Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab-
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Author Archives: kevo
Extremely cold weather + plants (nontolerant of freeze) = :-(
Just got email noting that all campus offices will be closed until 11:30am Friday February 4th, 2011. The reason – extreme cold conditions and predicted precipitation will make for dangerous travelling on Friday morning. What does this mean for plants? In the majority of Texas, this week has been one big arctic blast! In the Brazos Valley, temperatures dipped below 20°F yesterday, the last two nights, and for the most part of today.. We can only protect freeze susceptible plants for so long. The longer the freeze period,… Read More →
Mold…. or is it?
In the cooler months of the year in Texas (Dec – Mar), we typically see an increase in the submission of samples with symptoms of Botrytis blight. This disease is caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea, and can occur on numerous ornamental plants. Another common name of the disease caused by this fungus is Gray Mold. This disease flares up when conditions are cool and wet (around 55-60 °F), which are typical greenhouse conditions for this time of the year. Interestingly, this is usually not a problem with the homeowner. Guess why?… Read More →
Back in the saddle
Greeting to all at the end of January. This month has been extremely challenging for me with bouts of sickness. Hence the extended silence in the blog posts. February will hopefully mark a month of recovery and catching up. Also, the coming month will be filled with numerous Master Gardener intern training sessions. Over the next few weeks, I hope to look back into our database and blog about some of the interesting things that came through the clinic while I was out sick. But in the mean… Read More →
Entomosporium mespelii spores from Indian hawthorn.
Seen in 2011 at the Plant Clinic Submission numbers for plant disease diagnosis are usually lower in the winter months. So it is always interesting to see what shows up, because sometimes it reflects what might be problematic when spring comes around. In the first week of operation in the new year, an interesting observation was the diagnosis of Entomosporium leaf spot from a specimen of Indian Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica). This is a fungal disease that seems to flare up when there is sufficient moisture in cool conditions. Well, in many… Read More →
Plant Clinic magnets for 2011
When I was given the reigns of the Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab, one of my assigned task was to make the clinic more visible. In 2009, I enlisted the assistance of AgriLife Communications (our in-house communications people) to help with a project to make some stand-up banners for use at the Plant Clinic. This banner was also to be taken on the road and used when TPDDL personnel participates in garden shows, farm days, etc. Melissa Smith, the AgriLife Communications lady assigned to this project did a… Read More →
