The National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN)
is made up of plant and pest experts from the nation’s Land-Grant universities and state laboratories. The network, created by USDA-Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES), is charged with providing a cohesive system to detect pests and pathogens that have been intentionally or unintentially introduced into agricultural and natural ecosystems, identifying them quickly, and reporting them to appropriate responders and decision makers. The network, through the training and use of diagnostic equipment and communication, enables University laboratories affiliated with CSREES to extend the capacity of the federal laboratory system. It is important in reducing overload of the federal laboratory system when a plant/pest outbreak occurs and the number of samples submitted for diagnosis skyrockets.
The NPDN has five regional centers, each of which has a support function for the national network, in addition to providing information unique to its region:
The Integrated Pest Management Centers
are USDA regional centers that, through collaborative networks, inform public and private sector interests about emerging issues and identify farmers' needs and priorities. Working with cooperating Land-Grant institutions, these centers strengthen the connection between production agriculture, research, Extension programs, and agricultural stakeholders throughout the United States. The regions and institutional hosts of their Web sites are as follows:
The National Plant Board is an organization of the plant pest regulatory agencies of each state and Puerto Rico. National Plant Board members work cooperatively with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), APHIS, U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and Agriculture Research Service (ARS) to prevent the entry of new pests and diseases into the country.