Las Cruces, New Mexico
April 14, 2009
No matter what form of
horticulture a person is participating in – professional or
homeowner hobbyist – no one likes to have the plants they are
nurturing turn brown and die.
New Mexico State University’s
Cooperative Extension Service and the plant diagnostic clinic in
the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental
Sciences’ extension plant sciences department are here to help
answer the questions of what’s causing it to die.
The clinic is designed to provide plant diagnostic services for
the state. The services include analysis of plant material for
plant pathogens and environmental stresses, as well as
suggesting appropriate control measures when available. The
clinic also facilitates insect and weed identification through
referrals to other specialists.
Getting that help is as easy as visiting the clinic’s Web site
or calling the county extension agriculture agent.
It is better to ask the experts while the plant is still alive
than waiting until it is dead, said Natalie Goldberg, NMSU
professor and extension plant pathologist.
“Successful plant disease diagnosis is a team effort. Proper
diagnosis begins with the submission of a good-quality specimen
accompanied by accurate and complete information,” she said. “It
is difficult, if not impossible, to determine the cause of death
from a single leaf, dried or old specimen, or, especially, a
dead plant. We’re plant pathologists, not plant coroners. We
don’t do autopsies. We need live plant samples to determine what
disease or pest is causing the problem.”
There are an array of publications at the plant diagnostic
clinic Web site that provide descriptions of common diseases and
conditions that affect everything from fruits and vegetables,
including chile to ornamental plants and turf. Through the
written description and photographs the grower might be able to
find the information needed without further help.
The next step, if the web search did not produce the answer, is
to contact the local county extension agricultural agent. To
learn how to collect a sample to take to the extension office
visit http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/H-158.pdf for a publication
on how to collect and send plant specimens for disease
diagnosis.
“The extension agents are our first eyes,” Goldberg said.
“County agents are well versed in the diseases that plague their
area. If they have seen it before they may be able to do a
diagnoses without having to send the sample to the clinic.”
If the county agent is stumped by the disease’s symptoms, they
will submit the plant sample to the clinic for further diagnoses
by staff members Goldberg, Jason French or Carol Sutherland.
NMSU’s plant diagnostic clinic receives around 1,000 plant
samples during the growing season of March through mid-October
from state clients. Of those, 95 percent of the time the
disorder comes from a disease or environmental disorder.
If the disorder proves to be caused by an insect, state
entomologist Carol Sutherland is called upon to help provide the
solution to the problem. Besides the insect samples from the
clinic, Sutherland receives an additional 2,000 samples during
the session directly from extension agents and individuals.
“We suggest people utilize their county agent to submit
samples,” Goldberg said. “They are trained in how to submit an
ideal sample, which has some portion of the plant that shows the
margin between healthy tissue and damaged tissue.”
Visit the website
http://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/plantclinic/ for further
information about the plant diagnostic clinic and fact sheets
regarding plant pathology and common diseases.
For immediate help diagnosing a diseased plant contact your
county extension agent. Visit
http://aces.nmsu.edu/county/ to find contact information for
each county extension office. |
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