Agronomic Division — 2011 Annual Report
Colleen Hudak-Wise, Ph.D., director, (919) 733-2655
Service
The Agronomic Division serves North Carolina residents by providing soil testing, plant
tissue analysis, waste analysis, solution analysis, nematode assay and expert advice
regarding plant nutrient management. This year, the division made several changes that
have improved the quality and scope of these services. Some notable milestones for 201 1
include
1) near-completion of Phase II of the programming of a new laboratory
information management system (LIMS),
2) design progress on an upgrade to our public access laboratory-information-
management system (PALS),
3) planning and implementation of a third plasticulture workshop with funding
from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission,
4) hosting of the Southern Extension and Research Activity Information
Exchange Group 6 (SERA-IEG-6) annual meeting, June 19-21, 201 1,
5) setting of a new all-time record for number of soil samples analyzed in a
single fiscal year;
6) implementation of a fee-based, expedited-analysis option for high- volume, ag-
related soil samples, and
7) reception of $48,500 in grant funding from N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund
Commission to initiate a service for the identification of root-knot nematode
species through PCR molecular diagnosis (Oct 201 1 -Dec 2012).
In the fall of 2008, the division received a $455,600 grant through the N.C. Tobacco
Trust Fund Commission for the redesign of its LIMS. Phase I of this project was
completed in October 2010. A new team of programmers worked throughout 2011 on
Phase II of the project. At the close of the year, the bulk of this programming effort is
essentially complete. Implementation is expected July 2012.
To accompany the LIMS redesign, computer analyst Jingqing Ren revised and updated
PALS, the client’s Web interface to LIMS, to render it more functional and user friendly.
The new site will be multifunctional, enabling clients to enter and submit sample
information, track package arrival with barcodes, search for reports, download data and
manage user accounts. This upgrade will be available to clients as soon as the new LIMS
is finalized and placed into operation.
