Cooler weather bringing the “luck of the Irish” to the USA

Watts Up With That?
Sunday, July 12, 2009

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Late blight, which caused the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s and 1850s, is killing potato and tomato plants in home gardens from Maine to Ohio and threatening commercial and organic farms, U.S. plant scientists said on Friday.

“Late blight has never occurred this early and this widespread in the United States,” said Meg McGrath, a plant pathologist at Cornell University’s extension center in Riverhead, New York.

She said the fungal disease, spread by spores carried in the air, has made its way into the garden centers of large retail chains in the Northeastern United States.

“Wal-mart, Home Depot, Sears, Kmart and Lowe’s are some of the stores the plants have been seen in,” McGrath said in a telephone interview.

The disease, known officially as Phytophthora infestans, causes large mold-ringed olive-green or brown spots on plant leaves, blackened stems, and can quickly wipe out weeks of tender care in a home garden.

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McGrath said in her 21 years of research, she has only seen five outbreaks in the United States. The destructive disease can spread rapidly in cooler, moist weather, infecting an entire field within days.

“What’s unique about it this year is we have never seen plants affected in garden centers being sold to home gardeners,” she said.

This year’s cool, wet weather created perfect conditions for the disease. “Hopefully, it will turn sunny,” McGrath said. “If we get into our real summer hot dry weather, this disease is going to slow way down.”

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11 Responses to “Cooler weather bringing the “luck of the Irish” to the USA”

1. pitofdoom Says:
   July 12th, 2009 at 10:23 am

   Starving you out is “greener” then nuking you out, but out you must go!

   

   David Michel Reply:
   July 12th, 2009 at 8:30 pm

   Hey puto of doom, go to your own sites. We don’t respect genocidal collectivist cowardice!

2. Howard on Gulag Planet Says:
   July 12th, 2009 at 10:39 am

   Famine. Then pestilence.

3. David Michel Says:
   July 12th, 2009 at 1:13 pm

   The use of the potato in Europe was an effective response to the challenges of the little ice age. In Ireland there was no diversity in potato species, unfortunately. Since we are going into anther ice age we should use potatoes. However, diversity is the key. We need to import and propogate all of the numerous strains developed by the indegenous populations of the Andes. The same goes for corn and other plants. Grow numerous vaireties of indegenous heirloom plants. Potatoes, corn, amaranth, quinoa, indigenous varieties of beans, etc.

4. what fur?? Says:
   July 12th, 2009 at 1:34 pm

   Al Gore will be preaching global warming even if an ice age arrives, it is just a way to get more idiots on the global governance bandwagon. Wake me up when the shooting starts.

5. mike Says:
   July 12th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

   DON’T WORRY YOU ALL WILL BE BEAMED UP BEFORE ANYTHING TERRIBLY BAD HAPPENS–LOL

6. JMilton Says:
   July 12th, 2009 at 7:05 pm

   AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And there’s a pig in my yard! Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7. recon Says:
   July 12th, 2009 at 8:44 pm

   The reason there are no potatoes left is at Popeyes and KFC the nigga’s are eating extra large portions of french fries with their fried chicken and watermelon. signed Latoya Jackson

8. reconmarine Says:
   July 12th, 2009 at 9:36 pm

   As Bond, James Bond, I was asked by the Crown to murder all Irish. They are bad because they do not support the Crown/NWO(own)/Rothschild Banking Group/MOSSAD. Goat save the Queen

9. paul Says:
   July 13th, 2009 at 12:56 am

   Don’t panic.Just use special chemicals.

10. Derek Rushe Says:
    July 13th, 2009 at 1:43 am

    The irish famine was not a result of a lack of crop diversity. We grew more than just potatoes in ireland you know, the reason the famine happen is because the english introduce the planttation policy, whereby they took huge amounts of irish land and gave it to rich, protestant lords, religating the irish to the poorest lands where the only kind of crop could grow was the potat. Then when the bilte hit, were forced to starve, not because there was no other food, there was, the rich lords were growing corn, barley and other crops on the best tracts of land, and could have use it to prevent the famine. Instead, they slod these crops for profit.