Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab

Home
United States
College Station, TX
Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab

The Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (TPDDL) aka the TX Plant Clinic provides plant health diagnostic and educational support to people in the state of Texas and beyond. The Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, located in College Station, Texas, is a service lab of the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at Texas A&M University in conjunction with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service.

05/22/2026

Happy Friday (20260522). I was invited to the Texas Rose Rustlers spring meeting to talk about Rose Rosette Disease and it current status in Texas. This event will be at the Antique Rose Emporium in Brenham, TX. (https://maps.app.goo.gl/7wNKmJA99qhAbMvr9)
If you are in the area and want to learn more about rose diseases, come on by. It will be a fun time!
Finally, Congratulations to all those who just graduated or are graduating (there are a lot of high school graduation events this weekend)! Have a great, fun, safe and healthy Memorial Day weekend! -KO
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

05/21/2026

20260520 Several weeks ago, CEA Kaycee D. shared some photos that included these of damaged cabbage wondering WHAT is going on with these plants. Here is the information that was obtained from the client ," ...they seemed to start yellowing this week, on the outer leaves. (Note- after heavy rains last week)". I replied that my first thoughts looking at these photos that it was downy mildew. Together with the information she shared, I was pretty sure that is what it is. BUT it would be better if we could have looked at the lesions under microscope to see if we could identify the types of pathogen that caused these damage. Have you seen these symptoms before on your brassicas? -KO

05/15/2026

Happy Friday (20260515)! Last week, Dr Wonbo Shim (PLPM dept head) and I attended the Uvalde Field Day. We got to check up Dr. Kim Cochran who is our extension plant pathologist based in Uvalde. Also, got to visit up with some other folks with their experiment: Dr. Krishna Bhattarai with the tomato breeding program and other. If interested in attending one of those, do check out the Texas A&M Research and Extension center that is close to you. Their website will likely have that information on upcoming field days. Also, you can check out AgriLife news at http://AgrilifeToday.tamu.edu for all AgriLife research and extension related news. Have a great, fun, safe and healthy weekend. - KO .

05/12/2026

A bit about our department and its undergraduate programs.

05/08/2026

Happy Friday! (20260508) A hearty CONGRATULATIONS to our undergraduate student workers who are graduating. They will get to participate in commencement exercises at Texas A&M University tomorrow, to be conferred their B.Sc. degrees. Congratulations to Bailey Hoffman, Jordan Harris, Lauren McGough, Yudi Sanchez, Madison Cruz and Emily De La Fuente (not in photo). Best Wishes with future/next adventures.
And congratulation to all who are celebrating graduation this semester. Have a great, fun, safe and healthy weekend. -KO
Texas A&M University Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Texas A&M University - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

05/07/2026

20260506. These photos were emailed to the TXPlantClinic by Chris G. wondering WHAT these fungus might be? HD Hannah replied with the correct answer that this is not a true fungus, but it is a myxomycete aka SLIME MOLD. These usually pop up in landscapes when it is wet and moist. Here are some oldies but goodies that I had previous posted about these organisms. Enjoy. -KO
See many colors of slime molds: https://bit.ly/4tngkeZ
video from 2018: https://bit.ly/49x9Oei

05/01/2026

Happy Friday (20260501)! Last weekend, HD Hannah and a few of the TPDDL Crew went to set up our outreach table at PlantCon Houston. As a part of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, we get to share our expertise in plant health knowledge with the public to help with protect our natural and agricultural resources for the enjoyment and benefit of all Texans. Also, wanted to show you that the plant disease people can be FUN too. And thank you PlantCon for supporting this Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program.
Have a great, fun, safe and healthy weekend. -KO

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

04/29/2026

20260429. These photo were received from CEA Kim M. with a plea,"... let me know WHAT you think might be going on". Additional information that was provided include: plant receives full sun and tomatoes has been grown in the same bed for several years with no problem until now. Here was my response, "First thought - looks like TSWV. Do you know what cultivars are affected? Are there visible thrip issues?" What do you think? To learn more about Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), check out: https://bit.ly/4w1Vlkc -KO

04/24/2026

Happy Friday (20260424)! Earlier this week, I made my annual training trip to Denton to train the next batch of Denton County Master Gardeners. It is always a fun experience to share the science of plant pathology and the art of plant disease diagnostics to these valuable volunteers. Master Gardeners are gardening enthusiasts who pay for the opportunity to be trained by various experts so that they can gain more gardening knowledge and skills. They also volunteer their time and effort to help support and educate their fellow citizens in their county. If you have a gardening question, or need some support & guidance about growing plants - call your local county Extension office to see if there is a Master Gardener that can help you out. You can also check the Texas Master Gardeners website (https://txmg.org) to see if there is a chapter in your county…Maybe you might like to participate and become one yourself.
Have a great fun, safe and healthy weekend. -KO txplantdr
dentoncountymga plpmbesc

04/22/2026

20260422. I had the opportunity this week to check out our Rose Rosette research (miticide trial) plot in Denton. Still early in the season but we are already seeing some issues occurring on these Knockout roses that were planted not too long ago. You may have noticed some fuzzy white, off-white dust on darken spots on the leaves. We have had folks asking WHAT is that. This is POWDERY MILDEW on rose. Are you seeing this on your roses? Here the link to a fact sheet on this fungal problem: https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/powdery-mildew-of-roses/01t4x000004Ofs2AAC
-KO

Address

College Station, TX

Telephone

+19793215390

Website

http://plantclinic.tamu.edu/, https://linktr.ee/txplantclinic

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Texas Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your university to be the top-listed University in College Station?