– again by Andy Coghlan The issue written in this article is regarding the banning and lack of approval for blight-resistant potatoes in the european union. Late potato blight, a potato disease caused by the the eukaryotic microorganism phytophthora infestans, is a significant cause for loss of crop and yield by potato farmers. Looking back to the past, the blight was responsible for the catastrophic Irish Great Famine of the 1840s causing eradication of their main food source, potatoes. As a result
caused a mass die off of potato crops throughout the country. Beginning in 1845 the weather in Ireland were abnormally chilly and damp for a summer season in Ireland, providing the perfect type of whether to allow diseases to spread rapidly. Phytophthora infestans, the cause of the great famine, can spread in the blowing wind. Shortage of food caused many Irish people to immigrate to other countries yet, some citizens of Ireland stayed most of which became struck will illnesses or died of starvation
Aluminum induces cross‑resistance of potato to Phytophthora Infestans This article is about an experiment done to try to see if Aluminum can cause resistance in potatoes to a disease. Aluminum is commonly found in arid soils which accounts for 35% of all farmable on earth. The aluminum (specifically Al3+) targets the roots of the plants and causes stunted plant growth and abnormal root formation. THis causes stresses in the plant which could lead to cross resistance. This immunity has led to some
The Great Potato Famine occurred in Ireland beginning in the mid 1840’s to the late 1840’s and early 1850’s. This outbreak was caused by a fungus called Phytophthora Infestans. At the time of this outbreak occurred the potato was a staple in the diet of one-third of the Irish population. This outbreak caused many Irish citizens to immigrate to places like the United States of America. But among those that were not able to leave Ireland were the farmers and the other Irish citizens that could
The Great Irish Famine was undoubtedly one of Irelands darkest periods of history. The Great Famine, or also referred to as the Irish Potato famine was from 1845 through 1852 where many people starved, were disease stricken, poor and some forced to emigrate. The reliance on the potato to the Irish people was so great that when the Famine struck, the population declined greatly. The famine caused around one million deaths and another million immigrated to different countries. The Irish people’s health
was suspected to be due to many factors such as: frost, winds, moon, manure, or thunderstorms; however, the trouble was actually due to an unknown fungus (phytophthora infestans) which caused mould on the potatoes (Kee 78). The Irish had experienced blights before this, but did not cause famine; this was the first case of phytopthora infestans (Poirteir 9). The blight was a major cause of the great famine, however; many other factors attributed to the tragedy that would forever change the great
the past cultural conflicts the British government took no action, and this eventually led to the emigration and death of hundreds of Irish Catholics. There were many arbitrary causes of the Irish potato famine, one of which was a fungus, Phytophthora infestans, which was accidentally transferred to Ireland from Mexico. Since the fungus was airborne it was virtually impossible to stop, and it wiped out almost all of Irelands potato crop in just a few years. Specifically, this fungus c...
