Late blight is an old foe of humans. This disease catalyzed the devastating Irish potato famine that began in 1845.
It is caused by a fungus-like pathogen, which quickly kills a potato plant and turns the crop into inedible mush.
More recently, late blight has been creeping into higher parts of the Peruvian Andes, as warmer, wetter weather helps the pathogen spread. So scientists at the International Potato Center (CIP), a research institute in Peru, were very motivated to develop potato varieties that could resist late blight.
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