Societal and Agricultural Effects of the Irish Potato Famine

Baylee N. Dawson
Department of Horticultural Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
77843-2133

Email: ​baylee.dawson@tamu.edu

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Subject category: Tropical Horticulture

Societal and Agricultural Effects of the Irish Potato Famine

Additional index words: ​Phytophthora infestans​, late blight of potato, ​Solanum tuberosum​,
potato, farming, monoculture, epidemic, plant pathology, Irish society, Ireland, history, historical
agriculture, famine

Abstract: ​The potato, ​Solanum tuberosum,​ traveled from South America to Europe in the late

1500s where it grew easily and cheaply. The potato became especially important in Ireland

where it thrived in the nation’s cool climate. The Irish people became almost exclusively reliant

on the potato, only growing a small amount of cereals to be paid to their British landlords as rent.

Phytophthora infestans​ ​had a devastating effect on the people of Ireland between 1845 and 1852.

The fungus spread rapidly and wiped out crops in their fields easily due to an uncharacteristic

period of cool, wet weather and a monocultural crop system spread throughout the country. Little

aid came to the people of Ireland and unsympathetic British landlords exacerbated the problems

the starving people faced. As a result, the population of Ireland dropped by between 20-25% in

less than a decade and the nation as a whole turned away from potato farming and towards

ranching and dairy farming. The field of plant pathology was pioneered by Heinrich Anton de

Bary as he studied the potatoes affected in the potato famine.

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Introduction

The potato, ​Solanum tuberosum, ​is a starchy, tuberous annual crop grown around the

world today. The plant has dark green compound leaves attached to a green, herbaceous stem

that may grow up to one meter. Potato plants produce small, perfect flowers at the end of each

growing season. These perfect flowers, possessing both male and female parts, are white to

purple with five fused petals, five fused stamens, and one pistil. After blooming the plant will

produce small, green, tomato-like berries filled with seeds (Duke, 1983; Schuman, 1991). Unlike

its edible tuberous stem, the potato plant’s berries are poisonous (Voyle, 2014). The potato is

known for its tubers, which are fleshy, thick, rounded subterranean stems used for storage

purposes (Purdue, 2001). These tubers possess tiny, scale-like leaves with buds, or eyes, that can

grow new plants. Potatoes spread via stolons, the eyes growing new lateral shoots that will grow

away from the original plant, eventually reach the surface, and become a new plant (International

Potato Research Center, 2017).

The potato originated in South America, specifically in the Peruvian highlands. The plant

was domesticated by the Incas living in the Andes Mountains, where it is still grown. Spanish

explorers of the area transported the vegetable back to Europe to be cultivated in the late 1500s

(Jong, 2016). Unfortunately, the travelers transported few varieties across the Atlantic, and after

months at sea an even smaller number of those were viable (Schuman, 1991). Despite its limited

genetic variation the potato caught on in Europe. It grew easily and cheaply in the cool weather

of Europe, preferring daytime temperatures of 18-20°C and night temperatures under 15°C (New

Agriculturist, 2008). This made the crop extremely desirable, especially to poor farmers who

could grow more potatoes on a plot of land than they could grains (Teagasc, 2015).

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 Potatoes became a prevailing crop all over Europe, Ireland included (Fotheringham et al.,

2013). Here, during the mid-1800s, the British were the ruling elite. Brits owned most of the

country’s land, charging their poor Irish tenants rent to live and farm on it (History Cooperative,

2014). The Corn Laws were a series of tariff laws imposed by Britain that restricted the

importation of grains and corn and raised the price of domestic products. These laws helped keep

Ireland and its people firmly under British rule and kept the country’s economy from growing

and becoming independent (Corn Laws, 1998).

Factors that Lead to the Irish Potato Famine

Potatoes had become a staple crop in Ireland after being introduced to the nation in the

1700s. Prior to their introduction Irish farmers chiefly grew cereals such as wheat, rye, and oats

(Zadoks, 2008). However, potatoes yield substantially more per hectare (Teagasc, 2015) and

carry no risk of ergot, (Jong, 2016) a fungal disease affecting cereals that may cause convulsions,

hallucinations, miscarriages, gangrene, and death, making the tubers seem like an attractive

alternative (Ergot, 1998). Potatoes grew well in the cool, damp climate, and although Irish

farmers still grew some grains, they were paid to their British landlords as rent (Gray, 1995;

Schuman, Gail L., 1991).

