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How To Submit Samples To The Plant Diagnostic Lab (05/08/14)

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How To Submit Samples To The Plant Diagnostic Lab

The NDSU Plant Diagnostic lab is open to the public.  To support two technicians and to be able to purchase supplies and maintain equipment, a small fee applies to processing and diagnosing samples.  Services and fees are available online at www.ag.ndsu.edu/pdl. In general, the lab stays busy through the winter months processing samples related to seed health testing and working on long-term projects, with routine samples beginning to pick up in the spring.  Typical spring samples include evergreens, turf, and winter wheat.  This summer, the lab will be short a technician as the assistant diagnostician, Jesse Ostrander, also fulfills the role of seed health technician until a new applicant can be chosen to fill that position (the position is expected to be filled by late summer 2014), but it is anticipated that the turnaround time for samples including virus testing and nematode screening should remain at about 36-48 hours from the time the sample is received.  Routine diagnosis can vary from > 1 week to 2 weeks out depending on the sample.

When submitting a sample to the Plant Diagnostic Lab, please be sure to include the contact information of the submitter and list any other entity who you would like to receive a copy of the report or the invoice.  It is also important to provide as much information about the sample being submitted as possible.  To facilitate this process, a lab form is available at www.ag.ndsu.edu/pdl.  The form can be filled out by hand or online, and a complete form should be sent in with each sample.  Final reports of diagnoses are mailed along with invoices.  Reports can be emailed if an email address is provided.  Pre-payment is not required.

Plant Problem Diagnosis: For crops and herbaceous ornamental plants, try to send several affected plants showing a range of symptoms.  Dead plants are rarely informative and we ask that you instead send a representation of a healthy plant, a plant in decline, and a severely affected plant.  Try to send in the entire plant, including the roots, whenever possible as above-ground symptoms can be related to a problem with the lower stem or roots.  This information also applies to turf, the difference being that you would collect a sample from a healthy portion of the lawn and a portion in decline.  Photos showing the distribution of the symptoms in a landscape are also useful.

For woody species (trees and shrubs), images may be needed in order to determine the best sampling strategy.  To prevent a decline in sample quality, wrap the foliage in DRY paper towels before placing the entire sample in a plastic bag.  For all samples, shipping earlier in the week is best (Monday through Wednesday).  Pack the sample so that the leaves cannot come into contact with soil (if included).  Store the sample in a cool space such as a refrigerator or in a cooler with ice until it can be shipped.  Samples from out of state must be double bagged and sent in a sturdy box.

Identification requests – weeds/plants, insects, fungi/molds: For plant identification, whole plants are usually needed, and the flowering stage is extremely helpful.  For insect identification, small insects may be sent in vials of 70% alcohol.  Larger insects, such as moths, should be packed in cotton placed in a sturdy box to avoid crushing.  If submitting an insect pest of plants, please include a sample of the host plant if possible.  For fungus/mold identification, whole mushrooms should be wrapped in dry paper towels and packed in a sturdy box to avoid crushing; household mold samples usually consist of discolored paper from sheetrock or shavings of affected wood trim.  These should be placed in a small resealable plastic bag.  Tape mounts, using crystal clear scotch tape and placing it over an affected area, lifting, and attaching to wax paper, can also be submitted.

Kasia Kinzer

NDSU Plant Diagnostician

 

 

Jesse Ostrander

 NDSU Assistant Plant Diagnostician


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