Black Spot Disease of Papaya

Symptoms

Initially, scattered tan spots, sometimes with a yellow halo, appear on lower leaves. On the underside of the leaves, these spots later enlarge and develop into black, raised, powdery pustules of up to 4 mm in diameter. At later stages of the disease, the lesions become necrotic and can cover large parts of the leaf. In heavy infections or co-infections with other fungal pathogens, diseased leaves can shed, leading to loss of vigor in affected trees. Shallow, light brown, irregular lesions with black fungal specks on their center are also visible on diseased fruit, although in a lesser measure than on leaves. Premature drop can occur when fruits are infected at early development stages. Despite the lesions, fruit flesh does show no signs of rotting.