Abstract:

This study aims to clarify the damage caused by the coffee bean weevil (Araecerus fasciculatus) in sweet potato storage warehouses in Guangdong Province, and to establish a rapid identification and detection technology system to support field monitoring. Using adult coffee bean weevils collected from warehouses as experimental materials, the morphological characteristics of the pest were systematically described, and its mitochondrial COⅠ gene sequence was determined. Based on sequence alignment of COⅠ from four storage pests, specific primers were designed and screened. Results showed that the mitochondrial COⅠ gene sequence of the coffee bean weevil exhibited 100% similarity to known sequences of this pest in the database. Among the 10 pairs of primers designed, one pair specific to the coffee bean weevil was successfully screened through validation. This pair of primers produced a single bright band exclusively for coffee bean weevil DNA, with no amplification observed for the four other pests. This study represents the first systematic report on the damage caused by the coffee bean weevil to sweet potatoes, providing technical support for field monitoring of this pest and had significant practical implications for early warning and integrated pest management.

Key words: sweet potato, Araecerus fasciculatus, mtDNA CO Ⅰ gene, specific primer, DNA barcode