So much moisture this season, it's hard to believe that it's May and so many fields have yet to be planted. For corn, the deadline to get the crop in before yield losses are realized is approaching too quickly. One good note though is that our usual early season pest concerns are likely to be minimized. When the season does get into full swing though, we do have pest identification services available to you.

Many of your pest problems can be effectively diagnosed using the University of Illinois Extension Digital Distance Diagnostics Imaging (DDDI) system. This is an online pest diagnostic for your pest troubles in your fields and in your yard.

So how can you utilize this service? The process to submit a sample for DDDI diagnosis or identification is the same as submitting a sample to the U of I Plant Diagnostic Clinic. Bring a high quality representative sample of the plant or pest to your local Extension Unit office. County personnel will ask you to fill out a DDDI sample form and then they will use a digital camera and stereoscopes to take high quality pictures of the plant or pest sample and submit it to the online system. If you have a digital camera and can bring in some 'in field' or 'in yard' digital photos of the situation, the submitting office can use those pictures for the sample as well. The information and pictures then reside on a website that is exclusive to Extension diagnostic personnel for your privacy.

Who is this service most useful to? Just about anyone involved in plant production or who has a yard can benefit from the DDDI system. We have Extension Educators and Specialists throughout the state and on campus with expertise in Agronomy, Plant Pathology, Weed Science, Entomology and Horticulture ready to diagnose and identify production and pest problems on commercial forage, field, vegetable, fruit and turf crops, and home horticulture plant problems. Our DDDI system is available to you year round. Here in Illinois, we also utilize this system as an early warning system for exotic pests such as soybean rust, sudden oak death and others.

Take note, while the DDDI is a considerable leap in increasing the amount of information available to a diagnostician compared to a phone call, it is not appropriate for all samples. Some samples may still need to be sent on to our U of I Plant Clinic for definitive diagnosis.

Stay safe in what is proving to be a very compacted planting season.