Services & Fees

Please, do not include payment with your sample submission. An invoice will be generated when sample analyses are completed.

The total cost of testing can range from $20.00 to $100.00 for commercial production and from $20.00 to $50.00 for non-commercial production.

Plant Health Analysis
Plant/Weed Identification
Herbicide Resistance in Weeds
Nematode Analysis
Verticillium Analysis (potato soil or stems only)
Insect, Spider, Tick, or Other Arthropod Identification
Pesticide Analysis Samples
Special Procedures
Online Bill Payment

1. Plant Health Analysis

Basic Sample Submission

In-state sample submission – $20.00
Out-of-state sample submission – $40.00

Samples submitted for Plant Health Analysis are charged a basic submission fee according to the place of origin. This fee includes visual and microscopic inspection of the plant sample for infectious/non-infectious diseases, assessment of insect-feeding injury and insect identification, culturing for bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes, and measurement of soil pH and soluble salts.
Additional testing services will be charged as described below.

Add-on Testing Services

In-house serological test – $10.00

Additional serological tests (ELISA and/or ImmunoStrips) are available at $5.00 each.
The lab has limited availability of serological test kits for viruses and bacterial pathogens. This allows for rapid and sensitive testing for specific pathogens. Contact us to learn more about the available tests.

Bacterial identification (BIOLOG®) – $15.00

Upon request and based on culture results, a BIOLOG® metabolic analysis can be conducted.

Molecular pathogen identification – $45.00

Upon request and depending on the available barcodes, identification to genus or species (when possible) level can be conducted.

Molecular pathogen detection (PCR/qPCR) – $25.00 (first DNA test) / $30.00 (first RNA test)

Upon request and/or based on culture results, detection of specific bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes can be conducted.
List of available molecular tests:
- Bacterial leaf scorch (Xylella fastidiosa)
- Beech leaf disease (Litylenchus crenatae subsp. mccannii)
- Blueberry scorch (Blueberry scorch virus)
- Blueberry mosaic (Blueberry mosaic associated virus)
- Dry bean bacterial diseases
- Fire blight (Erwinia amylovora)
- Fusarium dry rot (Fusarium sambucinum)
- Grapevine viruses (panel of 10 tests)
- Hop viruses and viroids (panel of 6 tests)
- Oak wilt (Bretziella fagacearum)
- Phytophthora diseases
- Phytoplasma diseases
- Soft rot bacteria (Pectobacterium and Dickeya)
- Soybean brown stem rot (Phialophora gregata)
- Soybean sudden death syndrome (Fusarium virguliforme)
- Tar spot of corn (Phyllachora maydis)
- Tobacco rattle in ornamentals/corky ringspot in potatoes (Tobacco rattle virus)
- Tomato necrotic spot virus
- Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahliae)

An additional molecular test run on the same sample is charged at $10.00 each.

U.S. regulated pathogen detection (qPCR) - $150.00 (basic sample submission fee does not apply)

Ramorum blight (Phytophthora ramorum)

2. Plant / Weed Identification

Out-of-state samples are charged double.

Common plant ID – $10.00

Plants may be mailed in or dropped off for identification.

Key-out plant ID - $20.00

Specimens that require extra time and effort (key-out ID).

Digital plant ID

Please note that specific identification is not always possible from digital images.

We reserve the right to limit identifications via digital images based on current sample volume.

Digital ID of 1-3 different plants – No charge
Digital ID of additional plants after 3 – $10.00 each

Hay examination for toxic plants – Starting at $20.00 (We do not offer nutritional analysis of hay)

We will examine hay samples suspected of containing toxic plants as related to the health and safety of animals. Fees for this service begin at $20.00 and increase depending on the size of the sample submitted to the lab. We are not able to examine an entire bale of hay. To ensure the appropriate sample size is submitted, please contact Erin Hill - hiller12@msu.edu or Angie Tenney - millera3@msu.edu at MSU Plant & Pest Diagnostics.

3. Herbicide Resistance in Weeds

Out-of-state samples are charged double.

Herbicide resistance screening – $90.00

Learn about herbicide resistance in weeds and how to submit samples.
Testing includes multiple sites of action, based on seed quantity and quality.
MI soybean growers qualify for free testing of the following species courtesy of the Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee:
- Palmer amaranth
- Waterhemp
- Horseweed/marestail
- Common lambsquarters
- Common ragweed
- Giant ragweed

We reserve the right to limit herbicide-resistance samples based on current sample volume and space limitations.

4. Nematode Analysis

Out-of-state samples are charged double.

Basic nematode analysis – $25.00

Includes the identification of all plant-parasitic nematodes found in the soil and roots. This is the standard nematode analysis most clients request.

Foliar nematode analysis – $25.00

Reports any nematodes detected in leaf tissue submitted to the lab.

Garlic bloat nematode - $25.00

Reports any nematodes detected on garlic bulbs (10 bulbs required per variety).

Pinewood nematode analysis - $25.00

Reports any nematodes detected from wood samples submitted to the lab.
Please refer to our Pinewood Nematode Sampling Protocol for nematode samples (section 4).

Nematode trophic composition – $50.00

In addition to the counting and identification of plant-parasitic nematodes (basic nematode analysis), beneficial nematodes, mycorrhizal fungi, and microscopic earthworms are also counted. The nematodes are separated out into functional or trophic groups such as bacterial-feeding, fungal-feeding, and predatory.

Full SCN type testing – $145.00 (Includes basic nematode analysis)

Screens against 7 sources of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistance. This test requires at least a gallon bag full of soil (if sufficient nematode populations are present).

Mini SCN type testing – $100.00 (Includes basic nematode analysis)

Screens against 4 sources of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) resistance. This test requires at least 2 quarts of soil (if sufficient nematode populations are present).

5. Verticillium Soil Analysis

Out-of-state samples are charged double.

Wet sieving – $25.00

Ten grams of air-dried soil are plated for counting colonies of V. dahliae.

6. Insect, Spider, Tick, or Other Arthropod Identification

Out-of-state samples are charged double.

Common insect ID – $10.00

Arthropod specimens may be mailed in or dropped off for identification.

Key-out insect ID – $20.00

Specimens that require extra time and effort (key-out ID).

7. Pesticide Analysis Samples

MSU Plant & Pest Diagnostics does not test for pesticide residues in-house, however, a list of recommended agencies that conduct such tests is available upon request.