potato blight

Either of two diseases of potatoes, especially late blight.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

potato blight

(Plant Pathology) a devastating disease of potatoes produced by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans and the cause of the Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

potato blight - a blight of potatoes

potato disease, potato mildew, potato mold, potato murrain

blight - any plant disease resulting in withering without rotting

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References in periodicals archive

If summer is wet and warm, be careful of overwatering, which can cause fungal diseases like potato blight, where leaves and stems go brown.

Time to get your spuds in the mud; Whether you prefer your potatoes roasted, baked, boiled or mashed, you'll get more satisfaction and a bigger taste by growing your own

POTATO BLIGHT THIS is among the most common and devastating diseases affecting potatoes, which can kill them virtually overnight.

HOW TO PREVENT THREATS TO YOUR POTATO CROPS

Potato blight This was the first project to get up and running.

Ways to boost the 'squill set' EU scheme looks at new products and techniques in Wales

He compares the banana fungus to the Irish Potato Blight, which destroyed potato crops in the mid-nineteenth century.

Bye, Bye, Bananas

Her father has recently died and the insidious potato blight has destroyed the family's livelihood, as well as causing hunger, if not starvation.

Bridget: A New Australian

She said the ban will halt advances in tackling huge problems like potato blight, which can destroy crops.

Expert: GM crop chop is backward step

The text begins with the Irish potato blight of 1845, the attendant crop failures, and the psychological, physical, and emotional impacts on the poor.

The Great Famine: Ireland's Agony 1845-1852 (reprint, 2011)

After decades of misrule, mass unemployment and widespread poverty, Ireland was brought to her knees in 1845 by an invisible assailant: Phytophthora infestans, potato blight. At the time, potatoes fed two-thirds of Ireland's 8.1 million people.

Compassionate Stranger; Asenath Nicholson and the Great Irish Famine

Scientists knew that the funguslike microbe Phytophthora infestans (right) causes potato blight, and for years a lineage called US-1 shouldered the blame.

Potato famine's cause

These people were driven by the famine caused by the potato blight, which cost many lives.

A history lesson for MP; LETTERS

QI have grown potatoes for the first time this year and am worried in case I get potato blight. How will I recognise it and is there any way that I can prevent it?

Gardening With Carolyn Spray Carolyn Spray Q&A