The best way to identify insects, plants and plant diseases, or diagnose plant and pest problems, is to send a sample to a diagnostic laboratory. The National Plant Diagnostic Network website (www.npdn.org) lists diagnostic laboratories by state and region.
To ensure an accurate diagnosis, it’s important to collect and ship your specimens properly. Here are a few guidelines for collecting and shipping specimens to a
diagnostic lab.
1.Collect fresh specimens. Send a generous amount of material, if available.
2.Ship specimens in a crush-proof container immediately after collecting. If holdover periods are encountered, keep specimen cool. Mail packages to arrive on weekdays.
3.Incomplete information or poorly selected specimens may result in an inaccurate diagnosis or inappropriate control recommendations. Badly damaged specimens
are often unidentifiable and additional sample requests can cause delays.
Submitting Plant Specimens for Disease/Injury Diagnosis
Herbaceous Plants. For generally declining, wilting, or dying plants, send several whole plants showing a range of symptoms (early through more advanced) with roots and adjacent soil intact. Dig up the plants carefully. Place roots and surrounding soil in a plastic bag and fasten it to the base of stem with a twist tie or string.Wrap the plants in dry newspaper and place in a crushproof container for shipment. Do not add water.
Leaves/fruit/tubers. When localized infections (such as leaf spots or fruit rots) are suspected, send specimens representing early and moderate stages of disease. Press
leaves flat between heavy paper or cardboard and wrap fruits or tubers in dry paper. Place in a crush-proof container for shipment.