Article Nº 1225 Fungus, lichen, moss or alga Vol. I · p. 714
Potato diseases
Original title: Doenças das Semilhas
Short entry on the diseases of the potato (semilha) in Madeira, chiefly late blight caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans, and the disease called mela.
The disease that does the most damage to plantations of potatoes (semilhas, the Madeiran word) is caused by Phytophthora infestans, a fungus of the family Peronosporaceae. Plants attacked by this fungus show dark patches on their leaves and usually end by withering. Mela is another disease that attacks potatoes; on account of its effects, it has been identified with the wet gangrene found in some European localities.