The Master Gardener program is a CAFE featured program and a major initiative for participating counties. Many Master Gardener volunteers assist county agents by accepting samples, completing homeowner site visits, fielding phone calls from homeowners, and/or providing general diagnostic assistance. As diagnosis of plant problems is a challenging and often intimidating process, many volunteers are timid to participate in these programs. In order to provide Master Gardeners with additional education and experience with plant disease diagnosis, the Advanced Plant Disease Diagnosis Master Gardener Program Part 2 was developed. 

This 4 hour program consists of a 45 minute presentation that provides a quick review of plant pathogens and the diagnostic process, as well as an introduction to steps for making recommendations to clients. Participants spend 2 hours working through a series of case studies to determine the potential causes of plant problems, along with developing a recommendation for clients. Case studies were developed to mimic real life situations, such as difficult clients and inadequate samples. All case studies required participants to work with live plant samples. The program concludes with a group discussion of the appropriate recommendations for each case study. 

 A survey of participants showed an increase in understanding of diagnosis of plant problems (52%) and management recommendations (52%). Individuals that participated in the program indicated an increased level of confidence in the areas of establishing next steps in determining possible causes (32%), working through the diagnostic process (35%), Working with challenging clients (23%), and making management recommendations (32%). Ninety-four percent of attendees indicated that they wanted to learn more on the topic. Several individuals commented that the program increased their confidence in diagnostics, with one individual stating, “I liked the hands-on approach - this program is invaluable to resolve problems we encounter in Help line.” Through this train-the-trainer program, Master Gardeners gain skills and knowledge that can be used to educate the numerous individuals they have contact with.