C. Snyder & H. N. Hansen, races 0 and 1

F. oxysporum f. sp. nicotianae W. C. Snyder & H. N. Hansen

Geotrichum sour rot

Galactomyces geotrichum (E. E. Butler & L. J. Petersen) Redhead & Malloch

(syn. Geotrichum candidum Link)

Gray mold rot

Botrytis cinerea Pers.:Fr.

Java black rot

Lasiodiplodia theobromae (Pat.) Griffon & Maubl.

(syns. Botryodiplodia gossypii Ellis & Barthol.; B. theobromae Pat.; Botryosphaeria rhodina [Berk. & M. A. Curtis] Arx; Diplodia cacaoicola Henn.; D. gossypina Cooke; D. theobromae [Pat.] W. Nowell; D. tubericola [Ellis & Everh.] Petr.; L. tubericola Ellis & Everh.)

Leaf and stem scab

Sphaceloma batatas Sawada

(syn. Elsinoe batatas Viégas & Jenkins)

Mottle necrosis

Pythium aphanidermatum (Edson) Fitzp.

P. scleroteichum Drechsler

P. spinosum Sawada

P. ultimum var. ultimum Trow

Phyllosticta leaf blight (Phomopsis leaf spot)

Phomopsis ipomoea-batatas Punith.

(syns. Depazea batatas Thüm; Phyllosticta batatas [Thüm.] Cooke)

Phymatotrichum root rot (Cotton root rot, Texas root rot)

Phymatotrichopsis omnivore (Duggar) Hennebert

(syn. Phymatotrichum omnivorum [Shear] Duggar)

Pseudocercospora leaf spot

Pseudocercospora timorensis (Cooke) Deighton

(syns. Cercospora batatas [C. batatae] Zimm.; C. timorensis Cooke)

Punky rot

Trichoderma koningii Oudem.

(syn. Acrostalagmus koningii [Oudem.] Duché & R. Heim.)

Red rust

Coleosporium ipomoeae (Schwein.) Burrill

Rhizoctonia stem canker

Rhizoctonia solani J. G. Kühn

(syn. Thanatephorus cucumeris [A. B. Frank] Donk)

Rhizopus soft rot (Soft rot, Ring rot, Collar rot)

Rhizopus oryzae Went & Prins.-Geerl.

R. stolonifera (Ehrenb.:Fr.) Vuill.

(syn. R. nigricans Ehrenb.)

Sclerotial blight

Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc.

(syn. Athelia rolfsii [Curzi] Tu & Kimbr.)

Sclerotinia rot (Pink rot)

Sclerotinia minor Jagger

S. sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary

Scurf

Monilochaetes infuscans Ellis & Halst. ex Harter

Septoria leaf spot

Septoria bataticola Taubenh.

Slime molds

Fuligo violacea Pers.

Physarum plumbeum Fr.

Stemonitis spp.

Violet root rot

Helicobasidium mompa Tanaka

White rust (Leaf mold, Blister rust)

Albugo ipomoeae-panduratae (Schwein.) Swingle

Miscellaneous Foliar Diseases

Ascochyta spp.

Botrytis cinerea Pers.:Fr.

Choanephora cucurbitarum (Berk. & Ravenel) Thaxt.

Cladosporium spp.

Colletotrichum spp.

Meliola spp.

NEMATODES (PARASITIC)

Brown ring (Stem nematodes)

Ditylenchus spp.

D. destructor Thorne

D. dipsaci (Kühn) Filipjev

Burrowing nematode:

Radopholus similis Cobb

Lesion nematodes:

Pratylenchus spp.

P. brachyurus Godfrey

P. coffeae Goodey

Reniform nematodes:

Rotylenchulus spp.

R. borealis Loof & Oostenbrink

R. reniformis Linford & Oliveira

R. variabilis Dasgupta, Raski, & Sher

Root-knot nematodes:

Meloidogyne spp.

