The notorious pathogen that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s is still a major threat to potato and tomato crops worldwide. This oomycete water mold, Phytophthora infestans, can devastate entire fields, posing a constant threat to global food security. For decades, farmers have relied on fungicides like mefenoxam to manage the disease. But P. infestans is a cunning adversary.
Switch on, switch off: The dynamic defense of a deadly plant disease
