Services
Weed Identification
The UT Weed Diagnostics Center offers two methods of weed identification: basic or molecular.
Basic weed identification involves sending a fresh plant sample for morphological analysis. This will be appropriate for most samples.
Cost: $29 per sample (within TN) or $39 per sample (outside of TN)
Molecular weed identification uses internally transcribed spacer DNA to identify unknown plants. Genomic DNA will be extracted from plant tissues and used as a template for amplification of the ITS region. Amplified products will be purified and sent for sequencing. Sequences will be entered in a Blast search in GenBank and identified by sequence identity (≥ 98%). The WDC will maintain an ITS sequence and DNA library of weeds for future reference and study.
Cost: $699 per sample (within TN) or $799 per sample (outside of TN)
Resistance Screening
The UT Weed Diagnostics Center (WDC) offers three methods of herbicide resistance screening: traditional whole plant screening, rapid resistance screening, or molecular resistance screening.
Traditional whole plant screening involves culturing submitted samples for seed collection, planting progeny (along with known resistant and susceptible standards) and exposing germplasm to a discriminatory rate of a single herbicide. All tests will be replicated three times. In the event a known resistant standard is not available for the weed submitted, samples will be screened with known susceptible sample of the same species and exposed to a discriminatory rate of herbicide
Cost: $1499 (within TN) or $1599 (outside of TN)
Rapid resistance screening is conducted in agar/gel culture using known resistant and susceptible lines of a given weed species. A discriminatory rate of an herbicide of interest will be loaded into the agar/gel and responses will be monitored. All diagnostic tests will be replicated five times.
At present, this test can only be used to screen for acetolactate synthase (ALS; e.g., trifloxysulfuron), dinitroaniline (e.g., prodiamine), cellulose biosynthesis inhibitor (e.g., indaziflam), and 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (e.g., glyphosate) inhibitor resistance in Poa annua. Please consult the WDC if interested in using this technique with other weed species.
Cost: $649 (within TN) or $749 (outside of TN)
Molecular resistance screening involves extracting DNA from plant tissue and sequencing known herbicide target sites to identify the presence of mutations associated with herbicide resistance.
Cost: $2999 (within TN) or $3299 (outside of TN)
Off-Type Assessment
Bermudagrass samples will be placed in a controlled environmental chamber until producing a minimum of ten stolons with at least four nodes. Morphological characterization will include stolon internode length and diameter, leaf blade length, and leaf width using digital calipers. The UT WDC requests that all samples are given non-identifiable labels, material submitted includes both desirable and undesirable bermudagrass from the putting surface, as well as bermudagrass from surrounding fairways/collars.
Cost: $349 (within TN) or $449 (outside of TN)