Extension Search / Diagnostic Labs / Virginia

Virginia Tech Plant Disease Clinic

The Plant Disease Clinic at Virginia Tech is Virginia’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

Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

Disease diagnosis
Plant ID
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.
Plant ID. Identifies plants and weeds.
Photo diagnosis. Looks at photos you send first, and asks for a physical sample if the photos aren't enough.

Pay before you send the sample, and include proof of payment.
Your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office may diagnose a sample free first.

Not Accepted

Cash or check payment

Out of State

This lab takes samples from other states. Out-of-state fees are usually higher.

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 Virginia Extension office can often look at a sample free first.

Other Labs

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