| Missouri Environment and Garden | Volume 9, No. 2 |
| News for Missouri’s Gardens, Yards and Resources | February 2003 |
WHAT TO SEND TO FIND OUT WHAT’S WRONG:
Include sample plants or plant parts showing a range of symptoms from mild to severe. Include a healthy example for comparison when possible. Include enough of the plant to indicate clearly whether the symptoms are occurring on old or new growth. Above ground symptoms often result from a problem occurring in the lower stem or roots, so it’s best to send entire plants when feasible. Dig plants to leave roots intact in a soil ball and prevent drying. With larger specimens, try to sample from the transition zone between healthy and affected tissue.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
For turfgrass samples:
Take plugs at least 4 inches across with a cup cutter or knife to a depth to include the roots. Always include a diseased plug, a healthy plug, and one plug from the transition zone between healthy and affected turf.
For Dutch elm disease, oak wilt, and other vascular wilts:
Submit live branches 1-2 inches in diameter, cut from areas of the tree that are just beginning to show symptoms. Include leaves. For oak wilt detection, submit branches exhibiting streaking in the sapwood. Keep samples cool during shipment by packing with ice packs.
For Pine wilt nematode assay:
Submit branch pieces at least 1/2 inch in diameter and 3 to 4 inches long, taken from a branch expressing symptoms or segments of the trunk from trees that have recently died.
WHAT TO SEND FOR IDENTIFICATION OF A PLANT:
Herbaceous plants (plants with green and/or soft tissue stems that die back each year) or grasses
Whenever feasible, the entire plant should be dug, not pulled, from the soil so that the roots or a representative portion remains relatively intact to a depth of approximately 4-5 inches. If rhizomes, bulbs or tubers are present, be sure to include these with the basal portion of the plant. If the plant is flowering or fruiting (seeding), send a portion of this part of the plant. Tall plants can be folded once or twice or cut into shorter lengths for shipping purposes.
Woody plants--trees, shrubs, woody vines
It is necessary to have a terminal or end portion of a leafy branch with at least five leaves or buds if collected in fall or winter. If flowers or fruit are present, these should be included. Fresh or dried leaves or fruit found beneath the tree, shrub, or vine and known to come from the same plant, are also valuable. If thorns are present, be sure they are represented in the samples. If the plant is a woody vine, a portion of the vine bearing representative leaves, tendrils (if present) that wrap around other plants or other supports enabling the plant to climb, and flowers or fruits (seeds), if present, should be included.
Note - Leaves of dicots or so-called broad-leafed plants may be of two types, i.e., simple or compound. Because of this it is inadvisable to send for identification what appears to be a single leaf. Unless it is unusually distinctive and/or from a very common plant, it does not, as a rule, provide enough information to permit accurate identification.
PACKAGING PLANT MATERIALS FOR SHIPPING:
Fresh samples should be wrapped in dry paper to absorb moisture and placed in a plastic bag. If roots are included, insert the root-soil ball in a plastic bag and tie around stem to avoid soil contact with leaves while in transit. Then, wrap the entire sample in paper and place in a plastic bag. Do not add moisture to packing materials. Pack samples firmly in the shipping container.
PACKAGING INSECTS FOR SHIPMENT:
Submit only dead insects for identification, and pack them so they arrive unbroken. Badly damaged specimens are often unidentifiable, and a request for additional specimens could cause a great time delay. Insects differ greatly in body form and require two different preservation techniques.
Sending soft-bodied insects:
Aphids, thrips, mites, cutworms, caterpillars, fleas, ants, ticks, spiders, grubs and tiny or otherwise soft-bodied insects are best submitted in 70 percent alcohol (rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol is suitable). Place the specimen in alcohol in a leak-proof container. Do not send specimens in water, formaldehyde or without fluid.
Sending hard-bodied insects:
To submit beetles, flies, grasshoppers, cockroaches, wasps, moths, butterflies and other hard-boded insects, kill them by freezing them or by exposing them to alcohol fumes. Submit them dry in a crush proof container. Place dead specimens between layers of tissue or cotton in a small pill box or other small container. Identify the box with the client’s name, if possible.
Other Tips:
Mailing:
Mail early in the week. Always use at least first class mail. A next day service or delivery in person is the best way to assure that the sample arrives in good order. Cucurbits and tobacco plants are very perishable and should always be sent by next day service.
Dos and Don’ts