Plant Disease

Plant Disease Identification Guide

Fruit & Vegetable Diseases

Latent Infection Diagnosis-based Strawberry Anthracnose Management

Bacterial Leaf Spot of Pepper

Corn Mold
Downy Mildew

Early Blight of Tomatoes
Late Blight of Tomatoes
Powdery Mildew
Septoria Leaf Spot
Strawberry Black Root Rot

Landscape Tree & Shrub Diseases

Diplodia Tip Blight
Leaf Scorch
Rhizosphaera Needle Cast
Seiridium Canker
Winter Damage

Tree Fruit Diseases

Fire Blight on Pome Fruit
Fruit Cracking
Peach Leaf Curl
Cherry Leaf Spot
Black Rot Disease in Apples
Brown Rot in Stone Fruit
Introduction to Black Knot

Managing Garden Diseases

Identifying & Preventing Herbicide Injury

Other Plant Disease Resources 

Biological Controls Managing Soilborne Diseases

Plant Diagnostic Clinic

Contact the Clinic

WVU Plant Diagnostic Clinic

G102 South Agricultural Sciences
Morgantown, WV 26506-6108
Email Mahfuz Rahman
304-293-8838 304-288-9541

Monday - Friday | 8:15 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.
Closed on WVU Holidays

Collect & Submit Plant Samples

Take & Submit a Plant Sample

Active Plant Disease Alerts

AgAlert! Boxwood Blight

Boxwood blight is a fungal disease that affects one of West Virginia's most popular landscape shrubs.

Boxwood blights are a fungal disease that can be fatal if no measures are taken to manage the disease at the early stage of infection and symptom appearance. There are two different fungal pathogens involved with blights – Volutella buxi  and Calonectria pseudonaviculata.

Read AgAlert! Boxwood Blight

AgAlert! Herbicide Contaminated Compost

Compost has traditionally been used by growers not only for supplying nutrients to the soil and plant but also due to its multiple beneficial attributes, such as balancing pH, enhancing water holding capacity, and boosting soil structure and beneficial microbial populations to improve overall soil quality for plant growth and development. Compost can hold nutrients for a longer time and deliver to plants when needed. Nutrients found in compost are released slowly as the compost decomposes, reducing nutrient loss through prevention of off-site movement. Despite all these benefits, herbicide contaminated composts can do lots of harm to plants, especially to those belonging to the family Solanaceae, which includes tomatoes, peppers and eggplants. Plant distortion due to growth regulator type herbicide is shown in Figure 1. 

Read AgAlert! Herbicide Contaminated Compost

AgAlert! Cucurbit Downy Mildew

Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) has now been found in Monongalia County, West Virginia, as well as neighboring states – Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland. For the latest information, visit the CDM regional map at https://cdm.ipmpipe.org/. 

Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) is a destructive disease that can affect most members of the gourd family or Cucurbitaceae, such as cucumber, cantaloupe, pumpkin, squash, watermelon and zucchini. However, cucumbers are the worst affected cucurbit that can be completely killed in two weeks from the onset of the disease. 

Symptoms of the disease may vary slightly from species to species, but in general, it causes angular chlorotic lesions on the foliage. These lesions appear angular because they are bound by leaf veins. During humid conditions, the lower surface of the leaf is covered with a downy, pale gray to blackish mildew. 

Read AgAlert! Cucurbit Downy Mildew

If you see or suspect a new plant disease outbreak that's not currently reported here, please contact Mahfuz Rahman with the WVU Plant Diagnostic Clinic or your local county Extension agent, immediately.

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