Are you aware of the wide array of services Lincoln County Extension offers? The list is long, but I want to highlight two of them today. First up, did you know that I can come to your property (Lincoln County residents only) for FREE to take a look at any issue you might be having? This can be something like helping plan livestock facilities and pasture systems, evaluating problems with gardens, lawns, trees, etc, or even assisting with getting livestock worked. Second, did you know we provide FREE identification of weeds, insects, diseases, and other problems you might face in a garden, lawn, or farming operation? Last week I was able to do both of these things for some clients, which made it a pretty great week in my book! With all that said, there are some critical things I need from you if you’re looking for plant/weed/pest identification- read on to find out what those are!
There are two ways for me to identify plants/pests. The first is for you to bring me a physical sample. If you bring me a physical sample, I need enough of a sample to actually visualize the problems and patterns going on. If you only bring me a single leaf or fruit, I’m going to have a hard time conclusively identifying it for you. Should you choose to bring a physical sample, it is best for you to bring a whole plant (when practical), a full branch with multiple leaves, or a (dead) insect or pest. For disease issues, it’s usually easier for us to identify the problem with a farm call or house visit, since diseases typically have specific methods of spreading in a landscape and plant that we look for.
The other option for identification is through photos emailed to uge3181@uga.edu. Most commonly when someone needs identification, I get a single picture from them. Sometimes the photo shows an entire field of weeds, other times it’s just a single leaf. If you send me one photo, odds are I’m not going to be able to tell anything definitive, though I’ll try to make my best guess for you anyway. The best option for submitting photos for identification is to take a variety of clear, detailed photos. It is always better to send me too many photos instead of too few! The first photo should be taken from far away from the plant and show me the entire area in which it is planted. Then, zoom in on the plant itself and take several more photos of the bark or stem, leaves, flowers or seeds, and any other parts of the plant that you can see. If you’re looking for a pest or disease identification, be sure to take several different photos of the part of the plant that are affected, such as the tops and bottoms of leaves, damage to bark or fruit, the pest itself and so on. The more photos and details you can send me, the more accurate my information will be.
If you’ve read my articles in the past, you know how important proper identification is in order to treat and manage pests and weeds in your landscape or farming operation. Let Lincoln County Extension be a resource for helping with identification of issues by reaching out to 706-359-3233 or uge3181@uga.edu.
