You can call our Hotline Monday through Friday from 9-12 and a horticulture professional or Master Gardener volunteer will help you. Some information is readily available and can be e-mailed, mailed or faxed to you. Some questions require research and will take some time to answer (usually from one to five days). This information is provided free of charge to Putnam residents.

The Diagnostic Lab
If you bring a sample of a plant, weed or an insect to our office, our staff or volunteers will perform a thorough visual and -- where necessary -- microscopic examination, and give you recommendations for control and/or remedial treatment based on university research. The formulations we recommend have been tested by scientists at Cornell or other universities, but we do not endorse specific brands of products.

After you submit your sample to the Diagnostic Lab, we will phone, e-mail or write to you with an identification of the pest or problem and recommendations for treating it. We may contact you to ask for further information before we can determine our recommendation.

We can also diagnose problems with lawns (turf grass) but we cannot normally identify specific fungal diseases. Most often, however, a treatment recommendation will be suitable for a wide range of pathogens.

The Diagnostic Lab fee is $10 per sample.

Soil pH and Texture Analysis
We can test your soil for pH (acidity/alkalinity) and analyze its texture and give you recommendations for amendments that will bring your soil to a pH that is proper for what you want to grow. We may also recommend adding compost or other materials to adjust the soil texture, or -- alternatively -- recommend that you use the area from which you've taken the soil to grow something more suitable to the soil in its current state.

Your soil pH and texture results will be ready in a few days; we can phone, mail, fax, e-mail or phone your soil pH results to you.

Soil testing in the office is done for a fee of $10 per sample. If you have multiple garden beds, each sample is $10.

How to submit samples
Provide as large a sample of the plant problem as possible:

• At least 12 inches of a tree branch showing the problem
• At least three leaves and a stem section of an annual, perennial or vegetable. Whole vegetables, such as tomatoes, strawberries, etc., should be packed in a plastic bag or container.
• One cup (or more) of soil in a plastic bag -- not a paper bag
• At least a 12 inches square section of lawn showing the problem
• An entire insect in a sealed container, such as an empty pill bottle, sealed plastic baggie or glass jar. Do not tape insects to paper.

Download the form that relates to your garden problem. Answer the questions on the form and bring it with your sample to the office, with the $10 fee. Please do not send samples in the mail.

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Putnam County Diagnostic Lab Forms

• Insect Identification
• Plant/Weed Identification
• Plant Disease
• Lawn Problem
• Soil pH Data Form for Home Gardeners

Fees
Diagnostic Lab fees are $10 per sample. Each insect, soil sample or plant submitted is one sample.

If we cannot diagnose your problem . . .
Cornell University Laboratories have comprehensive scientific diagnostic capabilities. They will accept properly packaged specimens for insect identification, soil nutrient analysis, plant pathology identification and turfgrass problems. Please remember that it is illegal to send live insects through the mail. Cornell Lab results, which take about two weeks, are mailed or e-mailed to you; if you have questions when you receive them, please contact one of our horticulture professionals.

We have a Cornell Soil Nutrient Analysis kit available for $15.00 at the office. Buy the kit, follow the instructions and send your soil to Cornell.
Or you can download the forms to send your soil, plant or insect samples directly to the Cornell labs for soil analysis, insect identification or plant pathology identification at:

• Soil Nutrient Analysis http://cnal.cals.cornell.edu/
• Insect Lab http://www.entomology.cornell.edu/public/IthacaCampus/ExtOutreach/DiagnosticLab.html
• Plant Pathology http://www.cals.cornell.edu/cals/plpath/
  

Last updated: September 15, 2009