'Whodunnit' of Irish potato famine solved

An international team of scientists reveals that a unique strain of potato blight they call HERB-1 triggered the Irish potato famine of the mid-19th century.

Potato may help feed Ethiopia in era of climate change

With unpredictable annual rainfall and drought once every five years, climate change presents challenges to feeding Ethiopia. Adapting to a warming world, the potato is becoming a more important crop there – with the potential ...

The bee's knees for detecting disease

Fire blight is a serious threat to fruit trees. Now a quick test has been developed at the Vienna University of Technology, which can indicate the danger early - with the help of bees.

Ready to plant: Iron Lady tomatoes resist three fungal diseases

If the name fits, grow it: "Iron Lady" is the first tomato to resist three major fungal diseases—early blight, late blight and Septoria leaf spot—plaguing New York's growers for years. For farmers, this new tomato dramatically ...

Tapping into the rubber plant genome

A group of international scientists have sequenced the draft genome sequence of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis, the major commercial source of natural rubber. The manuscript describing the draft genome is published in ...

Modern DNA techniques applied to nineteenth-century potatoes

Researchers led by Professor Bruce Fitt, now at the University of Hertfordshire, have used modern DNA techniques on late nineteenth-century potatoes to show how the potato blight may have survived between cropping seasons ...

Decoding the Black Death

Each time Sharon DeWitte takes a 3-foot by 1-foot archival box off the shelf at the Museum of London she hopes it will be heavy.

Late blight in Delaware tomatoes confirmed

Late blight, a disease caused by the fungus-like organism Phytophthora infestans, has been confirmed in New Castle County, Del., this week on tomato fruit.

UW scientists probe, attack late blight in potatoes

(Phys.org)—As the annual potato harvest begins, Wisconsin farmers continue to check their fields for late blight, the ferocious plant disease that caused the 1848 Irish potato famine and fueled massive emigration from Ireland.

page 5 from 7