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Why did the potato blight happen?

Updated: 8/17/2019
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14y ago

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Only very few varieties of potato were brought to Europe from the New World and so the potatoes cultivated in Europe weren't sufficiently robust to offer strong resistance to diseases, since they lacked genetic diversity. The European potato was, therefore, unable to fight the potato blight, or late blight, and many crops were destroyed.

The impact was most felt in Ireland, which had become highly dependent on potatoes: the country lost about a quarter of its population.

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Q: Why did the potato blight happen?
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Related questions

What is a potato blight?

potato blight are potato mold,potato disease,potato mildew and potato murrain.


Common name of Phytophthora infestans?

Potato Blight, Potato Late Blight Agent, Potato Late Blight Fungus


Is potato blight a bacteria fungus or virus?

Potato blight is a fungus.


What was the potato blight?

1845


What is the synopsis of potato people?

a story about potato blight


What was the cause of the Irish potato famine?

Blight a disease that spread through potatoes


What happen to the potato crop in Ireland in the nineteeth century?

During the period from 1845 to 1852, Ireland suffered a famine due to the potato crop getting potato blight which destroyed the crop.


The great potato famine in Ireland resulted from what?

Potato blight.


What year was the potato blight?

1845


This was affected by a blight in Ireland?

Potato.


Could Potato blight come back to Ireland?

Yes, Potato blight is endemic in Ireland and Europe, but today a variety of types of potato are grown some of which are blight resistant and we also have chemical sprays that can kill the fungus. The trouble with the blight in the past was that there were no sprays and only one variety of potato was grown and when a blight evolved to attack this variety, it meant that ALL the Irish crop was hit and this lead to famine.


How did the disease potato blight affect the potato?

It rots the potato making it unfit for eating.