late blight

American  

noun

Plant Pathology.

1. a disease of plants, especially potatoes, celery, etc., characterized by spotting, blighting, and withering or decay of the entire plant, caused by any of several fungi, as Phytophthora infestans or Septoria apii.

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late blight Scientific  

/ lāt /

1. A disease of potato plants caused by the oomycete organism Phytophthora infestans and characterized by decay of the foliage and tubers. An outbreak of late blight led to widespread famine in Ireland in 1845-1850.

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Etymology

Origin of late blight

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Drilling down into the relevant academic literature cited in the documents, Ristaino saw evidence of a large late blight outbreak in tomatoes in the United States after World War II.

From Science Daily • Feb. 15, 2024

The good news about late blight in tomatoes — the disease best known as the cause of the 19th-century Irish potato famine — is that it doesn’t happen every year.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 26, 2021

You might sacrifice a few tomatoes but it's worth it because when a deadly disease like late blight makes the rounds in your area, good air movement can help prevent its spread.

From Salon • Jul. 13, 2021

They use tremendous amounts of pesticides for the control of the Andean potato weevil and the late blight fungus.

From Textbooks • Sep. 6, 2018

The gain was due chiefly to the prolongation of growth through the prevention of late blight.

From Three Acres and Liberty by Hall, Bolton