SCIENTIFIC NAMES VS. ACRONYMS

Our Seed Health Lab and Customer Care staff are asking for your help! We much appreciate the use of scientific names (particularly the last part of a name) when submitting samples for testing instead of abbreviations or internal acronyms.

Here are a few situations we commonly see where it is easy to make a mistake:

  1. Company A uses PSP for Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola (halo blight of common beans) but Company B uses PSP to mean Pseudomonas syringae pv. pisi (bacterial blight of pea). Even ‘phaseolicola’ or ‘pisi’ would help to connect the right pathogen with the right test.
  2. Company C uses XCC for Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (black rot of crucifers) but Company D uses XCC to mean Xanthomonas campestris pv. cucurbitae (bacterial leaf spot of cucurbits).
  3. We have examples with fungi too, where a company lists their internal code for a pathogen, but that code may not be familiar or it may match a code for a different pathogen.

This creates confusion when entering samples as we might not have people who are deeply familiar with which disease occurs on which crop.

 

UPDATED PLANT DATE EMAILS – GERMINATION

Late last week we rolled out an addition to the plant date emails that you have been receiving from us. The emails will now contain an “ETC” (estimated time of completion). Please note the Customer Care office works to send out report results twice a day, around noon and again at 4pm. As long as there is no other reason for delay you should see your results the day they are read.

 

FREE WEBINAR SERIES

Join us live for our FREE Seed Science & Technology Webinar Series!

The Graduate Program in Seed Technology and Business (STB) at Iowa State University is excited to bring you a webinar series overviewing new technologies in the seed industry.

Topics include:

  • Physiological Testing and Digital Imaging Analysis
  • USDA’s Seed Liaison Initiative
  • Seed: The Heart of the Acre. Drone Scouting: The Brain of the Acre.
  • Blind Spots in Agriculture and Food Markets

Please register to join us for this free continuing education opportunity. Webinars begin at 12:00 noon CSDT every Tuesday in November (November 7, 14, 21, 28)