Problem diagnosis is an important tool that cooperative extension agents use in advising producers to select appropriate corrective management approaches. In the absence of such tools, producers are left to attempt diagnosis based only upon visual symptoms that often can be misleading, and to correct problems by selecting among numerous potential practices, products, and advertising claims. Our approach to strengthening crop problem diagnosis efforts is to request funding from each of several commodity groups to fund analysis of samples submitted by cooperative extension agents. This is not intended to cover all analytical needs, but for program support to allow agents to diagnose specific problems important to their region of the state.

1) This project will support efforts by cooperative extension agents to diagnose specific crop nutritional or disease problems in soybean.
2) This project will fund a limited number of samples to be submitted by cooperative extension agents for analysis at the NCDA&CS Agronomic Division plant tissue lab, and at the NCSU Plant Disease & Insect Clinic.

This program should result in more qualified agricultural agents, and in farmers that better understand their production constraints. Once the value of these diagnostic efforts is better understood, we expect producers will be more willing to pay the standard diagnostic fees themselves. This project will also allow us to monitor problem diagnosis and more formally document the potential crop losses or economic benefits if managed per recommendations.

This project aims to improve soybean management by providing accurate diagnosis of diseases, insects, or abiotic disorders of soybeans submitted by extension agents. This effort will help to reduce the cost of soybean production by targeting management based on accurate diagnosis of diseases and disorders of soybean.