Aroids: pests and diseases.

Abstract Aroids (Alocasia, Amorphophallus, Colocasia, Cyrtosperma and Xanthosoma) are fairly robust plants with leathery leaves, which are difficult for most insects to chew. As a group, they are often left to grow without pesticides and still manage to produce significant yields. There are, however, several pests and diseases which deserve attention, especially in intensive, commercial production. This chapter describes the major pests (insects, snails, nematodes) and diseases (caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses) of aroids, and their control measures, including the integrated management technique.