Stem Rot symptoms on Sweetpotato
Stem Rot (fungus - Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. batatas): Young leaves at the tips of vines turn yellow while older leaves wilt
then drop so that the center of the hill becomes bare. Infested
slips may die soon after setting or become stunted and yellow.
Stems at the soil line may turn slightly blue (blue-stem). The
inner stem portion at or below the soil line becomes discolored
with brown streaks in the vascular system. Selection of seed
roots free of the disease is difficult because external symptoms
are not always present. Resistant varieties have greatly
diminished losses to stem rot.
January, 1996