As time passed, Irish farms began to get smaller and smaller and the people living on

them became poorer and poorer. Irish tradition dictated that when a farmer died, his land was

split up between his children. Eventually, the plots of land became so small that all they were

good for was subsistence farming potatoes (Gray, 1995). Luckily for these poor farmers, potatoes

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are nutritious in addition to being cheap (Jong, 2016). The average Irish laborer ate “5.4 kg per

day, spread equally among three meals” (Zadoks, 2008). This fact allowed the poor to remain

relatively healthy, not dying from malnutrition or its associated diseases, and in turn keep having

children. This led to a somewhat overpopulated and potato-reliant Ireland (Zadoks, 2008).

Ireland’s reliance on potatoes was reliance on a monoculture, a single crop with little

genetic difference (Zadoks, 2008; Scholthof, 2007). As previously mentioned, a small number of

viable varieties were introduced to Europe from the Americas. Compounding this, farmers

planted their crops each year with seed potatoes. Rather than planting potato seeds in their fields,

farmers saved pieces of their previous year’s crop of potatoes and planted them the next year

(Schuman, 1991). They took advantage of the potato’s ability to reproduce via stolons, as any

piece with an eye could be used to to grow a new, genetically identical, plant. However, this left

no room for genetic variation or natural mutations, making diseases an extreme threat to the

monoculture (International Potato Research Center, 2017; Scholthof, 2007).

Phytophthora infestans

Phytophthora infestans ​is a fungus originating in central Mexico that causes late blight of

potato (Goss et al., 2014). When the fungus infects a plant it appears as a white mildew that

emerges from the stomata in humid weather. Hyphae grow on the plant and produce sporangia,

which then produce spores. These spores are dispersed via air to other plants when the air is cool

and humid. The spores cannot survive long distances or exceedingly warm or dry weather. The

cellular material inside the sporangia on the plant then converts itself into eight mobile zoospores

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with flagella. If the surface of the leaf is wet, the zoospores move onto the leaf surface. From

there they infect the plant with a germination tube. A network of hyphae begins to grow inside of

the plant tissue, penetrating between the cells so the potato plant will not notice and fight the

infection. These hyphae absorb nutrients from the plant and produce new sporangia, leaving

brown, rotted spots (Agrios, 1997). Water from the leaves, including sporangia, is washed into

the soil. Here the fungus attacks the tuber. A potato can rot and be completely turned to slime in

only three weeks (Schuman, 1991). In warmer environments, the sporangium produces only one

germination tube instead of 8 zoospores, drastically slowing- although not eliminating- the

spread of the pathogen (Agrios, 1997).

Plant pathologists ascribe to the idea of a ​disease triangle​. Three factors must be present

in order for their to be an infection. These three factors are the presence of a suitable host, in this

case the susceptible potato monoculture, a virulent pathogen, ​Phytophthora infestans​, and a

favorable environment (Scholthof, 2007). In 1845 Ireland experienced several weeks of

particularly cool, wet conditions, perfect for the fungus to rapidly spread (Schuman, 1991). The

sum of these three factors determines how severe the infection will be (Scholthof, ​2007)​.

With ideal weather conditions and a closely planted, widespread susceptible monoculture

the infection spread rapidly throughout Ireland, rotting potatoes in the fields (Scholthof, ​2007).

Even those pulled up whole later rotted in storage (Gray, 1995; History Cooperative, 2014).

Without scientific understanding, people believed that the disease was caused by spontaneous

generation- life springing from organic matter- and was a punishment sent by God. They held

that the white mildew that appeared on leaves was an effect of the rot, not the cause of it (History

Cooperative, 2014).

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Societal Effects of the Irish Potato Famine

Irish farmers were generally too poor to have reserves of food, eating their meager supply

of potatoes immediately. Poor areas of the country ran on the barter system and little money

circulated. When the potato blight struck, farmers couldn’t even buy food (History Cooperative,

2014). People were forced to eat their seed potatoes, a desperate move that meant that they

would have no way to grow more potatoes the next season. When the seed potatoes ran out the

starving Irish were forced to eat boiled leather from belts and shoes as well as nettles, grass,

weeds, and roots (Gray, 1995; History Cooperative, 2014). The people of Ireland were starving.

The little grains that the Irish farmers did grow had to be given to their British landlords

for rent. Despite starving and begging, if they failed to pay rent they would be evicted from their

land- a death sentence (Gray, 1995). Often, an evicted tenant’s home would be burned to the

ground to prevent the family from returning. Many landlords saw the famine as an opportunity to

clear their tenants out and turn to commercial farming or cattle ranching (History Cooperative,

2014).

