Using the state’s center for identifying and managing plant diseases will require fees from Maine residents beginning this month.
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s plant disease diagnostic lab in Orono has announced that due to rising test costs it will charge $18 for general tests to identify disease on in-state plant samples and $38 for out-of-state samples.
In addition to general diagnostics, the lab tests for nematodes, fungus, bacteria, viruses and water mold.
Those services were free for the Maine farmers, individual people, nurseries, state departments, businesses and large industries who rely on them for plant health, though the center also reaches elsewhere in the Northeast.
Last year, the lab became the regional center lab of the National Plant Diagnostic Network. The regional network contains 15 laboratories in 12 Northeast states.
As a regional center, the lab identifies and tries to limit plant diseases that could harm local food systems, plant pathologist Alicyn Smart said when the lab took on the regional role last year.
In 2023, the department received 800 physical samples from nine states and another 400 digitally through its new online service, it said. It made the most first detections of disease in Maine ever, including a new fungal disease on tomatoes and fir trees.
The department tested for beech leaf disease for the Maine Forest Service and confirmed its presence in five counties last year.
Speciality tests for residents have been subject to a fee since May 1.
Testing garlic bulbs for nematodes, rot and fungus is $38 in state and $68 out of state.
The lab also completes various tests for fungus, bacteria, viruses and water mold at various prices.
Submitting photos online for identification will run $8.
