All the NCS and CTT staff that are around have spent time in the garden these past two days, cutting tops off potato plants, in an effort to save the spuds still ripening in the soil. Late blight is one of the most important potato diseases in the world. It was the cause of the great Irish Potato Famine of the 1840's and it continues to be a challenge to control. The northeast is currently being visited, and globally it seems to be reaching pandemic proportions.