Plant Health Lab Services
Plant diseases are caused by a diversity of pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes and these pathogens pose a serious threat to sustainable agricultural production systems. Efficient and early diagnosis of disease-causing pathogens is essential for implementation of control strategies to mitigate negative economic impacts. Perennia’s Plant Health Lab was created in 2018 to help local producers through classical and molecular approaches for early disease diagnostics. Perennia’s team of commodity specialists supports our lab and together we provide growers with a holistic approach to managing pathogens. The lab, located in the David Huestis Innovation Pavilion at Acadia University, is constantly expanding, so please contact our pathologist and molecular biologist to learn more about our offerings. If you have general questions and comments, please contact us below.
Samples can be dropped off at our Kentville office (28 Aberdeen Street) or our Truro office (173 Dr. Bernie MacDonald Dr, Bible Hill) between the hours of 8:00am – 4:30pm Monday to Thursday and from 8:00am – 1:00pm on Friday.
Please review the sample submission guidelines and fill out a sample submission form. If you have any questions please contact our Plant Health Lab Staff at planthealthlab@perennia.ca
Plant Disease Diagnostics
Fungi
Fungi and fungi-like organisms inflict huge yield losses globally despite the abundant use of fungicides. Plant pathogenic fungi cause disease symptoms on all plant parts (seed, seedling, leaves, fruits, and root). Symptoms may include spots and blights on leaves, stems, and fruit, rots of tubers, cankers, damping off, seedling and plant diebacks, galls, and wilts. Their early detection in infected plant tissue will ensure taking preventative measures.
Fungal disease diagnosis at the Plant Health lab consists of classical approaches based on visual disease symptoms, hyphal and spore morphology, shape and size of conidia and other fruiting structures. Fungal infections are often systemic, and plant tissue is surface sterilized followed by incubation either on sterile filter paper under humid conditions or incubated on selective media for their successful isolation and identification. In some cases, molecular methods such as PCR and DNA sequencing are used to resolve the causal species.
Viruses
Plant viruses are obligate parasites that infect host plants and use their cellular machinery to replicate and proliferate. They can gain entry into a plant in many different ways, including vectors (i.e., nematodes, aphids, whiteflies), vegetative propagation and wounding. The symptoms associated with virus infection can vary greatly and can be confused with other common abiotic and biotic stressors. They can affect many different marketable parts of plants (i.e., leaves, flowers, fruit and stems), resulting in reduced yield and quality. Once a plant is infected with a virus, it is infected for life, and depending on how the virus is transmitted, it can spread to neighbouring healthy plants in a field or greenhouse.
Diagnosis of viruses by eye is very challenging due to their variation in symptoms. A laboratory test is the most reliable form of diagnosis, such as an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. The Plant Health Lab currently offers PCR testing for grapevine and strawberry viruses.
Bacteria
The diseases caused by bacteria in horticultural crops impose varying degrees of economic impacts. Many genera of bacteria, Agrobacterium (galls on plants), Ralstonia (wilts), Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas or Pantoea (leaf spot, blight, blast, cankers and wilt), Corynebacterium or Curtobacterium (leaf spot, fruit spot and wilt) and Erwinia or Dickeya (soft rot or wilt) are known plant pathogenic bacteria.
At the Plant Health Lab, our plant pathologists use visual disease symptoms, bacterial streaming, culturing on selective media and DNA sequencing to identify the causal bacterial species.
Nematodes
Plant parasitic nematodes are soil-inhabiting microscopic worms with a body length of less than 1 mm. They are ubiquitous, found in all climates and every type of soil. Plant parasitic nematodes rank amongst the most difficult pests to diagnose, identify and control due to their presence in soil. Some of the aerial symptoms associated with nematode feeding of roots are chlorosis (yellowing) of foliage, patchy/stunted growth, wilting, leaf rolling and die-back of perennial or woody plants. Below-ground symptoms on the roots may include galling, shortened, stubby or abbreviated roots, excessive root branching, root lesions, tuber necrosis, tuber cracking, forking of carrots, cysts or ‘pearly’ root and altered root architecture.
Proper identification of nematode species diversity and population density are important aspects for their effective management. Perennia’s Plant Health Lab offers soil analysis to determine plant parasitic nematode population density and species diversity. The classical approaches resolve nematode identification to the genus level, but DNA barcoding provides resolution to the species level.
Samples can be dropped off at our Kentville office (28 Aberdeen Street) or our Truro office (173 Dr. Bernie MacDonald Dr, Bible Hill) between the hours of 8:00am – 4:30pm Monday to Thursday and from 8:00am – 1:00pm on Friday.
Please review the sample submission guidelines and fill out a sample submission form. If you have any questions please contact our Plant Health Lab Staff at planthealthlab@perennia.ca
DISCLAIMER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY
Please be advised that where a sample, provided by the Client, has tested negative for the presence of a virus or a pathogen that this negative test does not prove unequivocally the absence of virus or pathogen. This potential for a False Negative Test is due to seasonal and temporal fluctuation in pathogen levels, the inherent limitations of sampling and testing protocols, and the possibility of pathogen strain variability. Therefore, Perennia makes no representations or warranties to the Client, that a negative test result from a sample is unequivocally free of infection, and subsequently Perennia shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the Client due to any resulting management decisions the Client makes based on the negative test results. The Client agrees that any and all claims for loss or damage which the Client has or in the future may have against Perennia arising out of or related to the provision of Services, whether such claim is founded in contract or tort, shall be strictly limited to the amount of fees actually paid by the Client to Perennia for the Services. This disclaimer and release of liability shall also be binding upon the Client’s successors, heirs, executors, and administrators.
USE OF INFORMATION
By submitting a sample to Perennia, the Client agrees to the use of the Client’s test results for research purposes only in an anonymous aggregate form. Perennia treats all information collected by the Perennia as confidential subject to meeting the requirements under the law.