Roots Farm co-owner Kelli Roberts’ Asian greens were wilting and she wasn’t sure what was causing the problem, so she contacted the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island cooperative extension for help.
Greg Donovan, manager of SeaScape Inc. in Coventry, also turned to the lab for help when arborvitae at the lawn care and landscape management company started turning brown and not responding to the usual spraying treatment. It turned out they had “tip blight,” a fungus caused by wet weather.
Roberts and Donovan say they are grateful the Plant Diagnostic Lab is nearby to help them with their plant-related problems.
“They’ve been an excellent resource for us because we don’t have all the answers,” Donovan said recently. “They will give me a game plan on how to go about treating my issues. They’ve been fantastic.”
Donovan said umbrella pines are prone to “scale insects,” and when they suspect that a tree has them, they will send a sample to the lab to confirm it.
The lab, Roberts said, is especially helpful because “a lot of diseases have similar symptoms visually” and the lab can study the plant “on a much deeper level.” Because her Tiverton farm is certified organic, she will receive organic recommendations from the lab on how to deal with the issues that crop up.
The wilting problem involving the komatsuna, a Japanese leafy green, was related to wet weather over the 2023 winter – Roots Farm grows its vegetables year-round – and created an environment ripe for a pathogen that the farmers would not have known they had without the lab’s assistance. Roberts ended up having to remove the affected plants, which she called “the best strategy because the weather continued.”
[caption id="attachment_493603" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]
Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki holds a bag of plant samples that are being tested at the Plant Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island in South Kingstown.
PBN PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO[/caption]
The lab, previously known as the Plant Protection Clinic, has been renamed to better reflect its technological expertise in the diagnosis of plant issues. It is part of the National Plant Diagnostic Network, a consortium of diagnostic labs in the U.S. Found at most land-grant institutions such as URI, interest in these labs and how they could protect U.S. agriculture expanded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Keiddy Urrea-Morawicki, who started working at the lab in 2022 and was appointed laboratory director last year, says she loves her job.
“We want to help people avoid guesswork and get real answers to their plant problems or questions,” Urrea-Morawicki said.
Urrea-Morawicki works with 40 agricultural farms or commercial growers (vegetable and flower farms), and 30 landscapers, arborists and nurseries. Homeowners, she says, submit nearly 30% of the samples they receive annually. Samples can be mailed or dropped off, and if time allows, she may visit a farm in person. Urrea-Morawicki has a student working with her six hours a week in the lab.
Urrea-Morawicki says the lab was established more than 30 years ago. Today, the lab better reflects their role as diagnosticians.
When a sample comes in, it is triaged, and they need to figure out if the problem is being caused by fungus, bacteria, a virus, nematode (roundworm), pests or another problem, such as drought, too much water, herbicide injury or nutritional problems. They utilize a biosafety cabinet where the lab staff members can isolate pathogens and an autoclave where they can sterilize material.
Urrea-Morawicki says some soil pathogens are harder to diagnose, and they sometimes need an entire plant to determine the problem. Other times they may need a second sample.
“Sometimes there is no pathogen found and no risk of disease and no living organism causing [the issue],” Urrea-Morawicki said. “It can be environmental factors.”
She says the lab communicates its findings daily with the other diagnostic labs around the country, which is important for biosecurity and so they are aware of any new emergent diseases. The network also gives them connections if another lab is better equipped to do the testing needed.
It costs $20 for the lab to evaluate a sample; the fee covers the cost of testing, diagnosis and recommendations, and also helps support the lab, Urrea-Morawicki says.
Some problems are seen frequently by the URI lab.
Apple scab, which affects older apple trees, is a problem she has seen in the region. Apple trees that have been planted in more recent years are resistant to the fungal disease, she says. Another issue that is affecting all beech trees is beech leaf disease, and there currently is no cure, although products are being tested, including a fungicide that is injected into the tree’s roots.
Sometimes, Urrea-Morawicki says, there is no clear answer as to what is causing a problem with a plant, and it may take her weeks to figure it out. But she enjoys the challenge that comes with the job and solving problems for those who contact the lab.
“Every sample is like Christmas for me,” Urrea-Morawicki said.
