Mississippi State, Mississippi
February 8, 2007
When there is a sick plant in the
state, Mississippi State
University’s state-of-the-art Plant Pathology and Nematology
Lab can determine the problem and its solution.
In 2006, the laboratory in Starkville analyzed about 700 disease
samples and tested about 1,700 samples for nematodes. The lab
serves large-scale farmers, commercial growers and homeowners
with plant problems, and it is the diagnostic lab for the
Mississippi Department of Agriculture. It is part of the
Southern Plant Diagnostic Network that monitors diseases that
may pose a threat to agriculture.
“We test everything from baby’s breath to soybeans, from
homeowners’ lawn samples to golf courses,” said Clarissa
Balbalian, lab manager with the MSU Extension Service.
If a plant is diseased in Mississippi, the owners can bring in
the local Extension agent to collect a sample for the lab or
send a sample in on their own. The lab charges $6 to test plant
disease samples and $11 to test for nematodes.
Balbalian said the lab has an arsenal of equipment to help with
the diagnosis. Disease symptoms are examined, and reference
books are used in some instances to identify the disease.
The lab uses microscopy and lab cultures to identify pathogens,
or disease-causing organisms. More advanced tests include
molecular techniques such as real-time PCR, a polymerase chain
reaction that identifies specific segments of DNA, and ELISA, an
antibody reaction to target specific pathogens.
Once the disease or nematode is identified, the lab contacts the
owner with information on the problem and its solution.
Turnaround on a diagnosis ranges from a few hours to several
weeks, but averages less than a week.
“We try to give recommendations that include not just what
chemical control to use, but also cultural practices to keep
their plants healthy and keep this from recurring,” Balbalian
said.
Alan Henn, Extension plant pathologist, works in conjunction
with the lab to help commercial growers and farmers.
“If the grower would like more assistance with their disease
problem, or the problem seems complicated or it is a commercial
operation, I will do an on-site visit to try to help,” Henn
said. “The real world is a complicated place, and we try to help
them so they don’t lose their crop.”
A speedy response to disease is essential, especially in
greenhouse and ornamental crops. Henn said the green industry,
or businesses that include greenhouse production, ornamentals
and turf, is the fastest growing agricultural segment,
increasing at the rate of about 10 percent a year.
“It is important for the people of Mississippi to maintain that
growth to provide the steady income in these industries,” Henn
said. “Through the Plant Pathology and Nematology Lab, we work
with these growers to help them have a profitable growing season
or seasons each year.”
Balbalian encouraged everyone sending in a sample for analysis
to provide as much information with that sample as possible.
This includes information on the host plant, disease symptoms
that are present, care given to the plant and previous
experience with this problem.
“You can’t give me too much information,” Balbalian said. “If
the plant is large enough, snip off a small twig that contains
several leaves on it. It is helpful if you can sacrifice the
whole plant, as sometimes the symptoms may occur in the leaves,
but the problem is in the roots.”
For more information on the Plant Pathology and Nematology Lab,
visit
www.extensionplantclinics.misstate.edu.
By Bonnie Coblentz, MSU Ag
Communications |