The fungus responsible for the legendary Irish potato famine of the last century is staging a strong resurgence and scientists want to fight back. Researchers from Poland, Russia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Canada, Peru, Mexico and the United States will gather in Ithaca on Oct. 7 and 8 at Cornell University to discuss the problem and how to fight it. Researchers at the international planning meeting of the newly launched Cornell-Eastern Europe-Mexico International Collaborative Project in Potato Late Blight Control will review and identify priority research topics and determine the potential for technical cooperation and financial support.

A newer, stronger strain of the potato late blight fungus, Phytophthora infestans, now has been found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. The indigenous strain of the fungus has been controlled with fungicides, but it appears that exotic strains are more resistant. If left unchecked, the exotic strains could recombine with indigenous strains and wreak worldwide, agricultural havoc, experts say.

"The exotic strain is a big concern for us," said K.V. Raman, executive director of the Cornell Late Blight Project. "The USDA, the private sector, and national and international universities and institutions are trying to combat this with an environmentally friendly approach."

Cornell's project aims at further strengthening these initiatives.

Late blight in the United States has been kept in check by metalaxyl, a fungicide. Prior to 1990, strains resistant to metalaxyl's effect were rare. But over the last six years, strains resistant to the fungicide have been confirmed all over North America. This could force farmers to use older types of fungicide, which could present environmental risks.

Historically, blight has been the enemy of the world's potato farmers. More than 1 million people died in Ireland as a result of a potato famine in the 1840s. Scientists believe that the indigenous strain originated in Mexico and traveled to Ireland in the early the 1840s.

Sometime during the 1970s, another potato shipment carrying the fungus made its way from Mexico to Europe, bringing exotic strains of P. infestans. Scientists agree that the new strains are far more aggressive than the original outbreak 150 years ago.

Among the participants scheduled for the Cornell conference are: John Niederhauser, World Food Prize winner for his work on potato late blight; Eduardo Alvarez-Luna, chair, PICTIPAPA, a potato research organization in Mexico; Hector Lozoya-Saldana, executive director of PICTIPAPA; Ewa Zimnoch-Guzowski, research director for Potato Research Institute in Rozalin, Poland; Y. T. D'Yakov, Moscow University professor of mycology; and Elena Vedenyapira plant pathologist, Vavilov Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Also attending are Peter Gregory, deputy director for research, International Potato Center, Lima, Peru; Ronnie Coffman, director of research, Cornell's Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N.Y.; William E. Fry, Cornell professor of plant pathology; and Robert L. Plaisted, Cornell professor emeritus of plant breeding.

Other participants include representatives from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Dupont and Monsanto.