Weed Diagnostics at Your Service
A new and welcome service center has been established by The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. This new center, The University of Tennessee Weed Diagnostics Center (WDC), is supported by UT Extension and UT AgResearch.
The Center provides diagnostic testing services for crop and non-cropland systems, and uses both whole plant and molecular techniques to provide weed identification, herbicide resistance screening, and bermudagrass off-type assessment.
Bermudagrass Off-Type Assessment. Primarily for turfgrass clients.
Herbicide Resistance Screening and Confirmation. A weed is determined to be resistant to a herbicide when it survives a herbicide application that has been deemed lethal.
Traditional whole plant resistance screening. This involves the production of seed from submitted samples which will then be exposed to a discriminatory rate of a single herbicide. A report of results and control recommendations will be provided 16-20 weeks after sample submission. Cost: $1499/sample for Tenn. residents, $1599/sample for non-Tenn. residents.
Molecular Resistance Confirmation. A second and more expensive test will involve culture of plants in a germination chamber. DNA will be extracted from tissue of these plants and analyzed for traits associated with herbicide resistance. A report of results and control recommendations will be provided 3-5 weeks after sample submission. Cost: $2999/sample for Tenn. residents, $3299/sample for non-Tenn. residents.
Rapid Resistance Screening. This test uses an agar culture, with a discriminatory rate of herbicide loaded into the agar. Presently, this test can only be used to screen for ALS, dinitroaniline, and glyphosate inhibitor resistance. Future plans are to adjust the screen to test for resistance to other modes of action. A report of results and control recommendations will be provided 2-3 weeks after sample submission. Cost: $649/sample for Tenn. residents, $749/sample for non-Tenn. residents.
Weed Identification. The below two methods are offered.
Basic Weed Identification. Weeds will be identified based on morphological and botanical characterisitics. In some cases, weeds can be identified from images vs. fresh plant samples. A report of results and control recommendations will be provided 7-10 days after receipt of samples. Cost: $29/sample for Tenn. residents, $39/sample for non-Tenn. residents.
Molecular Weed Identification. Weeds that cannot be identified by the above method will be recommended for molecular identification using genomic DNA. The WDC will maintain a library of data from these identifications for future reference. A report of results and control recommendations will be provided 2-3 weeks after receipt of sample. Cost: $699/sample for Tenn. residents, $799/sample for non-Tenn. residents.
Sample Submission Form. This form must be fully completed for every sample that is submitted to the WDC.
Contact Information. This is provided for those who desire more information about the WDC and its activities.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, Nov. 2016, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net