Plant Disease Identification

Despite of the development of modern agriculture techniques, plant disease caused by pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.) remains a big threat for today’s agricultural industry. Noticeably, it is reported that 20%-40% global food loss is caused by plant pathogen infections. One of the most essential approach to minimize the damage is to accurately detect and identify plant diseases as early as possible, so that proper preventions or treatments can be applied.

Lifeasible, as a leading plant biotechnology company with outstanding expertise in plant physiology, molecular biology and biochemistry, proudly offers tailored plant disease detection services supported by cutting-edge technologies. Based on differential plant species, pathogen sources, as well as specific experimental purposes, we provide a wide range of detection methods for plant diseases:

• Thermography method. As a quick and easy check for plant diseases, thermographic imaging can detect temperature change on plant leaves and canopies, which is often caused by abnormal respirations.
• Hyperspectral method. Utilizing hyperspectral technique, changes in reflectance of plants can be detected, which potentially indicate plant diseases.
• Gas chromatography (GC). Certain pathogen infections could cause specific volatile organic compounds (VOC). Combined with mass spectrometry (MS), the GC-MS can accurately identify compounds within the VOC, which directly reflect the disease experienced by plants.
• Fluorescent imaging. Chlorophyll fluorescence is analyzed for changes in the photosynthetic apparatus and electron transport reactions.
• Biosensor detection. Biosensors, such as enzymes, antibodies, nucleic acids (DNA/RNA), bacteriophages, can be utilized for the detection of biochemical, electrical or vibrational signal changes that potentially indicate plant diseases.
• Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Based on the amplification of targeted nucleic acid sequences, The PCR method is an efficient way for the detection of diseased caused by bacteria and viruses, with high fidelity and accuracy.
• Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Upon pathogen infection, the pathogen-specific ribosomal RNA (rRNA) can be detected in plants by FISH.
• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Utilizing antibodies that target pathogen-specific antigens, plant diseases can be detected by color changes.
• Immunofluorescence (IF). Fluorophore-labeled antibodies are utilized for the detection of pathogens in plant tissues.
• Flow cytometry (FCM). As a rapid, high-throughput approach to enumerate, characterize and sort cells, the FCM method is suitable for the detection of soil borne bacteria.

What attracts our customers is that we offer diagnostic services for forage diseases, especially for rapid and accurate identification and diagnosis of alfalfa diseases, including seedling alfalfa diseases, root rot, crown and stem rots, leaf and stem rot, foliar diseases, abiotic disease symptoms, etc.

Lifeasible is devoted to delivering reliable, cutting-edge technologies to improve food security and agricultural sustainability. With years of experience in the study of plant pathology, and the strong support from our excellent teams of scientists and crop experts, we provide both direct and indirect detection approaches for plant pathogens and diseases, enabling accurate detection of plant diseases at early stage.