Could this app make me a gardener?

So, it's no secret that I have a black thumb. I have a terrible time keeping plants alive, and an even worse time nursing them back to health when things go wrong (and they often do!).

But, for those gardeners who are a little more nurturing than I, Ajax's Adelante Consulting Inc. has released a new iPod/iPhone app to help you cope when your houseplants are sick.

read more on thestar.com blog

Wilting eggplant

Here is our response to a recent request for diagnosis of an eggplant disease in New Jersey:

------------------------------------------------------------

Dear User,

Approximately 8 hours ago we received your request for diagnosis of an eggplant disease. You provided the following text information and two photographs of symptoms from your iPhone. Here we provide our diagnosis of the problem and pertinent crop management recommendations.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY USER OF "THE PLANT DOCTOR" APP:

Host plant name: Eggplant
Primary symptoms: Lower leaves being eaten and wilting
Plant setting: Garden outside
Geographic location: Southern New Jersey

Number of plants affected: 2-10
Additional information: Happened last year too.

DIAGNOSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PLANT DOCTOR:

Symptoms: 1) holes in leaves; 2) wilting/yellowing of leaves.

Diagnosis:

1. Holes in leaves: slug or snail feeding injury, not related to and not a cause of the leaf wilting.

2. Wilting of leaves: the most probable cause is a disease known as bacterial wilt (described below). Another possible cause of wilting is root rot (disease) or even drought.

Disease name: Bacterial wilt

Scientific name of pathogen: Ralstonia (Pseudomonas) solanacearum
Causal organism: Bacterium

Host plants: Potato, tomato, tobacco, eggplant, banana and plantain are the major hosts but peanut, bell pepper, cotton, sweet potato, cassava, castor bean, ginger and other solanaceous weeds are also affected

This is  a vascular wilt disease, caused by a soilborne bacteria that infect plants through roots and then invades the vascular system in the stem and clogs it up such that it gradually prevents water movement in the stem, which results in plant wilting. The initial symptom is a wilting of the terminal leaves, which after 2 - 3 days becomes permanent when the whole plant wilts due to the active development of the disease. Then the entire plant wilts and dies suddenly. In the case of a slow development of the disease, the plant stunts and produces large numbers of adventitious roots on the stem.

Conditions which favor disease development:

1. Crop residues left in the field that were infected by Ralstonia solanacearum
2. Injured roots caused by tools or by soil pests
3. Warm temperature and high soil moisture
4. High soil pH
5. Poor or unfertile soil
6. Plant-parasitic nematodes present in the soil

Preventive disease management:

1. Remove and destroy all infected plants immediately
2. Control plant-parasitic nematodes
3. Rotate crops other than solanaceous crops. Corn, beans, and cabbage are resistant to bacterial wilt
4. Since the bacteria can be transmitted through farm tools, wash or expose tools to heat before using

Bacterial wilt diagnosis: "bacterial streaming" test. You can do this, but the test will kill one of your plants. Cut a piece of the stem 2 - 3 cm long near the base of the plant. Suspend the cut stem in clear water in a glass container. Hold the stem with an improvised tong to maintain it in a vertical position. Within a few minutes, the smoke-like milky threads of bacteria are discharged from the vascular system of the cut stem into the water. Also, if you make a longitudinal cut into the stem to expose the vascular system, you should see necrosis or browning inside the stem.

If the test for bacterial wilt is negative (no bacterial streaming of vascular necrosis), then the plant has root rot caused by a fungal pathogen. Observe the roots for rot or discoloration. If roots are rotten, reduce irrigation, improve soil drainage and consider using an approved fungicide for control.

Consult your local Cooperative Extension Service to submit tissue samples for pathogen identification. For example: Rutgers Cooperative Extension: http://njaes.rutgers.edu/extension/. I do not know which county in which you are located, so I provided you with a general statewide website for you to search for local contact information.

Erik, we hope that you find this diagnosis both educational and useful. We thank you for using The Plant Doctor. If you have any questions about the diagnosis, please send us an email and we will reply promptly. Please consider providing a rating or a review of the app at the iTunes store, and tell you friends about us!

