Submit a physical sample
Provide background information about the problem by using the correct form.
Although all sections will not be applicable to every sample, the form should
be filled out as completely as possible. Keep a copy of the completed form for
your records so you can contact your client when you receive the report from the
clinic.
Note
- Include a check made payable to University of Missouri. The Plant Diagnostic
Clinic reserves the right to assess minimum fees by prior arrangement for firms
or individuals submitting large numbers of samples for special testing.
- Additional requirements for samples submitted from outside Missouri
- Ship in a sturdy escape-proof container.
- Double seal potentially infected plant materials in heavy plastic bags (e.g. 2 zip-lock freezer bags).
- No samples are accepted from outside the United States.
Find
out what's wrong with a plant
- General diagnosis
- Visual exam, microscopic observation for disease-causing organisms and if
needed incubation in a moist chamber.
- $15 per sample including residential turf
- $25 per a sample of commercial turf
- $50 per a sample of putting green
- Additional tests
If one of these tests is necessary to arrive at a diagnosis, there will
be an an additional charge.
- Fungal isolation
- Dutch elm disease, oak wilt, phythophthora root rot and verticillium wilt
- $10 additional fee
- Bacterial isolation
- Identifyt bacterial pathogens using standard isolation techniques
- $10 additional fee
- Virus testing
- Limited to virus testing using serological methods
- $10 additional fee
- Send
Plant
Disease Identification Form (.pdf)
Turfgrass Disease Identification
Form (.rtf)
to:
Plant Disease Identification
University of Missouri
23 Mumford Hall
Columbia, MO 65211
Insect or
arachnid identification
Plant identification
Weed/Plant Identification
University of Missouri
23 Mumford Hall
Columbia, MO 65211
What to
send to find out what's wrong
Include a healthy example for comparison when possible. Include enough of
the plant to clearly indicate whether the symptoms are occurring on old or new
growth. Above ground symptoms often result from a problem occurring in the
lower stem or roots, so it's best to send entire plants when feasible. Dig
plants to leave roots intact in a soil ball and prevent drying. With larger
specimens, try to sample from the transition zone between healthy and affected
tissue.
- Special instructions for turfgrass
Take plugs at least 4 inches across with a cup cutter or knife to a depth to include
the roots. Always include a diseased plug, a healthy plug, and one plug from the
transition zone between healthy and affected turf. - Special instructions for Dutch elm disease, oak wilt and other vascular
wilts
Submit live branches 1-2 inches in diameter, cut from areas of the tree
that are just beginning to show symptoms. Include leaves. For oak wilt detection,
submit branches exhibiting streaking in the sapwood. Keep samples cool during
shipment by packing with ice packs.
- Special instructions for pine wilt nematode
Submit branch pieces at least 1/2 inch in diameter and 3 to 4 inches
long, taken from a branch expressing symptoms or segments of the trunk from trees
that have recently died.
What
to send for plant identification
Herbaceous plants (plants with green and/or soft tissue stems that
die back each year) or grasses
Whenever feasible the entire plant should be dug, not pulled, from the
soil so that the roots or a representative portion, remain relatively intact to
a depth of approximately 4-5 inches. If rhizomes, bulbs or tubers are present
be sure to include these with the basal portion of the plant. If the plant is
flowering or fruiting (seeding) send a portion of this part of the plant. Tall
plants can be folded once or twice or cut into shorter lengths (for shipping purposes).
Woody plants -- trees, shrubs, woody vines
It is necessary to have a terminal or end portion of a leafy branch
with at least five leaves or buds if collected in fall or winter. If flowers or
fruit are present, these should be included. Fresh or dried leaves or fruit found
beneath the tree, shrub, or vine and known to come from the same plant, are also
valuable. If thorns are present, be sure they are represented in the samples.
If the plant is a woody vine, a portion of the vine bearing representative leaves,
tendrils (if present) that wrap around other plants or other supports enabling
the plant to climb, and flowers or fruits (seeds), if present, should be included.
Note
Leaves of dicots or so-called broad-leafed plants may
be of two types, i.e., simple or compound. Because of this it is inadvisable
to send for identification what appears to be a single leaf. Unless it is unusually
distinctive and/or from a very common plant, it does not, as a rule, provide
enough information to permit accurate identification.
Packaging
plant materials for shipment
Fresh samples should be wrapped in dry paper to absorb moisture and placed
in a plastic bag. If roots are included, insert the root-soil ball in a plastic
bag and tie around stem to avoid soil contact with leaves while in transit. Then
wrap the entire sample in paper and place in a plastic bag. Do not add moisture
to packing materials. Pack samples firmly in the shipping container.
Packaging
insects for shipment
Submit only dead insects for identification; and pack them so they arrive unbroken.
Badly damaged specimens are often unidentifiable, and a request for additional
specimens could cause a great time delay. Insects differ greatly in body form
and require two different preservation techniques.
Sending soft-bodied insects
Aphids, thrips, mites, cutworms, caterpillars, fleas, ants, ticks, spiders,
grubs, and tiny or otherwise soft-bodied insects are best submitted in 70 percent
alcohol (Rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol is suitable). Place the specimen in alcohol
in a leak-proof container. Do not send specimens in water, formaldehyde or without
fluid.
Sending hard-bodied insects
To submit beetles, flies, grasshoppers, cockroaches, wasps, moths, butterflies
and other hard-boded insects, kill them by freezing them or by exposing them to
alcohol fumes. Submit them dry in a crush proof container. Place dead specimens
between layers of tissue or cotton in a small pill box or other small container.
Identify the box with the client's name, if possible.
Tips
- Don't tape specimens to paper.
- Don't ship live insects or mites.
- Don't send only one specimen if more are available.
- Don't place loose insects in envelopes
- Don't use water or formaldehyde as a preservative.
- Mail early in the week.
- Always use at least first class mail.
- A next day service or delivery in person is the best way to assure that the
sample arrives in good order.
- Cucurbits and tobacco plants are very perishable and should always be sent
by next day service.
- Do make every effort to send materials as soon as possible after collecting.
- Do make every effort to assure the best quality specimen(s) are available
for identification.
- Do use appropriate form and fill out as completely as possible.
- Don't carry plants around in vehicle for days before submitting.
- Don't add wet paper towels and excess moisture to packages.
- Don't leave plants or insect specimens in a parked vehicle with the windows
up on a sunny day.
Updated 6/24/09