Late Blight of Potato: The Great Irish Famine

Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of potato late blight, triggered the devastating Great Irish Famine that lasted from 1845 to 1852. Today, it is still the greatest threat to the potato yield. Ethylicin is a broad-spectrum biomimetic-fungicide. However, its application in the control of Phytophthora infestans is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of ethylicin on Phytophthora infestans. We found that ethylicin inhibited the mycelial growth, sporulation capacity, spore germination and virulence of Phytophthora infestans. Furthermore, the integrated analysis of proteomics and metabolomics indicates that ethylicin may inhibit peptide or protein biosynthesis by suppressing both the ribosomal function and amino acid metabolism, causing an inhibitory effect on Phytophthora infestans. These observations indicate that ethylicin may be an anti-oomycete agent that can be used to control Phytophthora infestans.

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The Genus Phytophthora Anno 2012

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-01-11-0025 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 102 (4) ◽

pp. 348-364 ◽

Cited By ~ 183

Author(s):

Laurens P. N. M. Kroon ◽

Henk Brouwer ◽

Arthur W. A. M. de Cock ◽

Francine Govers

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Late Blight ◽

19Th Century ◽

Phytophthora Species ◽

Plant Diseases ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Monthly Basis ◽

Irish Famine ◽

Great Irish Famine ◽

The 19Th Century

Plant diseases caused by Phytophthora species will remain an ever increasing threat to agriculture and natural ecosystems. Phytophthora literally means plant destroyer, a name coined in the 19th century by Anton de Bary when he investigated the potato disease that set the stage for the Great Irish Famine. Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of potato late blight, was the first species in a genus that at present has over 100 recognized members. In the last decade, the number of recognized Phytophthora species has nearly doubled and new species are added almost on a monthly basis. Here we present an overview of the 10 clades that are currently distinguished within the genus Phytophthora with special emphasis on new species that have been described since 1996 when Erwin and Ribeiro published the valuable monograph ‘Phytophthora diseases worldwide’ (35).

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Late Blight of Potato (Phytophthora infestans) I: Fungicides Application and Associated Challenges

Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology ◽

10.24925/turjaf.v5i3.261-266.1038 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 261 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Abdul Majeed ◽

Zahir Muhammad ◽

Zabeeh Ullah ◽

Rafi Ullah ◽

Habib Ahmad

Keyword(s):

Late Blight ◽

Phytophthora Infestans ◽

Solanum Tuberosum L ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Agricultural Crop ◽

Irish Famine ◽

Advantages And Disadvantages ◽

Agricultural Mechanization ◽

Global Food ◽

Late Blight Of Potato

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) has been remained an important agricultural crop in resolving global food issues through decades. The crop has experienced enormous growth in terms of production throughout the world in recent decades because of improvement in agricultural mechanization, fertilizers application and irrigation practices. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of this valuable crop is still vulnerable to losses due to prevalence of different viral, bacterial, fungal and nematodes infestations. Late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary, is one of the most threatening pathogenic diseases which not only results in direct crop losses but also cause farmers to embrace huge monetary expenses for disease control and preventive measures. The disease is well known for notorious ‘Irish Famine’ which resulted in drop of Irish population by more than 20% as result of hunger and potato starvation. Globally, annual losses of crop and money spend on fungicides for late blight control exceeds one trillion US dollars. This paper reviews the significance of late blight of potato and controlling strategies adopted for minimizing yield losses incurred by this disease by the use of synthetic fungicides. Advantages and disadvantages of fungicides application are discussed.

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Eco-friendly management of late blight of potato– A review

Journal of Applied and Natural Science ◽

10.31018/jans.v9i2.1282 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 821-835

Author(s):

Shailbala Shailbala ◽

Amarendra Kumar

Keyword(s):

Late Blight ◽

Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽

Cultural Practices ◽

Potato Crop ◽

Rapid Development ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Irish Famine ◽

Forecasting System ◽

Blight Disease ◽

Late Blight Of Potato

Late blight of potato caused by fungus Phytophthora infestans responsible for Irish famine in the year 1845, is one of the most dramatic episode caused by plant pathogen in human history. One million people died due to famine in Ireland. So eco-friendly management of potato late blight disease is a necessary goal to be accomplished.During last many years, management strategies solely relied upon the application of fungicides due to rapid development of late blight epidemics. However, indiscriminate use of fungicide posesses a serious threat to the environment and human health. It is also responsible for built up of resistance in the pathogen and have adverse effect on beneficial organisms such as nitrogen fixers, resident antagonism and mycorrhizal fungi. So to minimize the fungicide use, eco-friendly means for late blight management are required on a priority basis. In recent years, significant changes in isolates of late blight fungus have been recorded including changes in aggressiveness to the crop also. Since, late blight is a community disease so, effective eco-friendly management must be adopted by the all producers, farmers, gardeners and growers with the help of government agencies, extension specialist and crop consultants etc. The strategy to control late blight is the prevention of establishment of Phytophthorainfestans in potato crop. In this context, disease management by cultural practices is the first line of defense while forecasting system, physiological strategies, biological control, host plant resistance and bio-technological approach are essential for efficient, effective and eco-friendly management of late blight of potato.

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