Graduate students offer free plant disease diagnostic service
May 25, 2009Contact Information:
Dr. Craig Rothrock, Professor of Plant Pathology
479-575-6687 / rothrock@uark.edu
Terry Spurlock, PLPA graduate student
479-575-7068 / tspurloc@uark.edu
Fred Miller, Agricultural Communications, University of Arkansas System
479-575-5647 / fmiller@uark.edu
Plant pathology graduate students Vanina Castroagudin and Terry Spurlock help local gardeners with plant problems during a recent Saturday at the Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association’s plant problem diagnostic booth. Members of the graduate student group staff the booth the first and third Saturdays of each month at the Fayetteville Farmers Market.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — University of Arkansas graduate students are offering a free diagnostic service for gardeners experiencing problems with their plants.
Members of the Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association staff a plant problem diagnostic booth from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on the first and third Saturdays of each month at the Fayetteville Farmers Market. The public can bring their problem plants or questions to the booth located on the west side of the city square.
Terry Spurlock, president of the student organization, said gardeners are encouraged to bring fresh samples of their problem plants for examination. Photos of the plants in their settings are also helpful and can be brought to the booth or sent via e-mail. Students diagnose the plant diseases or other problems at the booth or take the samples back to a university lab for analysis, then offer recommendations for managing or limiting the problems.
Spurlock said the purpose of the plant problem diagnostic booth is to help area gardeners diagnose their plant problems as well as increase awareness of plant diseases.
The service also benefits the students, Spurlock said, because it helps them to recognize and diagnose problems in a wide variety of plants.
For information or to submit photos of plant problems, contact the Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association at PLPAGSA@gmail.com.