Met Éireann has today (Tuesday, August 8) extended an advisory for potato blight for the entire country.
The latest advisory was issued on Friday (August 4) and had been due to remain in place until 1:00a.m on Wednesday (August 9).
However, the national forecaster has now decided to extend the advisory until 1:00a.m on Friday (August 11).
Met Éireann has told growers that there will be good opportunities for spraying until later Thursday, especially in the north and east.
“There will be occasional light rain and drizzle but decent dry periods too, and winds will be generally light to moderate. It will become more unsettled from late Thursday onward,” the forecaster said.
Potato blight spreads rapidly in humid weather in the foliage of potatoes causing the foliage to decay and the potato to be infected.
According to Teagasc, around €5 million is spent by potato growers on fungicides annually in Ireland to mitigate the impacts of blight.
Met Éireann
Meanwhile, the weather forecast for today is for a generally cloudy day with some sunny breaks, particularly in the northern half of the country.
There will be highest daytime temperatures of 17° to 22°, warmest in the southwest, with light breezes.
It will be very mild tonight with some patchy drizzle, lowest temperatures of 12° to 16° in near calm conditions. It will be drier in Ulster where overnight temperatures will range from 8° to 11°
Wednesday will be cloudy, but sunny spells will develop in the afternoon and evening. There is a chance of the odd isolated shower.
It will feel humid with temperatures of 20° to 24°, feeling warmer where good sunshine develops. Southerly or variable breezes will be light.
The current outlook is for warm conditions to continue on Thursday, but it become breezier with fresher and showery conditions to follow.