Source: University of Nebraska - Lincoln CropWatch

A new mobile lab gives University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension the ability to diagnose crop diseases on-site.

The Mobile Plant Diagnostic Lab was funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and UNL Extension, said Loren Giesler, plant pathologist in the university’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

”The goal of the mobile lab is to be available to respond to any potential agrosecurity threat,” he said. This includes detecting and reporting new or unusual pathogens in Nebraska crops whether they occur intentionally, accidentally or naturally.

In addition, the lab will be available at UNL Extension field days throughout the state for farmers to bring in plant samples.

”This will increase public awareness of plant pathogens and aid farmers in diagnosing plant diseases,” Giesler said. Before the mobile lab, farmers had to mail plant samples to the university’s Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic in Lincoln, a process that could take several days before results are known. The mobile lab eliminates the wait for test results.

“If a grower brings a plant sample to a field day, it most likely can be diagnosed on-site before they go home,” he said.

Among the diseases the mobile lab could detect is soybean rust, which first was detected in the United States last fall in several southeastern states. If soybean rust would enter Nebraska, the mobile lab would allow UNL plant pathologists to test for the disease on-site.

”We could know within two hours if the plant sample tested positive for soybean rust,” Giesler said. The lab is equipped with the latest technology and equipment, including molecular diagnostic tools and satellite transmission, which would allow UNL to inform state and federal agencies quickly about detection of any disease as well as link them to national experts through digital media.

”Whether detecting a disease as serious as soybean rust or identifying a more common disease, such as brown spot in soybean, stripe rust in wheat or gray leaf spot in corn, the lab gives extension a valuable resource for controlling and containing plant diseases,” Giesler said.

Sandi Alswager Karstens
IANR News