M. arenaria (Neal) Chitwood

M. cruciani Garcia-Martinez, Taylor, & Smart

M. enterolobii Yang & Eisenback

M. hapla Chitwood

M. incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood

M. javanica (Treub) Chitwood

M. konaensis Eisenback, Bernard, & Schmitt

M. megadora Whitehead

Spiral nematodes:

Helicotylenchus spp.

H. dihystera (Cobb) Sher

Stem nematode: See Brown ring (above)

Sting nematode:

Belonolaimus longicaudatus Rau

Stubby-root nematodes:

Paratrichodorus christei (Allen) Siddiqi

P. minor (Colbran) Siddiqi

Trichodorus spp.

NONINFECTIOUS DISEASES, DISORDERS, AND DAMAGE

Alligator skin

Unknown origin

Cracking of storage roots

Nutrient deficiency/excess; fluctuations in soil moisture; low temperatures; successive plantings in same field; digging from warm soil into cold air (“air cracks”)

False broomrape

Possibly bacterial in origin

Fasciation (Flat fasciation)

Unknown origin; possibly genetic and/or environmental in origin

Hardcore

Physiological in origin; induced by chilling injury

Internal breakdown (Pithiness)

Respiration caused by storage at high temperatures or for extended periods

Internal necroses (Tip or end rot, Stem-end discoloration, Internal marbling)

Unknown origin

Intumescence (Tumefaction)

Physiological in origin; occurs under conditions of high humidity, low light, warm temperatures

Leaf vein spot

Unknown origin

Lenticel proliferation (Water blisters)

Extended period of soil flooding

Skinning

Wounding during harvesting and handling; exacerbated by dry soil

Sprouting

Storage at high temperatures

Subcutaneous roots

Unknown origin

Sunscald

For young plants, strong sunlight and high temperatures; for storage roots, exposure to sunlight after being dug up

VIRUS DISEASES*

Chlorotic dwarf disease complex

Interaction of Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV), Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV), and Sweet potato mild speckling virus (SPMSV)

Chlorotic fleck

Genus Carlavirus, Sweet potato chlorotic fleck virus

Chlorotic stunt

Genus Crinivirus, Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus

Chronic chlorotic spotting

Genus Potyvirus:

Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV)

Sweet potato virus C (SPVC)

Sweet potato virus G (SPVG)

Sweet potato virus 2 (SPV2)

Internal cork

Possibly, strains of Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV)

Leaf curl

Genus Begomovirus:
Sweet potato leaf curl Canary virus (SPLCCaV)
Sweet potato leaf curl China virus (SPLCV-CN)
Sweet potato leaf curl Georgia virus (SPLCGV)
Sweet potato leaf curl Lanzarote virus (SPLCLaV)
Sweet potato leaf curl South Carolina virus (SPLCSCV)
Sweet potato leaf curl Spain virus (SPLCESV)
Sweet potato leaf curl Uganda virus (SPLCUV)
Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV)

Leaf speckling

Genus Polerovirus(?), Sweet potato leaf speckling virus (SPLSV)

Mild mottle

Genus Ipomovirus, Sweet potato mild mottle virus (SPMMV)

Mild speckling

Genus Potyvirus, Sweet potato mild speckling virus (SPMSV)

Ringspot

Genus Nepovirus, Sweet potato ringspot virus (SPRSV)

Russet crack (Obizyo sohi)

Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV)

Sweet potato virus disease (SPVD)

Interaction of Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV) and Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV)

Sweetpotato severe mosaic disease

Interaction of Sweet potato chlorotic stunt virus (SPCSV) and Sweet potato mild mottle virus (SPMMV)

Other Viruses Causing Symptomless Infections of Sweetpotato

Potyvirus:

Sweet potato latent virus (SwPLV)

Carlavirus(?):

Sweet potato C-6 virus

Caulimovirus:

Sweet potato collusive virus (SPCV)

* Virus names reflect the former convention of spelling sweet potato as two words; this style is followed by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), which approves virus names. However, in accordance with a resolution adopted in 1989 by the National Sweetpotato Collaborators Group, sweetpotato is spelled as one word elsewhere in this document.