Shadows of the Irish Famine
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 | 11:08 AM ET
By Kevin Yarr, CBCNews.ca
The disease that led to the crash of the potato harvest in Ireland in the 1840s still haunts farmers in the 21st century.
The fungus first appears on the potato leaves. (CBC)
Late blight is a fungus. Its spores spread on the wind, settling on the leaves of potato plants (it can also affect tomatoes). The leaves turn black, and the infection spreads down into the potatoes, rotting and leaving them inedible.
Prince Edward Island has been having the same damp, cool summer weather as many other parts of the country. It's not very good for tourism, and it's not good for potato farming either. Being a fungus, late blight thrives in this weather. The Island has been fortunate in recent years with late blight cases being counted in single digits. This year there have already been 30.
It's a problem across the eastern half of the continent.
Unlike what happened in the 19th century, that doesn't mean we're facing a failure of the potato crop. Modern agricultural techniques can control the spread of blight, but those controls come at a price.
First there is the literal cost. When late blight is in the air, farmers need to spray fungicides regularly - every three or four days. They spray this frequently because the fungicide is only effective if it is covering the leaf. At this time of year the plants are growing quickly, and the new leaves need to be sprayed. All that fungicide is expensive.
Then there is the environmental cost. Fungicides to control late blight are the most common pesticides sprayed on potato crops.
Researchers with Agriculture Canada are working on better ways to control late blight. They're cross-breeding ancient potato varieties from Peru, which have high late blight resistance, with commercial varieties in the hopes of creating commercial breeds that can resist the fungus.
Unfortunately, currently some of the most popular commercial varieties, such as Yukon gold, are highly susceptible to late blight.
Until research finds a better answer, fungicides - and hoping for some dry, hot weather - will remain the most common defences against late blight.
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Amber Hildebrandt writes for CBCNews.ca in Toronto. Growing up on a farm in Manitoba, she acquired an insatiable appetite, but it was during a stint in Japan that she developed her discerning tastebuds and "foodie" ways.
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Comments
BCspudophile
Well, maybe more of those nifty Peruvian potatoes could just come to market as is - there are some lovely fingerlings and purple potatoes available at produce markets out here, and they are just as nice as the standard mass market varieties. If enough blight-tolerant varieties are grown for a while in rotation with other potatoes, maybe the fungus will become less prevalent and less fungicide will be necessary.
Posted July 30, 2009 08:51 PM
Royce E Hamer
Canada
Maybe they should try spraying with a solution of H202 Hydrogen Peroxide it seems to work wonders and is non toxic to the plant and consumers. Depending on the original strength safety measures should be taken but I have had excellent results with it on mold and fungus. Also very cheap.
Posted August 8, 2009 07:56 PM
kaptain_gonzo
Late blight is a serious problem, especially because to the increase in monoculture potato farming. Many of the "heritage" varieties are either immune or strongly resistant but they are not allowed in commercial farms. So, thanks to central government planning, another part of our food supply is at risk.
While the Irish potato blight famine was a tragic event, but what is always glossed over is why it was so bad for the Irish. They were starved beacuse all they were allowed to eat was potatoes. All the grains were owned by the British and shipped out of the country. Politics was the root cause [pun intended] of the famine. That is the real crime.
Posted August 13, 2009 03:41 PM