The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) Sweetpotato Weevil Program mission is to implement effective plant pest programs to keep NC free of sweetpotato weevils (Cylas formicarius), one of the most destructive and damaging pests of sweetpotatoes in the world and to facilitate the movement of NC sweetpotatoes through certification programs.  The success of this program largely depends on the early detection and rapid response to mitigate/eradicate a potential weevil infestation in the state.  This is accomplished through an intensive state-wide survey of sweetpotato fields, storage facilities and other establishment and operations that may represent a potential risk for the introduction of weevils in the state.

To keep NC and the sweetpotato production areas sweetpotato weevil-free, the NCDA&CS conducts surveys using insect traps baited with a male-specific sweetpotato weevil pheromone lure in sweetpotato fields (field surveys), storage and processing facilities, greenhouses and micropropagation facilities, research operations and in special settings including demonstration plots across the state.  Sweetpotato weevil surveys are also conducted in the NC SPW quarantine area in Brunswick and New Hanover counties. Another important component of the NCDA&CS sweetpotato weevil program is the sweetpotato weevil certification program whose primary goal is to facilitate the movement of NC sweetpotatoes to other areas of the country by providing growers with services, including inspections and certification cards to certify their sweetpotatoes are weevil-free and produced in weevil-free areas in NC.

Learn more about the surveys conducted by the NCDA&CS to track the sweetpotato weevil, a pest of NC’s sweetpotato crop

Learn more about the SWP certification program available to growers to prove their crop is sweetpotato weevil-free

Learn more about the SPW quarantine in North Carolina and the United States

Learn more about how you can help to keep North Carolina sweetpotato weevil-free

Laws and Regulations regarding the sweetpotato weevil

Frequently Asked Questions about the sweetpotato weevil