The Plant Disease Clinic serve as vital resource for farmers, gardeners, and agricultural professionals, providing expert diagnosis, management advice, and research support for plant health issues.
Staffed by trained plant pathologists the PDC employ various techniques such as visual inspections, laboratory analysis, and molecular diagnostics to identify pathogens, pests, and environmental factors contributing to plant ailments. The PDC plays a pivotal role in advancing scientific knowledge through the documentation and analysis of emerging plant diseases, contributing to the development of sustainable agricultural practices and ensuring the health and productivity of crops in South Africa.
PDC SERVICES
Plant Diseases
Standard analyses include identification of most plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria, as well as cultural and physiological conditions that are apparent and may be responsible for plant problems. If identification of genus and species is required of fungal and bacterial isolates, the PDC uses various molecular techniques if available.
A pure culture is required to perform this procedure with some incubation time. Please be aware that this process may take an additional 5-7 days to complete (as well as extra costs). The PDC also uses Immunostrips, if available, for the detection of certain bacteria and viruses.
New Services
New services currently be implemented includes:
- Fungicide sensitivity testing for Botryis cinerea (gray mold) against boscalid, pydiflumetofen, fluopyram, fludioxanil, pyrimethanil, fenhexamid and for Erysiphe necator (powdery mildew grapevine) against boscalid, fluopyram and QoIs.
- Viroid real-time quantitative PCR tests for Avocado Sunblotch Viroid disease.
- Phytophthora testing (up to genus level) for nursery certification.
Insect, mite and nematode identification
The PDC also offers a service for insects, mites and nematode identifications, with the focus on fruit pests in the Western Cape Province. Specimens are preserved where possible, accessioned and entered into a database for future reference.
Where necessary, samples are sent to experts in that field for further processing.