A status yellow blight warning has been issued for counties Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow.

The warning remains in place until midnight on Sunday 30 May.

Weather conditions conducive to the spread of potato blight are expected in early-sown potato crops on Friday evening and possibly in places on Saturday.

Late blight study

As reported in March, a new study has predicted that the pressure of late blight in potato crops is likely to increase over the next 30 to 50 years due to climate change.

It is predicted that the potato disease is likely to occur more often across the UK, with the greatest increases in western and northern areas.