Plant Disease Diagnosis Online Course | OSU Continuing Education

Gardeners, landscapers, growers and other natural resource professionals encounter plant problems on a regular basis, but the process behind diagnosing and correcting these problems can be shrouded in mystery.

Properly diagnosing plant problems can be difficult on your own because:

The overwhelmingly large number of plants that are found in gardens, landscapes and natural environments.
The diverse causes of problems on any of these plants, which include cultural and environmental problems, disease and insect pests, as well as other issues like slugs and vertebrate pests.

Plant Disease Diagnosis Overview

One of the objectives of the Plant Disease Diagnosis Online Course is to provide a framework that will enable and empower you to distinguish between these many potential sources of a problem and determine the real cause.

By the end of the course you will learn a systematic process to evaluate patterns of damage on the plant and what symptoms and signs are present.

Specifically, you'll learn:

A systematic process for diagnosing plant problems
Cultural and environmental causes of plant problems
Soil quality and nutritional problems
Symptoms and signs of disease and pest problems and other biotic causes of plant problems

Additionally, you will receive an overview of cultural and environmental causes of plant problems as well as biotic problems like insect pests and diseases. You'll become familiar with some resources that are available to assist with the diagnosis as well as what to do about the problem once it is diagnosed.

Regardless of the plants you work with, this course will give you a framework to identify the issue and ways to solve plant problems.

New dates coming soon!

Six weeks | Asynchronous

Online

$325

325

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Additional Information:
Download Plant Disease Diagnosis syllabus

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Instructors

Neil Bell

Neil oversees the Master Gardener program in Marion County and Polk County and works with volunteers to assist homeowners with their garden problems. Since 2001, he has done evaluations of Ceanothus, Cistus and Halimium at the Oregon Garden in Silverton and at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora. Currently, he is evaluating Grevillea and Arctostaphylos for hardiness, growth and flowering at NWREC. He has used the results from these evaluations to design low-input landscapes for the region that emphasize year-round ornamental appeal.

Jay W. Pscheidt

Jay W. Pscheidt received his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1985. Since 1988 he has been a professor at Oregon State University as an Extension Plant Pathology Specialist. His principal duties are to lead a statewide extension program related to the diagnosis and management of diseases of all fruit, nut, and ornamental/nursery crops. He is also co-editor of regional publication The Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook.

Past Students' Work

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