MSU Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab

FREE #nematode testing for Mississippi #soybean producers! Details are available online extension.msstate.edu/lawn-and-garde… Free testing expires March 31, 2026 #MSUext @MSUExtService #mscrops

🎥Don’t mow down the daffodil leaves... At least not yet! Leave the leaves alone for at least SIX WEEKS after blooming. Next year’s flowers are being formed during this ratty looking stage. Thanks to MSU Extension agent Beau Varner for the reminder! #MSUext

🎥Our MSU Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab is ready and able to help diagnose what’s going on in your landscape. Lab Manager Clarissa Balbalian shares about a recent submission—a boxwood shrub in desperate need! @MSUextPlantLab #MSUext

Good news! 📣 #mscrops FREE #nematode testing has been extended another year for Mississippi #soybean producers! Details are available online extension.msstate.edu/lawn-and-garde… Free testing expires March 31, 2027 #MSUext @MSUExtService @changliunema @baldpathologist

My lab is recruiting a PhD student in Nematology. This fully funded position is focused on integrated management of plant-parasitic nematodes. Please help spread the words!📢📢📢

We’re excited to announce registration is OPEN for the 2025 Virtual Nematology Conference on November 13th & 14th! The conference is being organized by the Young Nematologists Network from Europe and the Student & Postdoc committee from our very own SON! 🪱

Hollow stem in broccoli is a physiological disorder. Fast growing varieties are often more likely to develop the problem. Soil moisture, wide plant spacing, high rates of nitrogen or potassium, or a deficiency in boron have been associated with increased incidence. #MSUext

If you are wanting to learn more about how to correctly prune fruits and berries, this is a great hands-on opportunity! And...it's free! #MSUext

A fresh crop of orange mock oyster mushrooms on the trunk of a pine punctuating a beautiful Thanksgiving Day. #MSUext

@SouthALPlantDoc I’ve only found Laetiporus cincinnatus down here until today. L. sulphureus was really common in WV.

@MSUextPlantLab Find this every year about this time at the base of the same water oak.

Chicken of the woods (Laetiporus sulphureus) causes heart rot in hardwood trees. Bright orange, the fungus is like a flaming beacon in the forest. The sulphur-yellow pore surface and orange top make this an unmistakable find. My first time finding this in MS. #MSUext

Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) are prolific right now. Beautiful and delicious decomposers of dead trees and nematodes. The fungus produces a toxin that paralyzes nematodes and is being investigated as a potential biological control of plant parasitic nematodes. #MSUext

Dyer’s polypore (Phaeolus schweinitzii) breaks down cellulose in wood, causing a brown cubical rot. Commonly rots pine roots in MS. The conk on the trunk of this tree indicates the decay has progressed up into the lower trunk. A great source of yellow dye for textiles. #MSUext

Headed back to Starkville after a great exchange of research-based information on the brown spot needle blight situation in the Gulf South. Good progress but many questions left to answer. ⁦@ForestHealth_AU⁩ #MSUext

Hypomyces are fungi that parasitize mushrooms. There is an interesting area in the Sam D Hamilton Noxubee Wildlife Refuge where mushrooms are commonly parasitized. Here is an example showing the uninfected fungus on top left and parasitized versions of the same fungus. #MSUext

New paper just out on the #fungi attacking the historic USS Cairo, a steam-powered ironclad American Civil War ship and now a national treasure on display at the Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi doi.org/10.3390/jof111…

Lophodermium needle blight is having a moment in parts of Mississippi this fall. We've been seeing this fungus on current year's needles that are exhibiting brown tips. Looks similar to brown spot needle blight which we frequently see in the spring on second year needles. #MSUext

🎥Sticky traps in the garden can help you monitor for insect pests. Dr. Jermaine Perier shares how to utilize them. #MSUext

One of the signs of fall is Cercospora leaf spot on #watermelon. Fall weather is more generally more conducive to disease development. Spring planting, good sanitation practices, and a preventive fungicide program can help reduce disease severity. #MSUext

Don't forget about insects when trying to figure out turf decline problems. #Bermudagrass scale is tiny and hides deep in the leaf sheath, making it hard to spot. Thatch protects the scale, so look for this pest on areas that are in the thatch layer. #MSUext