Southwest Florida Research & Education Center

Plant Diagnostic Clinic

Welcome to the UF/IFAS SWFREC Plant Diagnostic Clinic in Immokalee. We are a branch of the Florida Plant Diagnostic Network. We are open Monday through Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (except state and UF holidays). We can be reached at 239-658-3431 or kemh@ufl.edu.

We serve the state and region by offering disease, insect, and weed identification services for commercial, homeowner, and extension plant samples. We are accepting in-state samples. The clinic does not test soil samples.

We offer weed identification services, including weed and invasive plant ID, herbicide phytotoxicity diagnosis, and herbicide residue management.

Samples of palm trees, turf grass, and tropical fruit trees are best sent to the following labs that have specialized testing available.

Palm samples to the UF/IFAS Plant Diagnostic Center in Gainesville,
Palm - Sample Submission Form

Turf samples to the Rapid Turf Diagnostics Service in Gainesville,
Turf - Sample Submission Form

Tropical fruit samples to the Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) Plant Diagnostic Clinic in Homestead

Clinic invoices can now be paid online! Look for the link in your emailed sample report, or contact us for more info.

Sending Samples for Diagnosis

All samples must include a completed sample submission form. Please include as much detail as possible to help us with diagnosing plant problems. Forms may be submitted electronically (via fax or emailed to kemh@ufl.edu) or printed and included with the physical sample. Be sure to select the correct form for the service requested, either disease diagnosis or weed identification. Both forms include detailed sample submission instructions on the second page of the form.

The samples, including the sample submission form, can be mailed or submitted in person at the following address:

Mailing Address

UF-SWFREC Plant Diagnostic Clinic
2685 State Road 29 North
Immokalee, Florida 34142
Phone: (239) 658-3431
Fax: (239) 658-3403
E-mail: kemh@ufl.edu

Weed identification can be made either by submitting a fresh plant sample to the clinic using one of the methods listed above, or by emailing a high-quality photo to rkanissery@ufl.edu.

For more information about weed identification services, contact Dr. Ramdas Kanissery at rkanissery@ufl.edu or 239-658-3455.