Extension Search / Diagnostic Labs / Iowa

Iowa State University Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic

The Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic at Iowa State University is Iowa’s university plant diagnostic lab. Send it a sick plant, an insect or a weed and it tells you what it is and what to do about it, usually for a small fee.

Lab Details

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa

Disease diagnosis
Insect ID
Plant ID
Virus tests
DNA tests

Open the lab's site for fees, forms and the mailing address.

Services

Disease diagnosis. Finds what is making a plant sick, from fungi and bacteria to cold, drought or chemical injury.
Insect ID. Identifies insects, mites and spiders and whether they are a threat to the plant.
Plant ID. Identifies plants and weeds.
Virus tests. Serological tests such as ELISA that check a plant for specific viruses.
DNA tests. PCR or sequencing to confirm a pathogen that can't be told apart by eye.

Fees for each sample type are on the submission form.
DNA and serological tests cost extra, and the clinic asks before running them.
Samples from outside Iowa have a surcharge, so call first.

Out of State

Out-of-state samples are taken case by case. Contact the lab before sending one.

Sample Tips

Call or email the lab before you send anything. What a lab accepts, and what it charges, changes.
Send a plant that is still sick, not one that has died. Include the edge where sick tissue meets healthy tissue.
Bag the roots and soil and tie the bag off at the stem, so soil stays off the leaves. Wrap leaves in dry paper and don’t add water.
Mail early in the week so the box doesn’t sit in a warehouse over the weekend.
Fill in the lab’s form completely: the plant, what you see, when it started and what has been sprayed or applied.

Not sure it’s worth a lab fee? The plant health key narrows a problem down from what you see, and your county Iowa Extension office can often look at a sample free first.

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