OUTBREAK OF IRISH BLIGHT

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4676, 1 February 1945, Page 3

OUTBREAK OF IRISH BLIGHT

POTATO-GROWERS FACING BIG LOSSES

Market gardeners in Otago and Southland are facing heavy losses on account of an exceptionally severe outbreak of Irish blight in potato crops. The blight is usually prevalent at the end of January, by which time early potatoes have been dug but the recent humid weather has accelerated the onset of the disease and necessitated the digging of crops before they are fully ready for normal marketing. In spite of the poor season up to the end of December, there was every indication that there would bo good crops in the main potato-growing areas around Dunedin. In the past week or two, however, wet and warm conditions brought on blight with marked severity. It is possible to detect the early stages of the disease, and growers can dig the shaws before the tubers are affected. This, in fact, has been done in many eases and may have to be done with later crops, ihc effect is tiiat instead of reaping a harvest of fully-developed potatoes growers are being forced to dig semimatured crops rather than lose the whole of the sowings. Irish blight is common among potatoes through New Zealand. The lirst indication of its appearance is a browning of the leaves and later of the stem of the plant. The top growth drops off, and if there is much rain the spores of the blight are carried down into t lie tubers, which then begin to rot.