NFREC Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic in Quincy Reopens with Limited Hours

Fanny Iriarte, UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center Plant Disease Clinic

In an effort to assist our clients during this difficult time with restrictions due to COVID-19, the Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic at the North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC) has reopened part-time, three days per week. They are only accepting samples of critical nature submitted by/for commercial agricultural crop producers in the region. Please call (875-850-7140) or e-mail (fbiriarte@ufl.edu) before submitting the sample. It is preferred to have samples shipped in (FedEx overnight or UPS ideally as it will be delivered daily at NFREC; while USPS mail will be only picked every other day from the post office). However, if you are in the area, and you can drop your sample at NFREC entrance, use the following the guidelines:

GUIDELINES TO DROP OFF SAMPLES

Since the NFREC front gate will remain closed, we have set up a cooler where you can drop off samples. In order to keep samples fresh, please coordinate with lab staff and only bring samples during the schedule of the reduced hours of operation due to COVID-19 Pandemic:

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT

Please be sure to include a sample submission form with clearly written contact information (mainly name, phone and/or e-mail), completed as much as possible including a brief description of the problem. Please call diagnostician Dr. Fanny Iriarte at 850-875-7140 to notify her that there’s a sample to be examined in the cooler (if no answer – leave a message). Your sample will be picked up shortly after and taken to the Disease Clinic. Payment methods are not needed at this time, if applicable, we’ll send you an invoice.

Important Additional Notes:

Do not drop samples outside of hours of operation as your sample will deteriorate or get lost.
Turnaround time might be longer than usual in some cases, but no longer than 6-8 days. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Diagnostic results that require sequencing will not be available at this time.

For everyone’s safety, we appreciate you following these guidelines. Thank You