MSU Extension - Carbon County

Plant Disease ID & Sample Submission

The Carbon County Extension office provides many services relating to lawn and garden care.  These services include weed identification, plant disease identification, insect identification, soil testing, and many other lawn and garden related services.  If necessary, the local office has the ability to send plant and insect samples into the Schutter Diagnostic lab at Montana State University. An efficient and correct diagnosis begins with the collection of the sample.  Please follow the following guidelines provided by the Schutter Diagnostic lab when submitting a sample to the Extension office:

• Send sufficient plant material.
  • Whenever it is practical, include roots. If that
    can't be done, then include a branch. If that can't be done then send a twig.
    Detached leaves or parts of leaves are seldom useful.
• Keep some soil around the root ball and off foliage.
  • Wrap this in plastic and
    secure with rubber band around the base of the plant. Loosely enclose the
    foliage in plastic or paper.
• Collect samples with mild, moderate, and severe symptoms as well as a
  healthy comparison.
• Package samples in crush-proof containers.
• Do not send dried samples.
  • Keep samples as fresh as possible until you can
    ship them; refrigerate if possible. Package in plastic bags. Do not add water.
• Include photographs of the problem in the field if possible.
• Know some background information on the problem:
  • Plant & variety
  • Location
  • Irrigation practices
  • History & age of plant
  • Pesticides and soil amendments
  • Pattern of symptoms on plant and surrounding plants
  • Previous problems in this location