October 2010. A disease of taro from St Lucia. It starts as yellow flecks, which turn into light brown spots with bright yellowish halos. Lesions become dark brown as they increase in size. The centres of the spots become papery and disintegrate. Often, the lesions coalesce between the main veins and the leaves split giving a tattered appearance.

There were different opinions, with some members suggesting Phytophthora colocasiae, and others suggesting Ghost spot; Cladosporium; Shot hole, Phoma; or Colletotrichum. Shot hole was the most likely. The first symptom of Shot hole is normally a small round brown/yellowish spots on the second or third leaves, and as the spots enlarge to about 2 cm diameter the centre falls out, leaving the “shot hole” symptom.