The Fruit Pathology Laboratory is now collaborating with the C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic for small fruit, tree fruit, tree nuts, and hop disease diagnostics. Fruit, nut, and hop samples are still diagnosed at no cost to commercial growers and the clinic accepts physical or digital samples. This free service to commercial growers is supported by the Ohio Vegetable and Small Fruit Research Development Program and the Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University.
Home gardeners can also send samples to the C. Wayne Ellett Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic for a nominal fee.
How to Send a Physical Sample for Diagnosis to the Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic
NEW VIDEO (December 2023) – Watch this short video on how to collect and send a sample to the Plant and Pest Clinic for disease diagnosis.
The accuracy of the disease diagnosis is directly related to the quality of a plant sample submitted for diagnosis. The following are general guidelines for collecting and submitting a sample for disease
Apple shoots submitted for diagnosis. This sample was packaged in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel and shipped immediately.
diagnosis.
- Provide freshly collected specimens that represent the range of symptoms that you
observe. - Provide as much plant material as possible, including roots, top growth and fruit.
- Do not send dead plant material. Plants material that is already dead can’t be diagnosed.
- Provide lots of information about the sample, such as plant variety, history of the problem, recent pesticide applications and the number of plants affected.
- When mailing samples:
- For entire plant samples, bag (plastic) the roots and seal at the soil line with a twist tie or a rubber band. Do not cut the root ball off the above-ground plant parts.
- Cover the top plant growth with a second plastic bag.
- For leaf or stem tissue, place the sample in a zip-seal bag as soon as it is collected. Do not use paper bags.
- Separate fruit (i.e. berries, apples, peaches) samples from roots and top growth material. Fruit with tender skin (strawberries, blueberries, currants, raspberries, peaches etc.) should be placed in a paper bag as soon as it is collected. Fruit with a tough skin (grapes, apples, plums, etc.) can be placed in zip-seal bags.
- Mail sample in a sturdy container. Entire plant samples should be enclosed in boxes or other crush-proof packaging.
- Include a completed Plant Sample Submission Form in the package.
- Only send samples by overnight delivery. Samples should be mailed Monday through Wednesday only. Send samples to: C. Wayne Ellet Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic, CFAES – Wooster, c/o Dr. Francesca Rotondo, 1680 Madison Avenue, 234 Selby Hall, Wooster, OH 44691.
Digital Sample Submission
Send a completed submission form and include as an attachment with relevant digital images in an email message to ppdc@osu.edu.
Click for more Digital Sample submission details.