Kind regards,
The Plant Doctor

The Plant Doctor app is recommended by the New York Times!

The New York Times, the top newspaper in the United States, recently recommended our app (The Plant Doctor) to its readers in the following article:

"20 Smartphone Apps for the Home and Garden"
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/garden/06apps.html?ref=garden
Published May 5, 2010
By Sonia Jawinski

The article's author joins a growing, worldwide list of gardeners, farmers and landscapers who find the app a very useful tool for the successful cultivation of healthy plants.

Download the app for free and take advantage of the low price for accurate disease diagnosis and disease helpful management recommendations.

Note: Plant Doctor proceeds are donated to provide a scholarship award for a college student.

Anthurium disease in Hawaii

Here is a recent diagnosis that we performed for a nursery owner in Hawaii. After the nursery owner received the diagnosis, we received a reply:

"Okay, that was your test.  Pretty good.  We believe it was caused by either a.) foliar fertilizer which stays on the leaves too long and causes damage (we usually rinse but occasionally delay) or b.) thrips. I think we will try your service again.  Good job."

Thank you, Hawaii!

Here is the diagnosis report:

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello, we received your request for diagnosis of the anthurium leaf problem that has occurred regularly at a nursery in Hawaii.

You submitted the request on Wed, Mar 17, 2010 at 11:44 AM HST.

Your request included the text provided below and two excellent iPhone photographs.

REQUEST FOR DIAGNOSIS:

Host plant name: Anthurium
Primary symptoms: Rough brown patches and lines on surface of leaves.
Plant setting: Nursery
Geographic location: Hawaii
Number of plants affected: more than 100
Fertilizers used: 15-7-26 liquid through injector using overhead sprinkler system
Pesticides used: Assorted
Additional information: We regularly have this problem.

Photographs supplied by user:

DIAGNOSIS FROM THE PLANT DOCTOR (Mar 17 2010):

1. Symptoms: The photographs depict bleached anthurium leaf epidermal tissues. The bleached areas having occasional brown-colored necrotic areas near the centers of the lesions. The pattern of bleaching is non-random; some of the bleaching occurred in a systematic and delimited or delineated manner. The margins of the bleached areas are sharply delimited. Some of the bleached spots are tiny flecks, whereas others have coalesced into larger areas of blight. There are some whitish residues on the leaves, perhaps the result of fertilizer or pesticide applications to the foliage.

2. Diagnosis. We classify this symptom as "injury." There are no plant pathogens of anthurium in Hawaii, nor insect pests, that cause this type and pattern of damage to leaves. The most likely cause of the damage is phytotoxicity to the leaves caused by sprays or applications of either fertilizer(s) and/or pesticides.

3. Recommendations.

a. Products applied. Identify all products that were applied to or near the plant foliage (i.e., fertilizers and pesticides, including fungicides, insecticides and herbicides). Ensure that all products used are in fact labeled for use on anthurium. Some products labeled for other crops can cause damage on crops for which they are not labeled.

b. Product dosage. Identify the rates used (concentrations or dosage of fertilizers or active ingredients for pesticide products ) used in the foliar sprays. Ensure that the concentrations applied or mixed were not too strong, that they were accurately mixed.

c. Product mixtures. Identify the potential mixtures of products used - for example, different types of pesticides. Ensure that no incompatible products were mixed together. Sometimes when incompatible products are mixed, plant injury can result.

d. Herbicides. See if any pesticides were accidentally mixed in an herbicide sprayer. Sometimes, residue from herbicides can be mistakenly applied and cause plant damage. Use the herbicide sprayers only for herbicide applications.

e. Time of day for applications. Identify the time of day for foliar applications. Sometimes when applied in the heat of mid-day, pesticides can cause injury.

Note: other abiotic factors can cause this type of injury, such as excessive heat.

We have confidence that given the information we have provided, you will successfully identify the specific product/practice causing this issue.

