The Department of Agriculture and Forestry is once again offering a plant diagnostic service for all agricultural producers and industry representatives.
"The use of the Plant Diagnostic Service can take the guess work out of diagnosing problems," said Marlene Clark, plant diagnostician. "It is always important to investigate production problems to prevent them from occurring another year. Through this service, all commercial Agricultural producers can increase their awareness of diseases and take steps to control them. In this way, quality and yield will be improved."
Samples can be submitted directly to the Plant Health Services laboratory at the Potato Service Building, Kensington, or through the District Agricultural Offices. Under normal conditions, proper disease identification can be determined within a week. For potato foliar diseases such as late blight, the turn around time can take 24 to 48 hours depending on the sample submitted.
For more information, please contact Marleen Clark, Plant Diagnostician, at 902-836-5450.