The University of Illinois Plant Clinic is back in business for 2005. The lab is seasonal and is open from May 2 through September 16 in 2005. Plant samples needing diagnosis, identification, or lab tests may be mailed or hand delivered to the Plant Clinic at 1401 W. St. Mary’s Rd, Urbana, IL 61802. Hours are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is a fee for all plant samples, as outlined on the clinic’s Web page at http://plantclinic.cropsci.uiuc.edu/.

The Plant Clinic is well-known as a disease diagnostic lab, but services also include weed ID, insect and insect injury ID, nematode assays, general diagnoses, ELISA tests, referrals to specialty labs, and management recommendations. Feel free to call with questions about clinic services, turn-around time, and fees at (217)333-0519. General plant-care questions should be directed to your local Extension office. A listing of Extension offices can be found at http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/cie2/offices/findoffice.cfm.

The Plant Clinic is prepared to handle some new potential pathogens in Illinois, including the possibilities of soybean rust and sudden oak death coming to our state. Entomologists can identify new insect problems such as the Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, and gypsy moths. The University of Illinois Plant Clinic is part of the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) and will have news on new pest problems as the season progresses. You can learn more about the NPDN at http://www.npdn.org.