Plant health laboratory accepting samples

The Prince Edward Island Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory is now accepting samples for the 2017 season.

The free service helps home gardeners, farmers, and greenhouse operators identify potential plant diseases and manage or prevent the disease. Crops that can be tested include potatoes, cereals (wheat, corn, barley, rice, etc), fruit crops, and Cole crops including broccoli, cabbage, and kale.

“Identifying diseases takes away the guesswork and confirms what disease you are dealing with prior to treatment,” said Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Alan McIsaac. “Our goal is to help the agriculture industry and recreational farmers combat plant diseases that could be potentially impactful to our crops.”

Samples can be submitted to the plant disease diagnostic laboratory at the PEI Analytical Laboratories (23 Innovation Way, Charlottetown) or to Access PEI locations outside the Charlottetown area. For more information on how to properly collect a sample for testing, visit PEI Lab Services or contact Marleen Clark at 902-368-5261 or mmclark@gov.pe.ca.

After the sample is tested, clients will receive a personalized report with the results of their sample(s) as well as supplemental information about the disease in question and contact information for plant specialists in the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The service is available until November.

Media contact:
April Gallant
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
902-620-3084
aldgallant@gov.pe.ca