Urbana, Illinois
March 17, 2009
URBANA - What's chewing on your
garden plants or ailing your soybeans or ruining the apples on
your backyard tree? Now there are 50
University of Illinois
Extension professionals ready and able to answer those and other
questions through the
Distance Diagnostics System.
"Using digital imaging equipment, local Extension office staff
can take high-quality images of plant and pest problems,"
explained Dennis Bowman, a U of I Extension crop systems
educator who oversees the system. "The images, along with
background information about the problem, are submitted to
Distance Diagnostics. Appropriate experts are instantly
notified.
"No matter where they are, if these experts can get e-mail, they
can make a diagnosis."
Bowman noted that rapid diagnosis is critical in preventing
losses and providing peace of mind.
"Last year, 22 percent of the samples were diagnosed within two
hours of submission, and 77 percent within 48 hours," he said.
Since the system was launched in 1999, nearly 8,000 plant and
pest samples have been processed. The system connects 95 local U
of I Extension field offices with more than 50 campus and
field-based experts.
Bowman said internal studies indicate that the potential
economic impact of Distance Diagnostics in 2008 alone was
$500,000.
Link:
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/distancediagnostics/ |
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