Late Blight

Scientific name: Phytophthora infestans (Montagne) Bary

Synonym: Peronospora infestans Montagne

Common names: Late blight, late blight disease, potato late blight, tomato late blight

Native To: Possibly Mexico

Date of U.S. Introduction: First appeared in the U.S. in the 1840s; new agressive strains of the disease were discovered in the 1990s

Images: Invasive.org and Google

Means of Introduction: Possibly introduced through infected potatoes imported from Mexico

Impact: Disease of potatoes and tomatoes

Current U.S. Distribution: Occurs throughout the U.S.

Management Plans: Microbes / Late Blight

Selected Internet Resources:

• Federal Government
• State Government
• University/Academic
• International
• Organizations

Phytophthora infestans
Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
Taxonomy

Potatoes, Once Again, Under Fungal Attack (May 1997)
USDA. Agricultural Research Service.
Photographs; Impacts; Controls

Late Blight: Phytophthora infestans
USDA. BARC. Vegetable Laboratory.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Impacts; Life Cycle

Phytophthora infestans Article Citation Search - AGRICOLA Database
USDA. National Agricultural Library.
Research; Special Note: NAL Catalog Search (resources)

State Government

Late Blight Identification - Potato IPM Program (PDF | 181 KB)
Maine Government.
Identification/Description; Photographs

Late Blight Management Plan for Alaska (2005; PDF | 59 KB)
Alaska Department of Natural Resources. Alaska Plant Materials Center.
Introduction History; Dispersion; Controls

Late Blight Disease of Potato and Tomato in Alaska (Apr 2006; PDF | 223 KB)
University of Alaska - Fairbanks. Cooperative Extension Service.
Identification/Description; Introduction History; Impacts; Habitat; Distribution; Controls

Potato Late Blight - UC Pest Management Guidelines (May 2008)
University of California. Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Habitat; Controls

Late Blight of Potatoes and Tomatoes - Vegetable MD Online (Jul 1998)
Cornell University. Department of Plant Pathology.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Introduction History; Impacts; Life Cycle; Habitat; Distribution; Dispersion; Controls

Phytophthora infestans - Crop Knowledge Master
University of Hawaii. College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources; Hawaii Department of Agriculture.
Taxonomy; Identification/Description; Life Cycle; Habitat; Distribution; Controls

Late Blight of Tomato (Phytophthora infestans) (Aug 2008; PDF | 593 KB)
University of Hawaii. Cooperative Extension Service.
Taxonomy; Identification/Description; Photographs; Impacts; Life Cycle; Habitat; Distribution; Controls

Late Blight Alert for Potato and Tomato
University of Massachusetts Amherst. Extension.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Introduction History; Dispersion; Controls

Michigan Potato Diseases: Late Blight Risk Monitoring
Michigan State University.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Impacts; Life Cycle; Habitat; Controls

Potato Late Blight Alert for the Midwest (Jun 2009)
Michigan State University. Integrated Pest Management Program.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Illustrations; Life Cycle; Habitat; Controls

Leaf Blight Diseases of Potato (Jul 1994)
North Dakota State University. Agriculture and University Extension.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Impacts; Life Cycle; Habitat; Dispersion; Controls

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) Late Blight - Online Guide to Plant Disease Control
Oregon State University. Extension Service.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Introduction History; Life Cycle; Distribution; Controls

Late Blight of Tomato - High Plains IPM Guide (Apr 2007; PDF | 31 KB)
University of Wyoming; University of Nebraska; Colorado State University; Montana State University.
Identification/Description; Dispersion; Controls

Global Initiative on Late Blight
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.
Taxonomy; Photographs; Introduction History; Impacts; Life Cycle; Habitat; Distribution; Controls; Special Note: Bibliographic Database

The Microbial World: Potato blight - Phytophthora infestans
University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom). Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology.
Photographs; Illustrations; Life Cycle; Habitat; Dispersion; Controls

Phytophthora infestans - Potato late blight
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany). GMO Safety.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Impacts; Controls

Potato / Late Blight Late blight Overview
International Potato Center.
Introduction History; Impacts; Controls

Late Blight in Potatoes
Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (Canada).
Identification/Description; Photographs; Habitat; Dispersion; Controls

Late blight
PAN Germany. Online Information Service for Non-Chemical Pest Management in the Tropics.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Habitat; Controls

Late Blight of Potato and Tomato
American Phytopathological Society.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Illustrations; Impacts; Life Cycle; Controls

Re-emergence of Potato and Tomato Late Blight in the United States (Dec 1997; PDF | 476 KB)
American Phytopathological Society.
Taxonomy; Photographs; Introduction History; Impacts; Distribution; Dispersion; Controls

Special Report - Potato Late Blight in the Columbia Basin: An Economic Analysis of the 1995 Epidemic (Jan 1997; PDF | 47 KB)
American Phytopathological Society.
Impacts

Implications for a warmer, wetter world on the late blight pathogen: How CIP efforts can reduce risk for low-input potato farmers (PDF | 1.48 MB)
International Potato Center.
Impacts; Distribution; Controls

Seed Borne Late Blight of Potato (2002)
Plant Management Network. Plant Health Progress.
Photographs; Habitat; Dispersion; Controls

Organic Alternatives for Late Blight Control in Potatoes
National Center for Appropriate Technology. National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service.
Photographs; Impacts; Life Cycle; Habitat; Controls

Tomato Diseases: Late Blight (2005; PDF | 231 KB)
World Vegetable Center.
Identification/Description; Photographs; Impacts; Habitat; Controls