THE POTATO crop is under severe threat once again from blight with the emergence of a new strain of the fungus Blue 13 which has arrived here from Britain where it was first detected in 2005.
Farmers already suffering from severe crop losses because of frost and snow were told yesterday at the National Potato Conference that the new strain had spread to many parts of Ireland and may be adapting to Irish conditions.
Teagasc researchers Stephen Kildea and Denis Griffin reported their preliminary findings on the spread of the disease last year when the wet summer of 2009 created ideal blight conditions.
They found the Blue 13 strain dominated potato blight populations along the east coast and had increased in Donegal crops but its spread was less dramatic than on the east coast. No strain of it was found in Cork.
They warned the phenylamide-based fungicides were unlikely to provide control and their use should be limited.