Each year there are several confirmed outbreaks on potato and/or tomato in commercial fields. Late blight is not uncommon in Pennsylvania. Other losses for potato were due to the US8 genotype that is widespread and commonly seen on potato annually. In 2009, the majority of losses for tomato and some potato losses were due to the relatively new US22 genotype. The genotypes most common in Pennsylvania and the Northeast can cause disease on either potato or tomato or both. Similar to the seasonal flu in humans, different isolates (genotypes) of the late blight pathogen exist and infect different hosts so it is highly unlikely that a given isolate of the pathogen would be capable of infecting and causing disease on all known host plants. The pathogen may infect solanaceous weeds such as bittersweet nightshade, as well as other plants in the same botanical (Solanaceae) family, including petunias, Chinese lantern, and tomatillos. In addition to tomato and potato, the late blight pathogen has also been reported to infect eggplant and pepper, although no cases have been reported recently. Heavy losses can take place in transit symptoms can occur on infected but symptom-less tomato fruit within 5 days of harvest. Late blight epidemics occurred in 1878 in England, destroying entire plantings 1906, 1927, and 1928 in California 1940 in Ontario 19 throughout the eastern half of North America when 80 to 90 percent of early seedbeds in Florida were a complete loss, over 50 percent of the crop was lost in eastern states from New York to Florida, and 25 percent of the crop was lost in midwestern states 1960 in Ontario and 1976 in southern Georgia and some northern states where infected transplants were used. Since that time, epidemics have happened periodically when weather and other conditions favored disease development. It was directly responsible for the Irish Potato Famine of 18. Then, from 1844 to 1847, it occurred in epidemic and catastrophic proportions throughout Europe and North America. It occurred in France in 1840, was destructive in Germany in 1841, and appeared in North America in 1843. Late blight is thought to have originated in Central America and to have appeared almost simultaneously in Europe and North America about 1830. The disease occurs worldwide where tomatoes and potatoes are grown. However, it was 1863 before deBary established beyond doubt that this organism, Phytophthora infestans, was the cause of late blight. The causal pathogen of late blight from potatoes was first described in 1845 by Montagne and from tomato in 1847 by Payen in France.
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