Disease Note: First Records of Potato Late Blight Caused by Phytophthora infestans in Bolivia

Abstract

Late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, is one of the most destructive of all potato diseases. In the Bolivian Andes, it is common, but this does not seem to have always been the case. The aim of the present work was to review the historic literature to produce a record of the disease in Bolivia. No mention of late blight appears in any 19th century document. Indeed, the earliest mention of the disease is from 1943. Late blight would therefore seem to be a relatively new disease in Bolivia.