The National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) is managed by USDA NIFA and APHIS.  The NPDN was established by the USDA Homeland Security Office to develop a link among academic plant disease diagnostic laboratories across the country.  The mission of NPDN is to enhance national agricultural security through rapid detection, diagnosis, and early communication of outbreaks of potentially damaging pests of food, feed, fiber, fuel crops, and forest trees.  NPDN is designed to quickly detect and identify high consequence pests and pathogens introduced – deliberately or accidentally – into commercial and natural ecosystems and to report them to appropriate responders and decision makers.  The network collaborates with county and State extension agents, State departments of agriculture, and the USDA APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) during outbreaks and for implementation of its mission. NPDN laboratory system includes access to 60 nationally distributed support laboratories which include state or territory department of agriculture and the university public plant diagnostic clinics. The NPDN functions of these laboratories are coordinated through five NPDN regional laboratories (Northeast, Great Plains, North Central, Western, and Southern) and in communication with the APHIS PPQ Center for Plant Health Science and Technology Lab in Beltsville, MD. and APHIS PPQ headquarters. For more information on NPDN, please visit: http://www.npdn.org/