Commercial cultivars and advanced sweetpotato lines were tested in Mississippi from 2017-2020 for resistance to the wireworm-Diabrotica-Systena (WDS) insect complex. Numerous lines were more resistant to WDS than the commercial standard Beauregard cultivar. However, yield on the more resistant lines tended to be lower. The one exception was the cultivar Bayou Belle, which showed both good yield and some resistance to WDS when compared to Beauregard and other high yielding varieties. While highly resistant lines are not commercially acceptable at this time, the range in resistance observed indicates that WDS resistance should be a reachable target for plant breeders.
