Abstract There is a scarcity of basic information on dry matter accumulation by various plant organs, nutrient uptake, and yield of taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] grown under upland conditions. These data are essential for the development of technological packages, growth simulation models, and decision support systems designed to promote agrotechnology transfer of the crop in the tropics. Two taro cultivars were planted and harvested for biomass about every six weeks during the growing season. At each harvest, plants were separated into various plant parts and their dry matter and nutrient content were determined. There were no significant differences (P<0.05) in total and edible dry matter content between cultivars. However, cultivar ‘Lila’ absorbed significantly smaller amounts of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and zinc (Zn) than cultivar ‘Blanca’, suggesting that it had a higher nutrient‐use efficiency. Fresh corm yields were not significantly different and averaged 20,221 kg/ha for both cultivars.