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

The researchers saw a spike in late blight disease reported in 1950s documents.

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

“For years we knew that there was a Mexican species that was resistant to late blight, and researchers had been working on it using seeds from our genebank,” Bamberg said.

From Washington Times • Apr. 22, 2017

The late blight can often be recognized by its odor.

From Agriculture for Beginners Revised Edition by Burkett, Charles William