UF Plant Diagnostic Center

Curious about what we do? Come visit us during our celebration of the 10th anniversary of our building! Tour the clinic, chat with diagnosticians, and engage with cool Marston Science Library folks in hands-on activities! Snacks provided! 2:30-3:30 Tuesday 9-19-23

Florida will be planting strawberries soon - watch for this disease, especially if we have a wet winter:

Better Watch Out: Neopestalotiopsis Still a Concern for Florida Strawberry Growers - Specialty Crop Industry Florida strawberry growers are on the brink of planting this season’s crop. One University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural...

Happy to be support our FL watermelon growers, and so glad to hear they had a good year!

UF experts: Florida watermelon growers sold a bumper crop this year GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- While many of you enjoy sweet, cool watermelon as a treat or snack this summer, remember where it comes from – the...

Interesting research regarding the use of plant growth regulators to help HLB-infected citrus trees hold on to their fruit and canopy: https://citrusindustry.net/2023/06/13/build-resilience-in-hlb-affected-hamlin-trees/

Build Resilience in HLB-Affected Hamlin Trees - Citrus Industry Magazine Fighting HLB alongside weather disasters like freezes and hurricanes is leaving growers with little options for sustaining yields.

No plant diseases here today! The right plants in the right place with mulch and drip irrigation does the trick!

Plants Get Sick Too! We are excited to welcome K-12 teachers to our lab tomorrow to help them use plant disease diagnosis to teach the scientific method and critical thinking in their classrooms! https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/earth-systems/may-6-2023-plants-get-sick-too-professional-development-for-teachers

DEADLINE PASSED - May 6: Plants Get Sick Too! Professional Development for Teachers Are you teaching content about plants but not their diseases? Are you covering infectious diseases or other microbes in your classes but not plant pathogens? Many people are not aware that plants get sick too! This topic is literally right outside the door of many Floridians. Plants Get Sick Too! i

The latest episode of APS' Plantopia discusses plant diagnostics and the www.npdn.org with of Florida Department of Plant Pathology's own . Listen here: https://t.co/BiULYdSMN3

Welcome to the National Plant Diagnostic Network Website | National Plant Diagnostic Network The National Plant Diagnostic Network is a premier diagnostics system with over 70 diagnostic labs in 50 states and 4 territories (Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa). These labs serve a diverse clientele on a wide array of plant health issues. We protect national plant health....

Leaves looking a little weird - puffy, deformed, and white to tan? Probably a cool fungal disease caused by Exobasidium, common on ericaceous plants. Read more here: https://extension.umd.edu/resource/exobasidium-gall-azalea

A new recommendation to fight HLB in citrus groves: https://citrusindustry.net/2023/04/28/new-twist-added-to-psyllid-control/

New Twist Added to Psyllid Control - Citrus Industry Magazine Lukasz Stelinski for years has promoted saving money on HLB control by spraying for Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) only when their...

In honor of Graduate Student Appreciation Week, the Plant Pathology Department recognized one of our amazing students:
"Raquel Hill, a rare dual-degree Plant Path MS and DPM graduate student, is halfway through her research project developing a field-ready sensitive and specific diagnostic tool for citrus canker in the Caribbean. She is also a student diagnostician in the UF-IFAS Plant Diagnostic Center, where her broad training as a DPM student supports accurate and timely diagnosis of client samples from Florida and around the world. Raquel started her degrees at UF during COVID, without the ability to travel to UF. Luckily, it turns out she and diagnostics are a great fit, and I am lucky to have this hard-working graduate student calling the department her academic home."
- Dr. Carrie Lapaire Harmon

My favorite The Crop Protection Network TV episode: When to DIY and when to CAP - Call A Professional - diagnostician https://youtu.be/St_LUzddSVM

Disease Management: When to DIY and When to CAP University of Florida Extension Plant Pathologist Dr. Carrie Harmon joins CPN TV to go back to practical plant pathology! Dr. Harmon will summarize the need ...

Noteworthy but : sapsucker feeding damage: https://www.morningagclips.com/yellow-bellied-sapsucker-damage-to-fruit-and-nut-trees/

Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Damage to Fruit and Nut Trees QUINCY, Fla. -- While in a grove recently, I noticed a few trees with multiple, horizontal rows of small holes in the bark at the...

Thank you USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture , for choosing UF to lead the Southern Plant Diagnostic Network again!

