ABSTRACT
Despite technological advances leading to tremendous yield increase, potato production continues to face pest threats. Potato is host to many insects and nematodes, which often vary depending on the region, the growing season, and the production system. For instance, for potato seed production, the most significant insects are aphids as vectors of viruses (Hanafi, 2000). In ware potato production, in warm climates, the key insect is the potato tuber moth Phthorimaea operculella (Hanafi, 1998). Certain insects and nematodes can cause tuber yield reductions of up to 50-80 percent (Radcliffe et al., 1993). Losses of this magnitude or even higher are commonly observed in potato fields heavily infested with potato tuber moth in spring and summer crops in North Africa and the Middle East (Hanafi, 1999). These key pests can be managed using pesticides. However, once farmers start using pesticides on a routine basis, often certain pest species are reduced but others show greater importance, probably because of elimination of their natural enemies or development of pesticide resistance (Radcliffe et al., 1993). For each pest a thorough understanding of the problem is required for its effective management. This chapter reviews various aspects of major insect and nematode pests infesting potato.
