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The University of Illinois Plant Clinic will be open for the 2003 season on May 2. No mail service to the building is available until that date, so please don't mail packages before May 2. At that time, however, we will be ready for all of your questions and requested diagnoses for the season. Following is some information about the Plant Clinic that may be useful. Part of the University of Illinois Extension system, the Plant Clinic was initially instituted to help provide impartial plant-problem diagnosis across a range of disciplines. Services include insect, plant, and weed identification; disease diagnosis; nematode assays; interpretation of chemical injury symptoms and nutrient-related problems; and recommendations for pest and crop management. Plant Clinic personnel cannot handle herbicide injury problems on ornamental plants, nor can they assess nutrient levels in tissue or soil samples. Diagnoses are available electronically as well as through the U.S. mail. Digital images of plant problems are welcome, along with the actual plant sample. Although the Plant Clinic is not part of Extension's Distance Digital Diagnosis System, we often receive samples that could not be diagnosed from images alone. Unlike the digital diagnosis system, a fee is charged for all samples submitted to the Plant Clinic. The fee varies depending on the type of service requested. If specific tests are needed, please state this clearly so that the turnaround time can be shortened. Fees have not changed since 2002, and we still require that appropriate fees be remitted with the sample. The Plant Clinic has no billing office. Refer to Table 1 for the fees charged for various services provided at the University of Illinois Plant Clinic. Most people still send samples by U.S. mail. The Plant Clinic's mailing address (beginning May 2) is Plant Clinic
1401 West St. Mary's Road
Urbana, IL 61802 You also can call the Plant Clinic at (217)333-0519. The service is available weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. The Plant Clinic Web site provides a lot of information that should help you prepare and submit samples--service fees, data forms that should accompany samples, and directions for preparing and submitting a sample. If you wish to drive to the Plant Clinic, we provide directions. We also provide links to newsletters, publications, and equivalent clinics in other states. The Web address is http://plantclinic.cropsci.uiuc.edu/. We look forward to serving you this year. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have questions or need assistance.--Nancy Pataky
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