Extension Plant Diagnostic Clinic Report -2004

The Extension Plant Diagnostic Clinic was established in 1965. The clinic supports county extension specialists, but also receives samples directly from various agencies, businesses and private citizens as well. The clinic handles samples submitted for disease, insect, and weed identifications, as well as management recommendations.

Most clinic operations are handled by clinic staff, however other Division of Plant Science Agronomy, Entomology, Horticulture, and Plant Microbiology and Pathology extension faculty handle insect and weed identification and assist when needed. In 2004, the clinic was operating without a diagnostician until July, when Simeon Wright was hired as Plant Diagnostic Clinic Coordinator. Please see our website at http://agebb. missouri.edu/pdc/ for more information about the plant diagnostic clinic and sample submission. In 2004, most samples were submitted through the mail while some were personally delivered to the clinic. A few digital photos were also submitted by email. Samples were submitted from 57 Missouri counties with 32 percent of submissions from Boone County. St. Louis and Jackson counties also contributed higher sample numbers representing 7 percent and 6 percent of submissions respectively. Over 70 percent of the samples were received between May and September. The most common plants submitted to the clinic were woody ornamentals. We also received a lot of field crop samples, followed by turf, herbaceous ornamentals, fruit, vegetables, miscellaneous, and forage samples (Figure 1). Soybean and oak samples both represented about 14 percent of total sample submissions. The top five plants submitted to the clinic were soybean, oak, maple, corn, and pine. The most common problems observed in the clinic were anthracnose diseases on a variety of plants, Septoria brown spot and sudden death syndrome of soybean, site related problems associated with woody ornamentals, herbicide injuries on a variety of plants, and leaf scorches on shade trees.

The clinic received 294 samples in 2004. We hope to increase this number signi. cantly in 2005 to better serve the people of Missouri and look forward to any samples you are able to send.

Simeon Wright, Coordinator, Plant Diagnostic Clinic, University of Missouri 573-882-3019