Some landlords and merchants made a profit exporting food and livestock during the

famine while their tenants starved. There were some riots at the docks as the Irish people

watched their homegrown oats and grains sail to Britain (History Cooperative, 2014; Zadock,

2008). Public works, like “roads to nowhere,” were provided by the British government, but the

hard labor and distances the poor were forced to travel were too hard for some (Nally, 2008;

History Cooperative, 2014). Tax-funded workhouses were an option, giving the hungry a chance

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to work for food, but there were many instances of abuse, hard labor, and separated families

(Nally, 2008). Their reputation was so bad, many preferred to just die at home (Gray, 1995).

British Prime Minister Robert Peel worked to have the restrictive corn laws temporarily

amended during the Great Famine. Without the amendments importing large amounts of foreign

corn to Ireland would have be exhorbitantly expensive (Nally, 2008). He organized the

importation of corn from the United States into Ireland. At first, Irish mills couldn’t grind the

hard maize into corn meal and the relief was useless, but after some time and adaptations to the

mills the Irish became glad for the help of the yellow cornmeal they could now produce (Gray,

1995). A regime change led to the liberal party taking control of the British government. They

believed chiefly in laissez faire and ended all relief efforts.The new prime minister, Charles

Trevelyan, turned away a boatload of corn already headed for Ireland, with the words that he

simply wanted to make "Irish property support Irish poverty" (Nally, 2008; History Cooperative,

2014). Additionally, the potato famine caused rising prices in other foodstuffs, leading to overall

contraction of the economy and bankruptcy over the nation (History Cooperative, 2014).

During the Great Famine the population of Ireland fell by between 20-25%

(Fotheringham et al., 2013). Some 1-1.5 million people emigrated to the United States, Great

Britain, Australia, and other countries (Jong, 2016; Fotheringham et al., 2013). The ships they

boarded were unregulated; many sunk, were overcrowded, facilitated disease, and had

insufficient food. They became nicknamed “coffin ships” (Laxton, 1998). An estimated 1 million

more died within the country’s borders between 1845 and 1850 (Zadock, 2008; History

Cooperative, 2014).

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 Most people believed that the potato famine was God’s way of punishing the Irish poor

for their perceived sins and laziness. During the time period it was common to believe poverty

was entirely self-inflicted (Nally, 2008). Some soup kitchens opened by the Church of Ireland

even refused to help the poor Catholic Irish unless they agreed to convert to protestantism, the

religion of the minority British elite (Gray, 1995; History Cooperative, 2014).

There were calls for independence from the British government, which was doing very

little to help the Irish people, especially after a regime change and Trevelyan’s takeover. The

rebellion, called the Young Irelanders, failed quickly after unsuccessful riots against the British.

Thousands were arrested, the leaders of the rebel group were deported to Australia, and the

rebellion fizzled out for the time being (Gray, 1995; History Cooperative, 2014; Zadock, 2008).

Lasting Societal and Agricultural Effects of the Irish Potato Famine

After the Great Famine, the population had decreased by an estimated two million, and

birth rates had dropped off to boot. People began to marry later in life after they had a way of

supporting a family, and increased rates of people did not marry at all (Zadock, 2008). The new

custom for inheritance, rather than splitting the land between descendents, became for the eldest

son to inherit the land and for his siblings to either emigrate or work the land (Gray, 1995). Thus,

farms became larger and able to support more than subsistence farming. Now farmers

increasingly turned to livestock for their larger plots of land (History Cooperative, 2014).

Some landowners went bankrupt during the Famine, meaning there were fewer landlords

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and their holdings were consolidated. As the landowners and their tenants invested in livestock,

Ireland moved away from farming and into ranching and dairy (Zadock, 2008). Unemployment

was at a high with farmers and domestic servants losing their jobs. Poverty became the normal

state of affairs for many decades (History Cooperative, 2014). The rural economy became reliant

and dairy and livestock, a fact that is still true today (History Cooperative, 2014; Teagasc, 2017).

No longer would the Irish people be reliant on a monoculture.

People became increasingly religious as a result of the Famine. Previously, the Irish

Catholics mixed traditional folk beliefs into their practice, but this went into steep decline.

People were afraid of the famine and believed it was divine punishment, so they increasingly

turned to religion in a futile effort to end the famine and find comfort in the face of hardship

(History Cooperative, 2014). The Church’s presence in the country increased with soup kitchens

both Catholic and protestant (Gray, 1995; Zadock, 2008). The growing influence of Catholicism

led to conflict and tension with the smaller, but economically dominant Protestant population of

the nation (History Cooperative, 2014).

