Back in the saddle

Posted on by
AgriLife Logo

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.

Posted on by

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

Posted on by
AgriLife Logo

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 →

Season greetings from the TPDDL

Posted on by
AgriLife Logo

We at the Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! The TPDDL will be closed from December 24, 2010.  We will resume operations on January 3, 2011.

Crazy Texas temperatures

Posted on by
AgriLife Logo

We experienced some crazy weather changes this past Thanksgiving Day.  In the late morning, temperatures were in the high-70s (degree Farenheit).  Yet as the afternoon wore on into evening, temperature dropped approximately 30 degrees in a span of 3-4 hours.  Those kinds of drop cannot be good for plants.  Within a week, the Plant Clinic were seeing queries about damaged with some cold tolerant plants such as mustards greens, broccoli and cauliflower.  People wondered what happened their plants that are supposed to thrive in cooler temperature.  Unfortunately, even… Read More →