If you are satisfied with this diagnosis, please consider writing a review or giving a rating of the app at the iTunes store, or refer The Plant Doctor to your friends. Please contact us by e-mail if you require additional discussion about this particular problem.

The Plant Doctor

Orange tree question from Germany

We received a request recently (March 13, 2010) from a grower in Germany about an orange tree being used as a house plant. The plant had symptoms of abnormal growth as shown below:

The grower's request for information included the following text and photographs:

Host plant name: Orange tree
Primary symptoms: Yellowing , it looks like powerless
Plant setting: Indoors, behind window
Geographic location: Germany
Number of plants affected: 1
Fertilizers used: none
Pesticides used: None

Photographs provided:

Diagnosis sent by the Plant Doctor (March 14 2010)

Diagnosis: There exist a number of contagious citrus diseases, some of which can be fatal. However, in my opinion the main problems with your plant are not due to a contagious plant disease. Rather, the plant suffers from some typical health issues associated with growing plants indoors. The yellow leaves indicate a 1) lack of fertilizer and some foliar nutrient stress associated with fruit production, 2) root rot and/or poor root health due to poor soil drainage, poor root aeration and/or too much water in the root zone.

Every plant should be fertilized. When a plant produces fruit, we often see the leaves display nutrient deficiency symptoms because there is a great demand for sending nutrients to the fruits. Therefore, when a plant flowers it should be fertilized. You can find a good citrus fertilizer online or at a garden store. A 10-20-10 fertilizer that contains all of the trace (minor) elements would be appropriate. Use caution not to apply too much fertilizer, as that can cause root rot.

The poor drainage is a function of having a pot within a pot. When you irrigate the plant, there is nowhere for the water to escape and the water remains around the rot system. This can asphyxiate the roots and also cause root rot. When a plant has poor root health, it fails to transport nutrients from the growth media to the foliage, causing deficiency symptoms (leaf yellowing, necrosis) and defoliation and branch dieback.

Recommendations:

1. Re-pot the plant. The plant will benefit greatly from being re-potted into a larger pot having fresh growth medium. Thereafter, the foliage would begin to look much better within weeks. Select a pot made from unglazed clay, as this will allow the root system to breathe (air can pass through the unglazed clay). Do not enclose the new pot within another, unglazed pot. Do not allow the base of the new pot to remain standing in it's drainage water. When you re-pot the plant, inspect the roots for symptoms of rot. If you see soft, rotten roots please consider drenching the root system with a general-purpose fungicide.

2. Apply fertilizer to plant. You can use the fertilizer in very small dosages, approximately every one or two months. The fertilizer could be granular or liquid formulation. Liquid fertilizer could be sprayed on the leaves.

3. Prune the dead branches from the plant.

4. Do not over-irrigate the plant. This will minimize the probability of root rot.

I believe that  with some gentle care and by following my recommendations you can bring this plant back to full health. Remember that citrus is a plant that thrives in warm, humid environments. Having it grow indoors in a temperate zone in dry, heated air places stress on the plant. This means that it requires extra care. The good news is that the health status of the plant presently is not bad enough that it can' be saved. Rather, the outlook is promising.

If you are satisfied with my diagnosis and recommendations, please consider providing your feedback or your review of the app at the iTunes store.

The Plant Doctor

Romanian news article about The Plant Doctor app

An online news site in Romania (http://www.hotnews.ro/) recently published a news article about The Plant Doctor app in it's "Urban Heroes" section:

"Canada has implemented a novel software to diagnose plants for iPhone" by Ionut Dulamita.
Link: http://think.hotnews.ro/un-roman-din-canada-a-implementat-un-software-de-diagnosticat-plante-pentru-iphone.html

Here is a link to an approximate English translation of the article: http://tinyurl.com/ylnm8rd

Thank you, Romania!

Pine tree disease in Massachusetts

Below is a diagnosis provided by The Plant Doctor regarding a pine tree disease in Amherst, Massachusetts.

