Late blight spreads across Vermont

Late blight is affecting crops across Vermont.

The fungus kills tomato and potato plants. It thrives in cool, wet weather.

Late blight spreads fast and can devastate entire crops. It was blamed for the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s.

People are advised to put affected plants into a plastic bag and throw them away. They shouldn't go in a compost pile or be burned because the spores will travel.

Some vegetable growers, like Blue Moon Farm in Hinesburg, have already lost their entire tomato crop. Co-owner Rachel Nevitt said some of the farm's 600 tomato plants began to look a little peaked around July 22. Five days later, virtually all the plants were dying of the late blight, with most of the vines showing tell-tale black marks and lesions.