Plant Diagnostic Center Awarded Grant to Support Southern Plant Diagnostic Network The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently awarded $3 million in grants to support the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN), including $617,166 awarded to the UF/IFAS Plant Diagnostic Center to support the Southern Plant Diagnostic Network.

Pathologists Gather at Plant Diagnostic Center to Learn New Fungal Identification Tool Plant pathologists and diagnosticians from across the country – and as far away as Australia – gathered at the UF/IFAS Plant Diagnostic Center to learn about a new process for identifying fungal plant pathogens.

Vascular Streak Dieback, a new disease of woody ornamentals in the SE? Learn more here: https://bit.ly/404R2DX

Vascular Streak Dieback of Redbud: What Plant Pathologists Know so far The Problem In recent years, nurseries in multiple states have reported moderate to severe dieback, chlorosis and stunting of redbud (Fig. 1). Dieback is defined as “the gradual but progressive death of individual branches or shoots from tips toward the main stem.” Dieback is a catch-all phrase ...

In honor of International Women's Day, meet the first female plant pathologist to serve growers from the Everglades REC, Dr. Katia Vania Xavier https://www.morningagclips.com/meet-katia-viana-xavier/

Meet Katia Viana Xavier GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Katia Viana Xavier holds a special place among growers in the Everglades Agriculture Area (EAA) as a researcher fighting plant diseases at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). They know she grew up on a family farm in the countryside ...

Galled about galls on your woody plants? Might be mites! Eriophyid mites, that is. Read more here: https://bit.ly/3lRTtuP (photos from a PDC client)

Watch your trees for something cool this spring! Bark Lice are clothing the trees with harmless webbing. They are not interested in animals or humans, and may even be considered a tree bark cleaning crew! Learn more: https://bit.ly/3KyCF6v [Photo from a PDC client]

Home gardeners and commercial growers should be thinking about protecting citrus right now (especially with rain on the way): https://citrusindustry.net/2023/02/07/prepare-for-the-possibility-of-postbloom-fruit-drop/

Prepare for the Possibility of Postbloom Fruit Drop - Citrus Industry Magazine Postbloom fruit drop (PFD) is a sporadic flower disease. It is primarily caused by the fungus Colletotrichum acutatum. While infections...

Our latest partnership with the Crop Protection Network resulted in a nifty 30 minute seminar on desktop diagnosis for disease management. Let us know what you think! If you like it, please give it a thumbs-up and if you have suggestions, ping us here on our PDS FB page!

Disease Management: When to DIY and When to CAP University of Florida Extension Plant Pathologist Dr. Carrie Harmon joins CPN TV to go back to practical plant pathology! Dr. Harmon will summarize the need ...

Correct diagnosis is critical to crop protection: https://specialtycropindustry.com/correct-disease-diagnosis-crucial-for-producers/

Correct Disease Diagnosis Crucial for Producers - Specialty Crop Industry An incorrect diagnosis of a plant disease can be a costly error for a producer. In an era where input prices are just as high as they have...

The UF PDC in Gainesville FL is closed November 10 due to Tropical Storm Nicole and November 11 in observance of Veterans Day.

We love showing folks what we do! Thanks to Flagler and Marion Co Master Gardener groups for dropping by!

UF and the UF PDC in Gainesville will be closed Wed-Friday, September 28-30, due to Hurricane Ian. Please hold off on collecting and sending samples until October 2. Thank you and be safe!

If ever there was a time to protect with fungicide, now is a good one. Already-saturated fields will receive more water, and foliar fungal and bacterial issues will be spread by windblown rain and sand. But first, secure your property and prepare for safety!

Two cucurbit (watermelon and squash) samples in a week with whitefly-transmitted Geminivirus, likely Cucurbit Leaf Crumple Virus. Learn more about this virus here: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN716

When is honey not sweet? When it is honey mushrooms causing disease. We are seeing a lot of Armillaria lately in the lab. Learn more about this destroyer of woody plants here:https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf%5Carchived%5CEP%5CEP478%5CEP478-2603354.pdf

Join our Disease Management course for professionals this fall - it's all online! https://www.morningagclips.com/uf-greenhouse-online-training-course-begins-september-19/

UF greenhouse online training course begins September 19 GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Improve your prevention and management of diseases in nurseries and greenhouses by registering for Disease Management, the fourth course of the award-winning...