-----------------------------------------------
Diagnosis requested from The Plant Doctor app
Submitted by user: March 2, 2010

Host plant name: Pine
Primary symptoms: Borer holes in wood; shallow rooting. Eventually tree toppled and was cut.
Plant setting: Landscape
Geographic location: Amherst Mass
Number of plants affected: 1
Additional information: I did not see the tree before it was cut.

Photographs:

----------------------------------------------
Response from the Plant Doctor
Diagnosis: submitted to user on March 3, 2010

I received your request for diagnosis of the pine disease you observed in Massachusetts.

The lack of specific information you provided regarding the species name for this pine, the foliar disease symptoms, and the temporal progression of disease make it difficult to diagnose this problem with a high level of accuracy. However, given the information provided in text and photographs, I think there are two primary diagnoses which are likely for this problem: 1) root rot and/or 2) pinewood wilt disease.

DIAGNOSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1) Root rot. I agree that the root system appears to be rather shallow and restricted. There also appears to be some root necrosis, or rot. That the tree toppled indicates a poorly developed root system or a rotten root system. The restricted growth of the root system could be due to a poor substrate (i.e., shallow soil, subtended by a layer of rock). The plant may have received too much water or irrigation, either by irrigation emitters or by being grown in a poorly drained substrate. There also could be a fungal root pathogen present, which may have caused the root rot and moved up into the stem to create the pattern of internal stem discoloration. One may still be able to recover a fungal root pathogen from either the roots or the vascular tissue within the stem. If the disease progressed slowly over many months or years, then root rot disease is a high probability for the primary cause of the problem. The cause of the root rot would probably be a combination of too much water in the root system plus the presence of a virulent fungal pathogen.

2) Pinewood wilt. Pine wilt is a disease of pine (Pinus spp.) caused by the pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. The pinewood nematode is transmitted (vectored) to conifers by pine sawyer beetles (Monochamus spp.). Please see this article: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/howtos/ht_pinewilt/pinewilt.htm. "Usually the pines affected are Austrian (P. nigra), Scotch (P. sylvestris), and Japanese red and black pines. The disease occurs mainly in Midwest USA, but also occurs in Massachusetts.Pine sawyer beetles are attracted to weakened trees (hence, the disease could be associated with root rot, which adds stress to trees). In the United States, losses from pine wilt disease can occur in some non-native pine plantations and landscape trees. Management of pine wilt disease is primarily limited to prevention. There are no cures for pine wilt disease once a susceptible tree becomes infested with the pinewood nematode. The most effective prevention strategy is to avoid planting non-native pines, such as Scotch and Austrian pine, where the mean summer temperature is greater than 20°C. Where these non-native pines already exist, landowners can reduce susceptibility of high-value landscape trees by watering to avoid drought stress. If they discover infestations, landowners can consider removing and chipping infested trees to limit the spread to nearby susceptible trees." Given the presence of insect boring injury and internal stem discoloration (and if a relatively rapid wilt occurred for this plant), pinewood wilt is a relatively high probability for being a cause of the tree death (if wilt symptoms were present in the foliage).

In my opinion, for this tree there may be an interaction between root rot and pinewood wilt: a tree with root rot became stressed and attractive to the sawyer beetles, which vectored the pinewood nematodes, the cause of wilt (if wilt occurred) and toppling. The key for identifying the cause of the problem is how long it took for the tree to decline and topple and what type of foliar symptoms were present.

There are other factors which can cause the death of pine trees, such as pine pitch canker disease. However, as I mentioned, without knowing more I cannot identify the cause of the problem with any higher degree of accuracy. Nor can I provide any more specific disease management considerations, aside from sanitation (remove stump) and to avoid planting the same tree species in that location.

You are welcome to contact me with any questions about this diagnosis or to provide more information for my consideration. I also suggest that you contact the Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Massachusetts: http://www.umassextension.org/ for its opinion regarding this problem.

If you find this diagnosis helpful or satisfactory, please let us know by sending me a message or by posting a review of the app at the iTunes store.