Taro leaf blight
Round purple brown spots with a yellow edge ooze yellow drops and spread fast in rainy weather until the whole leaf collapses.
Crops it strikes
What you see
When to act
In warm, wet weeks check the leaves twice a week for round, purple brown, water soaked spots that weep orange drops. Pick off the first spotted leaves at once, and start protectant sprays when spots show on many plants in the rainy season.
What to spray
- MancozebFRAC M3ShopeeLazada
- Copper oxychlorideFRAC M1ShopeeLazada
- MetalaxylFRAC 4ShopeeLazada
- Phosphorous acidFRAC P07ShopeeLazada
Active ingredients only, never brands. The FRAC group tells how it works: switch to a different group next time, so the disease does not learn to survive it. Spray only when the damage is worth the cost, and only with products registered with the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority for your crop. Follow the label. The Shopee and Lazada links only show who sells something with that active ingredient, not a recommendation of any seller or product.
Resistance: Taro leaf blight has shown resistance to metalaxyl (FRAC 4) where it was used alone. Mix or alternate it with mancozeb, copper or phosphorous acid (FRAC P07).
How to prevent it
- Plant a tolerant variety where one suits your area, and use clean planting tops and suckers from healthy fields.
- Space the plants wider so the leaves dry fast, and avoid overhead watering.
- Pick off and destroy spotted leaves early and often during wet spells.
- Plant so the crop matures in the drier months where you can, and do not plant beside an older infected field.
- Remove old leaves and plant debris after harvest, and rotate the field when you can.
Where this comes from
Not sure it is this one?
Many diseases look alike. Send a photo to Anee, the smart farm technician in anee.io. She reads it with your crop, its age and the weather, and tells you what it most likely is and what to do first. In Tagalog or English.