Conversation with Extension Plant Pathologist

back-to-case-study

Description

No indication of root rot pathogens was observed.  (photo courtesy of Marci Spaw)

No indication of root rot pathogens was observed.
(photo courtesy of Marci Spaw)

Maria mails plant samples along with a Plant Diagnostic Checksheet to a university Plant Pathology Diagnostic Lab. Maria sent two plants exhibiting symptomology and one plant that appeared healthy. Diagnostician Judy O’Mara talks through the steps she goes through to sort out the cause of the chlorosis. Her activities include checking color and health of the plants’ root systems and making a microscope slide from a root section to check for signs of root rot pathogens, requesting pH and electrical conductivity (EC) tests on the root medium, and in-house tests for the common tospoviruses and cucumber mosaic virus. She also consulted several available references and the web to glean leads.

Results

Extension Associate Joy Pierzynski performed saturated medium extracts to measure pH and EC on a sample of root media from each of the plants.

Sample Exhibiting Symptoms pH EC (mmhos/cm)
#1 Yes 6.64 0.841
#2 Yes 6.30 0.713
#3 No 6.01 0.816
Test kits from Agdia, a commercial supplier, are used to test for Cucumber MosaicVirus and the tospoviruses INSV (Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus) and TSWV (Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus). (photo Courtesy of Marci Spaw)

Test kits from Agdia, a commercial supplier, are used to test for Cucumber MosaicVirus and the tospoviruses INSV (Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus) and TSWV (Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus).
(photo Courtesy of Marci Spaw)

Extension Associate Joy Pierzynski used Agdia ImmunoStrip Test Kits to perform simple tests for three very common viruses.

Test Result
Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (INSV) Negative
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus(TSWV) Negative
Cucumber Mosaic Virus Negative

THE LATEST

STAY IN TOUCH

email facebook Follow HighTunnels.org on Twitter google rss  youtube

JOIN THE LISTSERV

The listserv is a great place to learn what growers are doing with high tunnels, what crops and varieties do best, and what practices have been successful on local farms.

Subscribe Search Archive