Land Management Program at Archbold Biological Station
P.O. Box 2057,  Lake Placid, FL 33862
 Phone 863-465-2571  FAX 863-699-1927
 E-mail: landmanager@archbold-station.org

Treatment of Air Potato

• Method - a combination of methods are used to best control air potato.
  1.  Hand collecting bulbils during the late fall, winter, and spring months.  Bulbils are placed in two heavy duty plastic bags and disposed of in the trash dump.
  2.  Manually removing vines from April- June before fruits are produced.  Vines are chopped up with a machete and allowed to rot on the ground.
  3. Foliar sprayed with a 3-gallon backpack sprayer during the growing season.  All living leaves and stems  should be foliar sprayed with a herbicide solution.  This method is only utilized for spot treatments or in areas where air potato coverage is 90-100%.
  
  
• Herbicide (label information on each herbicide can be obtained by the specific herbicide)
  
  1. Upland Areas: 3% solution of Roundup UltraMax or Banvil 2,4-D with surfactant
  2. Wetland Areas: 3% solution of Glyfos Aquatic with surfactant
  
• Monitoring
  Revisit site every 2-3 weeks during the growing season to remove or treat new growth.
  Collect bulbils off the ground and on vines as often as possible.
  
• The Biology Of Air Potato: Actively grows from April to October, producing fruits July-September.  This species is a fast-growing, sprawling vine (both vertically and horizontally) that can grow high into the canopy of trees and cover large areas in one growing season.  Each plant can produce hundreds of bulbils (or air potato's) that range in size from that of a BB to about the size of a softball.  Colder temperatures (< 40F) kill back the plant and there is a dormant period during the colder months.  Bulbils are easily observed on dead vines and the ground during this period.  When the average nighttime temperature reaches about 70F in May, air potato's begin vigorously sprouting.
  

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• Hutchinson, J.T., April 2003.
© Archbold Biological Station, 2003 April.
• Webmaster: Fred Lohrer, email: webmaster@archbold-station.org