The UPLB-IWEP Pest Clinic and Diagnostic Services (PEST CLINIC), previously known as the UPLB Plant Pest Clinic, is an extension program of the Institute of Weed Science, Entomology and Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and Food Science, University of the Philippines Los Banos. The Pest Clinic was established in 1967 at the Department of Plant Pathology led by Dr. Florendo C. Quebral. It became an effective department extension mechanism to address the plant disease problems of farmers by providing services for accurate plant disease diagnosis. With the initial success, the Clinic was reorganized in November 1977, by the joint effort of the then Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Agronomy (Weed Science Division) to increase its operational scope. Through the years, the original project thrusts and activities have undergone many changes to meet the changing needs of its addressed clientele.
The PEST CLINIC Program provides crop protection services through diagnostics, pest management recommendations, technical advisories, training, and pest information. The program supports agricultural stakeholders, such as farmers, private and corporate farms, government institutions, and the academic community, in crop protection by helping them properly identify and effectively manage pest problems. The Pest Clinic facility consists of an office and the various laboratories of faculty and REPS, where diagnosis is conducted.
Pest Clinic Services:
I. Diagnostics
It provides diagnostic services for accurately identifying the common and emerging insect pests, diseases, and weeds affecting various crops; virus indexing for disease-free certification using various diagnostic techniques. The following laboratory analyses are applied for diagnosis based on the client’s needs.
- Visual Inspection or symptomatology
- Microscopy analysis
- Pathogen isolation and pathogenicity testing
- Pest taxonomic identification
- Serological testing (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay)
- Molecular testing (polymerase chain reaction, nucleotide sequence analysis, etc.)
Laboratory Testing
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- Visual assessment
- Microscopy analysis
- Pathogen isolation and processing
- Serological testing (Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay)
- Molecular testing (Polymerase Chain Reaction, Nucleotide Sequencing, etc.)
The services at the PEST CLINIC are conducted through:
- Consultations (walk-ins, face-to face, virtual)
- Field visits to pest problem areas
- Pest Clinic on wheels
Diagnosis is performed the Technical Experts (TE) composed of IWEP Faculty Members and Research and Extension Personnel Staff (REPS) with their respective fields of specialization in Weed Science, Entomology, and Plant Pathology. It provides technical advisory and pest management recommendations and offers pest identification and management.
II. Pest Management recommendations and technical advisories, and quick response
The PEST Clinic Provides clients with technical assistance, expert advice, and pest management recommendations to help them address and effectively manage their pest problems.
III. Pest reference collection
IWEP stores specimens of disease plants, insect pests, and weeds. These specimens serve as reference collections for diagnostics.
IV. Training
Training programs on “Pest Identification, Diagnosis, and Management are offered by the PEST Clinic based on client’s needs.
V. Pest Information
The PEST Clinic provides information on important and emerging pests, including insect pests, diseases, and weeds, that affect the country’s major crops and their identification, diagnosis, and management.
VI. Sales of mosquito eggs and adults
Pest clinic also accommodates the sale of Aedes aegypti eggs and adults for research purposes only.
Clients
The Pest Clinic supports various stakeholders such as farmers, private and corporate farms, government institutions, and the academic community in aspects of crop protection by helping them to properly identify, diagnose and effectively manage pest problems.
INSTITUTE OF WEED SCIENCE, ENTOMOLOGY AND PLANT PATHOLOGY
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Pest Clinic and Diagnostic Services |
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NAME |
FIELD OF SPECIALIZATION |
LABORATORY |
CROP/COMMODITY |
ORGANISM (Insect, Weeds, Pathogen, etc.) |
DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES/ADVISORY |
MARY JOY M. ABIT, PhD |
Herbicide Physiology; Herbicide Resistance; Application Technology |
Annual and Perennial Crops, Non-Agricultural /Non-Crop |
Weeds |
Weed Problem Assessment, Diagnosis and Recommendations in Crop and Non-Crop Areas |
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JESSAMYN R. ADORADA, PhD |
Insect Systematics |
Insect Taxonomy Laboratory |
Agricultural and Non-Agricultural |
Insects |
Insect Identification and Verification |
KAREN B. ALVIAR, PhD |
Insect Physiology and Biochemistry; Insect vector-pathogen-plant interaction |
Insect Physiology Laboratory |
Rice, corn, vegetables |
Insects, Pathogen |
Insect vector identification; Protein-protein interaction; RNAi biotechnology application in insect-pathogen-plant system |
JOHNNY F. BALIDION, PhD |
Plant Virology |
Host-Pathogen Interaction Laboratory |
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BERNARD O. BUDOT, MS |
Genetics of Resistance of Plant Diseases |
Field Crops Disease Laboratory |
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BARBARA L. CAOILI, PhD |
Insect Pathology, Insect Molecular Biology, Insect Pest Management |
Insect Pathology and Molecular Biology Laboratory |
Rice, corn, vegetables, agricultural and non-agricultural |
Insects and entomopathogens |
Isolation and Identification of entomopathogens; DNA barcoding of entomopathogens, DNA barcoding of insects |
