TRD: Institute for Plant Production: Laboratory Services: PLANT PATHOLOGY
Plant pathology laboratory - Frequently asked questions
1. What packaging is required?
Samples should not be dried out or be too "sweaty" as a result of being in a plastic bag for too long. Ideally, samples should be transported in brown paper bags and kept in cold storage.
2. How much of a sample is required?
A sample must represent the symptom completely. It is ideal to include healthy, early stages of symptoms, as well as advanced stages of symptom development.
Do not send more than 10 individual plants, with the exception of seedling trays, where whole trays can be submitted.
A minimum of 10,000 seeds must be provided for bacterial testing.
3. How long will I wait for a result?
Since this service deals with the "unknown" and does not determine a "known" factor (e.g. calcium levels), every case is handled individually.
Depending on the nature of the disease-causing agent, identification times vary from case to case. Sometimes the organism can be identified on the same day, while others can take up to 14 days to isolate.
4. Can my soil / water be tested for disease-causing organisms or chemical residues?
Unfortunately, our laboratory is currently not equipped for this service, but you are welcome to contact us for advice.
5. Can you examine my case on site?
From time to time, on-site visits are possible. It depends on factors such as distance, important symptom indicators that occur in the field as a whole, and availability of personnel.
6. Symptoms on ornamentals, trees and fruit.
We can refer you to the appropriate institutes for these plant diseases.
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