Arkansas Plant Health Clinic: Severe flooding in 2025 shaped plant disease trends

April 1, 2026

By Rebekah Hall
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

Fast Facts

  • Fayetteville-based Arkansas Plant Health Clinic receives samples from throughout state
  • Contact your local county extension agent to submit sample
  • Clinic’s mobile diagnostic lab will travel to three Arkansas events in April

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Download photos of Klass at Arkansas Plant Health Clinic

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — In 2025, the Arkansas Plant Health Clinic diagnosed more than 1,500 plant samples from 62 of the state’s 75 counties, including an increased number of plants diagnosed with bacterial diseases after the state saw severe flooding last April.

A woman with brown hair studies a small tree branch with green leaves under a microscope in a lab setting.
STUDYING A SAMPLE — Taylor Klass, head plant pathologist and lead diagnostician for the Arkansas Plant Health Clinic, observes a plant sample submitted to the clinic. (UADA photo by Paden Johnson.) 

The clinic, located in Fayetteville, evaluates diseased plant samples submitted by Arkansans from around the state and provides diagnoses and management recommendations. It is part of the Cooperative Extension Service, the outreach arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Taylor Klass, head plant pathologist and lead diagnostician for the Arkansas Plant Health Clinic, noted that “about 70 percent of plant diseases are caused by fungi,” but wet weather can increase plant disease pressure.

“It was interesting to see a big increase in bacterial diseases because of all the rain we got,” she said.

In total, the Arkansas Plant Health Clinic diagnosed 1,515 plant samples in 2025. Of those, 41 percent were trees and shrubs, and 21.2 percent were turf, or grass. Klass said this ratio is consistent with trends that the clinic has seen over the last several years.

“We get a lot of samples from homeowners, and trees, shrubs and turf are very common in home and commercial landscapes,” Klass said. “They cover a large amount of managed area, are visible and aesthetically important, and they are a major long-term investment.”

Klass said the clinic serves home gardeners, growers and plant professionals across the state.

Among the plant diagnoses made in 2025, Klass said most samples typically had multiple issues.

“Plants that are stressed — whether from a living pathogen that’s causing a disease, or from their environment — are going to be prone to getting other types of infections,” Klass said. “Just like us, when we’re worn down and not getting enough sleep, we’re more likely to get sick.”

Diagnosing problems, improving management

Klass said that with modern technology, it can be tempting to try to determine a plant’s issues with a quick search online or by looking exclusively at a plant’s symptoms.

“The problem is that a lot of plant problems look alike,” Klass said. “You can’t just rely on symptoms to diagnose a plant disease. If you do end up doing that and you get a misdiagnosis, then your management is not going to be effective.

“That’s why we exist — we have all this training, experience and background information that help us provide the best diagnoses so people can manage their diseases and prevent future disease issues,” she said.

To submit a sample to the Arkansas Plant Health Clinic, first contact your local county extension office. Klass said the clinic works closely with the state’s county extension agriculture agents, through whom they receive most of their samples. Each county has access to the lab’s online management system, so if residents bring in a sample to their county office, agents can log those samples and ship them to the clinic.

Klass said that county extension agriculture agents are “always going to be your first line of defense” when it comes to plant health problems.

“They are awesome, and they have a lot of experience,” Klass said. “They might be able to answer a homeowner’s question easily because they’ve already seen that problem in their area. This prevents that sample from being sent all the way here to Fayetteville. If the agent doesn’t know or if they have questions, then they can reach out to us and send the sample on.”

Bringing the lab to you

Arkansas Plant Health Clinic staff will bring the clinic’s mobile diagnostic lab to three events throughout the state in April. Klass said she encourages people to bring plant samples to these events, where they will “give plant advice and attempt to diagnose samples right then and there.”

The events include:

What makes a good sample?

“We stress to people that the more information they can give us about their plant sample, the better our diagnosis is going to be,” Klass said.

Helpful information includes the age of the plant, sun exposure, recent chemical applications, percent of affected plants, date when the problem was first noticed, and the pattern of damage: whether scattered among plants, found in small groups or large groups, or a whole field. Including pictures of the plant that show the environment it’s growing in can also be helpful, as sometimes making changes to the environment can help improve a plant’s condition.

Submitting a sample with plenty of plant material, including roots, will also help the clinic, Klass said.

“We won’t be able to do much with a sample that consists of only a single leaf,” Klass said. “We want a sample that includes some healthy tissue, some tissue in transition and some dead or dying tissue. On a tree branch, for example, that might be the point where some of the branch is still green and some of it is turning brown. This helps us see and have access to where the potential pathogen is actively growing.”

Klass said she encourages people to bring their samples early in the week to their county extension office so that samples can be shipped to the clinic before the end of the week.

“This helps to avoid samples sitting in the mail over the weekend,” Klass said.

Learn more about how to submit a plant sample for diagnosis on the Arkansas Plant Health Clinic website.

Once a sample has been diagnosed, the clinic provides a full report to the owner. The report includes pictures taken throughout the diagnostic process, information about the diagnosis and what category it falls under — whether it’s a fungus, a bacterium, a virus, water mold, or abiotic — along with a written section describing the disease and management strategies that can mitigate it.

“We try to include control options that fall under multiple categories, such as cultural, mechanical, and chemical controls,” Klass said. “You need to employ multiple methods of control. If you just rely on pesticides, it’s not going to work too well.”

Visit the Arkansas Plant Health Clinic website for more information or sign up for the clinic’s newsletter. The Arkansas Plant Health Clinic can also be found on Facebook and Instagram.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. To learn more about ag and food research in Arkansas, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station at aaes.uada.edu.

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system. 

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.  

Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.

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Media Contact:
Rebekah Hall 
rkhall@uada.edu  
501-671-2061