Tensions were increasing with the British on other fronts as well. While the Young

Irelanders had failed in their rebellion they had succeeded in igniting a spark of nationalism

within their people. The people were no longer content under British rule. The Young Irelanders

inspired numerous other nationalistic movements, eventually leading to the formation of the Irish

Republican Army, which is still active today (IRA, 1998) Resentment towards the rich British

elite, absentee British landlords, and an indifferent British government increased (Gray, 1995;

History Cooperative, 2014). Their actions during the famine, standing by or taking from the Irish

people while they struggled and starved, had left a sour taste in the mouths of the masses.

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 Poorer, more remote areas as well as the south and west regions of the island had suffered

the most from the potato famine (Fotheringham et al., 2013). These areas, particularly west

Ireland, had a distinct Irish culture. Many of the Irish people in these regions spoke Gaelic or

Irish as their first language. These people began to die out, and others emigrated and adopted

English as their new language, assimilating into their new countries’ cultures (History

Cooperative, 2014). Because of the famine, Irish culture and language fell into a steep decline

that it has never recovered from (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, 2011).

Plant Pathology as a Response to the Irish Potato Famine

Heinrich Anton de Bary of Germany performed experiments to prove a connection between the

fungus and potato blight. He ignored the conventional logic of the time and tested the

relationship between the two by putting the potatoes in a variety of conditions (such as those

favorable to the fungus) and transferring sporangia from an infected plant to a healthy one. He

helped prove the validity Germ Theory, the idea that diseases are caused by microorganisms,

over the idea of spontaneous generation. Due to his groundbreaking work, Anton de Bary is

widely considered to be both the father of plant pathology and modern mycology (Matta, 2009;

Schuman, 1991).

His work inspired other scientists, including Robert Koch, to take similar steps with other

diseases and continue developing the field of plant pathology. Koch, known as the father of

modern bacteriology, is best remembered for Koch’s Postulates. Koch’s Postulates were

pioneered through the scientist’s work with the anthrax bacteria in sheep (based loosely on

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Anton de Bary’s work) and are still used today to prove pathogenicity (Robert Koch, 1998;

Schuman, 1991). They are

1) “The symptoms and any evidence of the pathogen in the diseased host are carefully

described.

2) The suspected pathogen is isolated from the diseased host and from all other

contaminating microorganisms, usually on a nutrient medium that will keep the organism

alive. A description is made of the suspected pathogen.

3) A healthy host is inoculated with the suspected pathogen. It is later observed for

symptoms, which must be identical to those described in Step 1.

4) The pathogen is reisolated from the inoculated host and must be identical to the organism

described in Step 2” (Schuman, 1991).

Today, as the result of one of the many breakthroughs in plant pathology, farmers use

copper based fungicides to prevent ​phytophthora infestans​. However, for many years after the

Great Famine the fungus was still an extremely serious issue for potato farmers (Thiesen, 2006;

Schuman, 1991). Even today the disease is considered to be a threat to world food security (Jong,

2016) as well as both the most serious and most costly biological constraint in potato production

worldwide, carrying a global cost of over six billion dollars per year (Thiesen, 2006; Goss et al.,

2014).

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Conclusions

From the Great Famine we learned that reliance on a monoculture is a dangerous

strategy that leaves crops susceptible to epidemics. Additionally, we learned that the desire to

grow crops cheaply and easily leads to overcrowding, another factor in the ease of the spread of

disease. The field of plant pathology was pioneered by Anton de Bary as a result of the famine as

he studied the potatoes affected by ​phytophthora infestans.

Today Ireland does not even rank in the top twenty-five global producers of

potatoes. China is the world’s top potato producer, producing over ninety-five tons of potatoes in

2014 (Potato Pro, 2015). Potatoes are considered the world’s fourth most important crop, right

behind corn, wheat, and rice. While 381,682,000 tons of potatoes were harvested from

19,098,300 hectares worldwide in 2014 (FAOSTAT, 2014), only 383,000 tons of potatoes were

produced on 9,500 hectares of land in Ireland - about 0.01% of the global total. This is also a

6.6% decrease in Irish production since 2013 and Teagasc – the Agriculture and Food

Development Authority of Ireland - predicts that the production and consumption of potatoes

will continue to fall. Prices are decreasing year after year with growers selling below cost. If the

current trend continues, growers will keep leaving the industry and the area planted with potatoes

in Ireland will continue to decrease (Teagasc, 2015). The Ireland of today relies on the ranching

and dairy farming it turned to after the Great Famine, rather than farming, possessing over 1.35

million dairy cows in addition to a huge number of beef cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, and horses

(Teagasc, 2017).

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