The 2019 community outreach event for the diagnosing plant disorders class will be held Oct.14 at the Fabian Garcia Science Center with the help of Professor Soum Sanogo and his students. (Courtesy photo)

 New Mexico State University students enrolled in this year’s diagnosing plant disorders class will hold an outreach event for the community from 1:30 to 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14, at the Fabian Garcia Science Center, 113 W. University Ave.

Community members can bring any legal plant to be examined by the students who will practice what they have learned in class to diagnose the plant.

“This event provides the community with information on the educational programming at NMSU that prepares students to tackle plant problems faced by the community in Las Cruces and surrounding areas. Wherever anything grows, from our natural forest ecosystems to our managed agro-ecosystems and urban landscapes, there are associated lurking problems. The diagnosing plant disorders course has been designed to equip students with skills to tackle plant problems,” said Soum Sanogo, professor of Fungal Plant Pathology in the Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science. 

Students will also address questions pertaining to plant health such as pests, diseases and nutritional disorders. They will be assisted by various professors in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences including Sanogo, Extension Entomologist Carol Sutherland, Extension Weed Scientist Leslie Beck, Professor of Plant Mineral Nutrition Geno Picchioni and a Diagnostician of the NMSU Plant Diagnostic Clinic Philip Lujan.

For more information on the event contact Sanogo at 575-646-6484 or ssanogo@nmsu.edu.