created settlements all around the country. To provide for themselves in these settlements, most of the people farmed the land because that was what they knew how to do. The primary cause of this famine was a fungus-like protist called Phytophtera infestans that attacked Ireland’s potato crop, causing them to rot. Unfortunately, the people of Ireland
The Great Famine of 1845 With 3 million either gone or dead from the island of Ireland, 1845 was possibly the most painful year in its history. It was also obvious that something was afflicting Ireland, with the smell and sight of the crops. Death rate grew high, and immigration even higher during this time period of the famine. The Great Potato Famine of 1845 had a massive effect on Ireland in population decrease, the reactions of the people, and effects it had on the future of Ireland. One of
The Irish Potato Famine: The Ignorance of England The Irish Potato Famine, occurring in Ireland from 1845 to 1849, began as a natural catastrophe of great magnitude, with its effects exacerbated by the actions and inactions of the British government. Consequently, millions of people died of starvation while others tried to flee the merciless conditions through emigration (Donnelly). This event also inspired Jonathan Swift to compose a horrific solution in “A Modest Proposal,” which stated that the
Ireland in the 1500’s was a very unstable country. The country’s English rulers fought with the local Irish civilians and the Irish nobles. The Irish nobles also fought among themselves. The English landlords owned the land that the peasants lived and farmed on. As a result of this continual fighting, it was hard for the peasants to grow enough food to feed themselves. The British passed laws to deny the Irish peasants freedom. They were forbidden to speak their own language, to practice their
The discovery of the Americas brought a large exchange of people, diseases and crops. Corn, peppers, tomatoes, cassava, cocoa, rubber and tobacco were some of the crops introduced to the Old World. Coffee, oranges, bananas and sugar cane were introduced to the Americas. One of the most important crops brought to the Old World was the potato. Potatoes, as a substitute for wheat or rice, provided peasants a new source of calories. Potato was originated South America and then introduced to the Old World;
Ireland an extremely poor country. Farmers in Ireland were forced to export crops such as corn, wheat, and oats to Britain, which left the potato as the main dietary staple for the people, especially the poor. Therefore, when the fungus Phytophthora infestans caused some, and eventually all, of the crop to rot over the next couple of years, the reliance on the one crop made the people of Ireland extremely susceptible to the famine. The effects were devastating, and poverty spread across the nation
1845-52, as called by the Irish (Daly, 1996). The potato famine of 1846 was one of the biggest natural disasters in Irish history. The “explosive disease” said William Fry, Ph.D., caused by Phytophtera infestans, is a condition that prevents growth and destroys the plant by disease. P. infestans is a fungus-like pathogen that infects and destroys the leaves, stems, potato seed and the potato itself, turning it black and slimy (Craig, 1998). The first signs of blight are when leaves get brown specks
The Irish Potato Famine The Irish Potato Famine caused over one million deaths of children, men, and women, creating fear in Ireland, leading to many questions over whether people would move or not. Things like what people would eat, where people would go, and what would happen after everything scared people. Over 3,000,000 peasants relied on potatoes in Ireland, and people could stay on a diet only consisting of potatoes, so it was a very important crop. However, people soon noticed something
The Potato And Its Societal Effects The potato had a great effect in Europe during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The potato was a part of the Agricultural Revolution that took place during this time. The Agricultural Revolution not only had a great impact on agriculture, but society as well. This revolution caused an increase in population. J.G. Hawkes, author of The Potato: Evolution, Biodiversity, and Genetic Resources, notes that the "potato [was] brought to Spain
The Irish Potato Famine and The Holocaust in Literature Writers often use literature as a means of communicating traumatic events that occur in history, and such events are recorded by first-hand accounts as well as remembered by people far removed from the situation. Two traumatic events in history that are readily found in literature are The Irish Potato Famine and The Holocaust. A literary medium that has been used quite poignantly to convey trauma is poetry and the poetry from these two
The Great Irish Potato Famine was during a period of mass starvation, disease and emigration through 1845-1850. According to the journal, “The Context of Migration: The Example of Ireland in the Nineteenth Century” by James H. Johnson, this caused the population of Ireland to decrease 20-25% and it did not stabilize again until the 1930’s. Although there was a potato crop failure in Europe in the 1840’s, one third of the Irish population was dependent on this crop. This was inevitable due to the
In the early 1800s life in Ireland wasn’t easy, Irish citizens got by day to day by farming and relying on the potato. The potato was their main source of food and money. With out the potato the Irish would have nothing. No one was prepared for what was about to happen in 1845, the beginning of the Great Irish Potato Famine. The Irish Potato Famine was the worst tragedy in the history of Ireland. The outcome of the famine would result in hundreds of thousands dead, an failure of the economy in
What caused a vast amount of Irish individuals to immigrate to America? It all began in Cork and County Mayo, two regions of Ireland where my father’s family originated. Unfortunately, I’m unaware as to when and why my father’s family decide to move to the states; however, I am able to question as to why there was such a large group of Irish people to come to America in the mid- 1800s. Evidence states that Ireland suffered from a grave potato famine, the famine caused people to be objected to horrific