In the 1800s many people in Ireland became reliant on a potato monoculture as their primary food source. In the 1840s a potato blight ravaged their crops and caused the Great Irish Famine. It is estimated around one million people died from starvation during this time. Why were none of the potato crops able to resist the blight?

Question

Biology

Wade Johnston

22 January, 19:12

In the 1800s many people in Ireland became reliant on a potato monoculture as their primary food source. In the 1840s a potato blight ravaged their crops and caused the Great Irish Famine. It is estimated around one million people died from starvation during this time. Why were none of the potato crops able to resist the blight?

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Kaitlynn Dixon · Answer 1

This is because a single species of potato plant was predominantly cultivated at a time by farmers on the same farmland year in-year out in ireland in the 1800. This is monoculture.

One of the disadvantages of this practice is lack of genetic variation, which reduces the resistance of these plant to potato blight.

Lack of genetic diversity made the same gene to be inherited by all the potatoes and therefore no room for a resistant gene which might have provided resistance gene, through variation thus all the potatoes with the same weak resistant genes were exposed to the same phytophtora infestant which caused rotten.

This is an example of genetic diversity and its importance in diseases protection.