The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) Plant Health Program provides laboratory testing services to detect seed-borne bacteria, fungi, nematodes, pests, and other miscellaneous problems on seeds of grasses, clover, alfalfa, flowers, and other crops. We also test for endophytes such as Neotyphodium spp. in tall fescue and perennial ryegrass seed. We provide pest & disease visual inspections necessary for issuance of phytosanitary certificates.
We provide these services at the request of Oregon seed producers to meet phytosanitary requirements of their domestic and international customers. All samples for official phytosanitary certification must be collected by an official inspector from the
ODA Certification and Inspection Program or another regulatory agency.
Receive email updates
To stay up to date on all matters related to seed testing for export, field inspection, phytosanitary requirements, seed regulatory issues, or other changes or updates related to the ODA's seed testing or regulatory program, join our email list!
How do I request sampling and testing?
Official sampling is provided by the Certification and Inspection Program.
Instructions for both seed sampling and testing.
What is a Pest & Disease (P&D) Inspection?
A P&D is a visual inspection of a seed sample for diseases, insects, pests, weed seeds, soil, and other contaminants. In a standard test, contaminants such as soil, sclerotia, weed seeds, insects, infected seeds, or nematode cysts will be removed from the sample for further analysis. Seeds infected with ergot (Claviceps purpurea) will be quantified, weed seeds will be identified, and other infestations reported as found. Percent soil contamination will also be quantified as requested.
For phytosanitary certificates, testing must be done on official samples, collected by the ODA or another regulatory agency.
What are the fees associated with this program?
Fees are set forth by OAR-603-052-1150.
| Spore wash and microscopic examination per fungal species |
$50 |
| Fifty-seed stain and immunoblot for endophyte |
$85 |
| Seed, soil or tissue test for nematodes |
$35 |
| Visual exam for regulated contaminants |
$45 |
| Visual exam for regulated pests and regulated contaminants |
$70 |
| Isolation on standard growth media |
$35 |
| Growth media pH and conductivity |
$35 |
| Seed grow out for bacteria |
$140 |
| ELISA for virus detection in seed |
$140 |
How soon will I get my results?
Typical turnaround times are listed below and represent contiguous working days.
No testing is guaranteed to take less than 14 days. Due to the testing requirements, some tests are only done certain days of the week.
- Pest & Disease (P&D) visual inspection: 1-2 days
- Soil inspection: 1-2 days
- Spore wash for fungal species: 1-2 days
- Endophyte analysis: 2 days
- Tests are done on Tuesday and Wednesday
- Nematode extraction and identification: 2 days
- Tests are done Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
- Samples submitted Thursday or Friday will be held until the following Monday.
- Bacteria or Fungi Isolation on standard media: 2-4 weeks
- Virus detection in seed (ELISA or other molecular test): 2-4 weeks
- PCR or other molecular test for identification of pests or weeds: 2-4 weeks