Plant disease is a limiting factor in agricultural production in Latin America. Diseases are difficult to control due to high rainfall conditions and the presence of a diversity of plant pathogenic microorganisms and cause losses estimated to be as high as $30 billion per year. The accurate identification of Phytophthora has important implications for growers in Latin America and the US and can improve our knowledge of pathogen biology and ultimately treatment and control of tropical plant diseases. The risk of accidental introduction of Phytophthora species with trade requires continued monitoring and improved diagnostic capabilities. Our overall objective is to produce a platform of tools needed to detect, identify, and ultimately prevent entry of novel species of Phytophthora into the US with a major focus on development of surveillance tools for common and high threat species of Phytophthora on horticultural crops including potato, cacao and floriculture crops from Central America. We deployed a series of “shovel ready” technologies including: a Phytophthora diagnostics workshop held in San Jose Costa Rica in 2010, a Lucid key for species identification, PCR-RFLP and Padlock probes and digital diagnostic identification systems to identify Phytophthora species and improve the diagnostic capabilities for important plant disease clinics in the region. Most recently, the workshop was repeated in 2013 at Zamorano University in Honduras. We are working with collaborators including, FHIA in Honduras, Universidad de Costa Rica, CATIE, The World Cacao Foundation, DOLE Foods, and the Organization of Tropical Studies to conduct surveys of Phytophthora species on horticultural crops in the region. The accurate identification of Phytophthora has important implications for growers in Latin America and the US and resulted in the development of a Latin American Phytophthora Diagnostic Network (LAPDN) in 2010.