Extension Search / Diagnostic Labs / Maine

University of Maine Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab

The Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab at University of Maine is Maine’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

University of Maine

Orono, Maine

Disease diagnosis
Insect ID
Ticks and household pests
Photo diagnosis

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.
Ticks and household pests. Identifies ticks and insects found indoors.
Photo diagnosis. Looks at photos you send first, and asks for a physical sample if the photos aren't enough.

The lab also identifies insect injury on plants.
Photo submissions for insects and spiders are free, and there is a small fee for plant disease photos.

Not Accepted

Floor sweepings or vacuum contents
Specimens from the body, other than ticks, nits and lice

Out of State

The lab’s site doesn’t say whether it takes samples from other states. Ask 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 Maine Extension office can often look at a sample free first.

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