March 2005. Damping off of taro seedlings in Samoa. The seed is cleaned with tap water, and grown in sterile Jiffy-7 pots (treated with hot water). The seedlings are watered with distilled water. Two fungicides have been purchased, Bravo and Forschek, but the opinion of members is being sought before these are used. Comments were requested.

Usually, it’s a Fusarium that causes the problem, but Rhizoctonia may also be there. Treat the seed with Captan or Thiram. If not, try Mancozeb or even copper oxychloride. Bravo is likely to be effective, too.

Other suggestions were incorporating more organic matter into the mix, sterilising the mix in an autoclave, and treating the seeds with garlic extract or bleach (1%). It would be best to water the seedlings from the bottom, not the top of the pot.