Chase Research Gardens Adds National Diagnostic Disease Lab, Expands Services

Chase Research Gardens, Mount Aukum, Calif., has added a national diagnostic disease lab for commercial and landscape ornamental industries.

Effective July 1, the company will accept plant material for problem diagnosis within the contiguous United States. Services will include fungus and bacterial identification and pathogen resistance screening. Chase Research Gardens also will provide focused control strategies for specific crop or landscape problems.

The company’s basic diagnostic service includes analyzing root and soil specimens of ornamental plants. Plant samples can be packed whole in a zip-locked bag and sent directly to Chase Research Gardens. Samples are cultured the next business day and preliminary results are typically available within seven days.

Chase Research Gardens also offers two new services: “Health Check” and “Disease Diagnostics Club.”

Health Check provides scheduled or on-call site evaluations during which crops will be inspected for existing problems. Site visits can be scheduled on a calendar or crop season basis. Samples taken during the visit will be processed for analysis and followed by a written recommendation for control strategies.

The Health Check program is available in groups of three, six or 12 inspections or on an on-call basis for immediate inspection of acute problems.

The company’s Disease Diagnostics Club offers a cost savings to returning customers. With no dues or enrollment fee, clients who have signed up for the club receive a free analysis after submitting fix samples.

Dr. Ann Chase, professor emeritus of the University of Florida, formed Chase Research Gardens in 1994 to conduct product evaluations and assess product effects on biological, chemical and physical aspects of ornamental plant production. Chase Research Gardens also includes 10 research greenhouses and outdoor production areas.

For more information, visit www.chaseresearchgardens.com or call 530/620-1624.