JOSE EMMANUEL I. DE LUNA, MS |
Insecticide Toxicology; Urban Pest Management |
Insect Transmission of Plant Pathogen Laboratory (ITPPL) |
Agricultural and Non-Agricultural |
Insects |
Insect identification |
NINA GRACEL B. DIMAANO, PhD |
Genetics & Resistance of Weeds |
Agricultural and Non-Agricultural |
Weeds |
Weed Identification |
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KATHLEEN T. DIZON, MS |
Insecticide Toxicology and Biochemistry |
Insecticide Toxicology Laboratory |
Agricultural and Non-Agricultural |
Insects |
Insect identification |
REX JOSEPH DJ. ENABORE, BS |
Insect Ecology; Acarology |
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ROMNICK A. LATINA, MS |
Phytonematology |
Tropical Phytonematology Laboratory |
Agricultural and Non-Agricultural |
Plant-parasitic Nematodes |
Nematode identification |
JOHN BETHANY M. MACASERO, MS |
Plant Disease Epidemiology; Disease Management |
Plant Disease Epidemiology Laboratory |
Rice/Corn |
Plant Pathogens |
Diagnosis of Plant Diseases and Recommendation of Management Practices |
JULIE AIZA L. MANDAP, MS |
Postharvest Pathology |
Post-harvest Disease Laboratory |
Corn, sorghum, rice, fruits |
Plant Pathogenic Fungi |
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CELIA dR. MEDINA, PhD |
Insect Ecology, Biological Control, Insect Pest Management |
Insect Ecology Laboratory |
Mango, rice, corn, coconut, legumes |
Insects |
Diagnosis, Population Sampling, Insecticide Resistance Management, Insect Pest Management |
IRENEO B. PANGGA, PhD |
Plant Disease Epidemiology |
Plant Disease Epidemiology Laboratory |
rice, corn, |
plant pathogens |
diagnosis |
ANALIZA HENEDINA M. RAMIREZ, PhD |
Weed Biology & Ecology; Herbicide Resistance Management |
Weed Ecology and Biology Laboratory |
annual and perennial crops; agricultural and non-agricultural environments |
Weeds, |
Weed Identification, weed problem assessment and Management |
PEE-JAY A. REJUSO, MS |
Insect Ecology; Host-Plant Interaction |
Insect Biological Control Laboratory |
Mango, coconut, corn |
Insects |
Diagnosis, Pest Sampling, Pest management |
FILOMENA C. STA. CRUZ, PhD |
Plant Virology |
Plant Virology Laboratory |
Vegetables Crops, Rice, Corn, Abaca, Banana,, Citrus, Cassava, Coconut, Garlic, Papaya, Pineapple, etc |
Virus, phytoplasma and viroids |
Diagnosis of plant virus, phytoplasma and viroid diseases; serological and molecular testing; virus indexing of planting materials; and disease management advisory |
CLARE HAZEL R. TABERNILLA, BS |
Weed Biological Control |
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Rice & vegetable |
Weeds |
Weed Identification |
SHERYL A. YAP, PhD |
Insect Taxonomy |
Pest Databasing and Forecasting Laboratory |
All crops (agircultural and non-agricultural) |
Insects |
Insect identification |
ANNABELLE B. ALBAYTAR, MS |
Insect Biological Control; Urban Pest Management |
Calamansi, vegetables, stored grains |
insects |
Diagnosis |
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GELYN D. SAPIN, PhD |
Urban Pest Management; Insect Genetics and Molecular Biology |
corn, vegetables |
insects |
termite management; insect management in corn |
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JOSELITO E. VILLA, PhD |
Genetics & Resistance of Plant Diseases |
Rice, corn, vegetables, banana, mango |
Plant pathogens |
Diagnosis |
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SUSAN T. BACUD, PhD |
Community Pest Management; Community Development; Livelihood Resiliene |
I. Submission of Request
Request can be submitted using Google Form or by letter to the IWEP Director through [email protected]
II. Submission of specimen
- Clients may submit specimens to Room B-224, Institute of Biological Sciences Building, University of the Philippines Los Banos, Laguna, or send them via courier service.
- The Pest Clinic accepts following specimens:
a. Plant specimens with disease signs or symptoms
b. Weed specimens
c. Insect specimens or plant products with insect damage - Upon submission, clients shall fill out the Pest Clinic Information Sheet . The accomplished sheet shall be presented to the Pest Clinic Staff upon submission. (include form with list of samples)
III. Pest identification and disease diagnosis
- The specimen is forwarded to a Technical Expert for evaluation and laboratory analysis based on the client’s needs:
- Visual inspection /symptomatology
- Microscopy analysis
- Pathogen isolation and pathogenicity testing
- Pest taxonomic identification
- Serological testing (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
- Molecular testing (polymerase chain reaction, reverse transcription-PCR))
- Genomics (nucleotide sequence analysis)
- Diagnostic report and recommendation
Clients will be notified within seven working days of specimen submission of the availability of a Diagnostic Report or update on the analysis. The Diagnostic Report may be picked up or emailed to the client.
- Further analysis
If necessary, the technical expert may request a field visit to the area where the specimen is collected. Clients may also request a visit to their farm by submitting a request letter addressed to the IWEP Director.
- Service Fees and Charges
Should further analysis be needed, appropriate service fees may be charged. Charges will be communicated accordingly and paid through UPLB Foundation Inc. Rate
VII. Sale of Biological Specimen
Pest Clinic also accommodates the sale of Aedes aegypti eggs (Php 2.00 each) for research purposes. A request letter to the IWEP Director may be emailed to [email protected] or personally brought to IWEP. The letter must include the following details:
- Quantity of mosquito eggs to be purchased
- Research title
- Preferred date of pick-up
- Signatures of class adviser/project leaders and members
Section Under Construction