Preventive Control

Natural enemies

Parasitoids

1. Diadegma
2. Native parasitic wasps and flies

Predators

1. Ground beetle
2. Minute pirate bug
3. Spider

Cultural and management practices

1. Proper selection of planting materials. Select cultivars that are resistant to PTM or plant only clean and not infested seed pieces.
2. Thorough land preparation before planting.
3. Deep planting (10 cm deep) and regular hilling-up (3 times) of the soil to cover the developing tuber by at least 5 cm.
4. Mulch the plants with rice straw and/or with cut weeds or leaves. Mulching plants with neem leaves during the last 4 weeks before harvest also reduces PTM infestation.
5. Provide adequate water to prevent soil crack.
6. Intercrop potatoes with hot pepper, or onion, or peas.
7. Harvest immediately as soon as the crops mature.
8. Do not leave harvested potatoes in the field overnight.
9. Do not cover harvested potatoes with potato tops and other debris.
10. Destroy all infested potatoes immediately.
11. Remove all plant residues from the field. Larvae pupate in the tubers and dry stems left in the field. Tubers become volunteer crop (weeds) in the rotation crops.