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

If you grow blackberries, be sure to remove the canes after harvest! Fruiting canes must be removed after harvest. New canes from the roots will replace these canes. The new canes will have fruit the following year. Learn more: extension.msstate.edu/publications/f… #MSUext

🎥 Clarissa Balbalian explains how bacterial leaf spot diseases can impact plants like begonias. Pro tip: Water at the base of the plant instead of watering from overhead. #MSUext

#DollarSpot is active in Mississippi. The fungus blights leaves, causing brown spots in the lawn that are about the size of a half-dollar coin (remember those?). Spots on leaves are distinctive: tan with a dark red/brown margin. Learn more: extension.msstate.edu/publications/t… #MSUext

Calls about mushrooms are picking up with the rainy weather. The false parasol mushroom seen here is a common fairy ring fungus popping up in lawns. The spores are a pretty green, which is how you'll feel if you eat this mushroom. Safe to touch but not to eat. #MSUext

#Watermelon anthracnose is a common disease in humid climates (i.e. Mississippi!). The leaf spots on the 'Royal Golden' plant in the field have bright yellow borders compared to other cultivars. Lesions also can form on vines. Some cultivars are resistant to the fungus. #MSUext

Had someone text me the other day with “disease” pics in soybean. If you spray a fungicide that contains prothioconazole, regardless of trade name, you may injure (or burn) the foliage just like the pic. Injury will look worse 21-28 days post-application @MSSOY #mscrops

🎥 Strange looking tomato plants? Could be a result of herbicide injury. Clarissa Balbalian with our Plant Diagnostic Lab explains how this type of thing happens. #MSUext

One of the things we don’t talk about enough…..Xylaria necrophora, the causal organism of taproot decline, can also be a seedling disease-causing organism @MSSOY #mscrops

Take-all root rot (TARR) affects ultradwarf bermudagrass golf course putting greens. Qiyu Zhou, Brandi Merrick, and James Kerns investigated the influence of edaphic factors and source water characteristics on TARR incidence: doi.org/10.1094/PHP-05… @NCStateCALS

In the lab today: Bacterial spot caused by Xanthomonas infects pepper and tomato leaves and fruit. The rainy weather we are experiencing this weekend is perfect for spreading this disease. Don't save seed from infected plants. Learn more extension.msstate.edu/publications/b… #MSUext

🎥 Clarissa gets in a lot of turfgrass samples at our MSU Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab!! Large patch and take-all root rot are two of the common diseases she diagnoses. #MSUext

As shown here, St. Augustinegrass stressed by herbicide applications is more susceptible to diseases like gray leaf spot and take-all root rot. The new roots on these plants are stunted with clubbed root tips, making the grass vulnerable to drought and nutrient stress. #MSUext

Yield losses can range from 10 to 80% if susceptible cotton cultivars are grown in fields with high densities of reniform nematode. Get ID and management info on reniform nematode in the overview publication from Extension at cropprotectionnetwork.org/publications/a…. From @travisfaske @LSUNematology @UFcropnematodes @txextension @baldpathologist @ccecornell @MahDuffeck @IanMSmall1 @MandyBish1 @cottoninc @TheSCNCoalition @NematodeGuy @alabamaED @UFEntNem #cotton @PCGNews @kmbiss @ppp_trey

🎥 What’s wrong with my roses?! That’s why the MSU Extension Plant Diagnostic Lab is here. #MSUext

Botryosphaeria cane canker is a devasting disease on thornless #blackberry, reducing fruit yields and killing canes. The orange to reddish-brown canker contains black, pimple-like fruiting structures of the fungus. Thorny blackberries are not seriously affected. #MSUext

Dewberries are ready, Mississippi! A great opportunity to get some fresh air, exercise, and a tasty snack! Worth every chigger bite!! #MSUext

🎥 What kind of algae do you have in your pond and what should you do about it? Dr. Wes Neal, MSU Extension fisheries specialist, shares how to identify and treat this aquatic weed. #MSUext

A few Sunday ‘shrooms celebrating the break in our drought.

🎥 One of the first signs of spring for a plant pathologist is cedar apple rust! Clarissa Balbalian explains how the orange tentacles you see in a juniper tree can infect other fruit trees. #MSUext

Go ahead and screenshot this! Here's a cheat sheet graphic of insects that could impact your vegetable garden. Read the Insects of the Home Vegetable Garden Extension publication here: extension.msstate.edu/publications/i… #MSUext