Analytical services for growers

Analytical services What farmers want to know Farmers and other growers send sample of soil, leaf tissue and fertilisers. They want to know about the nutrient content of the these samples. This enables them to treat their soil with fertilisers and liming materials to ensure the best possible yields of crops. Signs of nutrient deficiency Analysis enables the amount of nutrients in samples to be determined. Nutrients fall into three groups: Primary nutrients - 100’s kg / hectare needed Nitrogen, N Phosphorous, P Potassium, K Secondary nutrients - 10’s kg / hectare needed Magnesium, Mg Calcium, Ca Sulfur, S Micronutrients - 1’s kg / hectare needed Boron, B Copper, Cu Iron, Fe Manganese, Mn Molybdenum, Mo Zinc, Zn Click here to see the effect of nutrient deficiencies

Soil analysis Available nutrients Some nutrients are bound tightly to soil particles, but other are held more loosely. It is the weaker bound nutrients that get into soil water and become available to plants. In the analytical laboratory, key information for most growers is the amount of available nutrients in soil. This is determined in the analytical laboratory. Results are interpreted and the grower is offered advice on treatments that will improve the soil and, therefore, the quality and yield of crops. Total nutrient content of soil and heavy metal testing Available nutrients can be extracted from soil at room temperature. However, there are nutrients more firmly bound to soil particles which are not available to plants. In the laboratory these can be extracted 1 g of sample is placed in a PTFE tube and 12 cm 3 of reverse aqua regia (3 parts concentrated nitric acid + 1 part concentrated hydrochloric acid) are added. A cap screwed onto the tube which is placed in a microwave oven. The mixture is heated to 180 o C for 30 minutes at a pressure of about 4000 kPa. After cooling, the mixture is diluted, filtered and then analysed in the spectrometer.

Leaf analysis About 100 g of leaf samples is washed with water and dried overnight at 60 o C. The brittle materials is ground to a powder. The sample is heated in a crucible at high temperature (540 o C) to form an ash. The ashed sample is left to cool to room temperature. 10 cm 3 of 10% hydrochloric acid is added to the sample. The mixture is heated on a hot plate (set at 140 o C) for fifteen minutes. It is left to cool before filtering. The cooled mixture is filtered and diluted for analysis. The filtered solutions are analysed robotically in an optical emission spectrometer in the same way as soil samples. Sample preparation for analysis The nutrient content of leaves and other plant material can also be determined. Sample preparation for analysis is slightly different to that for soil samples. Click to follow the sequence.

Interpretation of analytical results Megalab™ Megalab™ is an Internet based system that provides interpretation and biometric data services from agricultural analysis. It receives and processes data from Yara Analytical Services laboratory. It also receives and processes data from network of partner laboratories in Europe, North and South America, Australasia, South Africa and the Far East. Megalab™ operates 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. It handles around 200,000 to 250,000 samples annually. Analytical data are received electronically from laboratories around the world. Results may be sent, together with their interpretation, electronically or on paper-based report forms.

Nutrient deficiency The controlled environment greenhouse At Yara plants can be grown under carefully controlled conditions, including light, temperature and watering. There are two reasons for doing this: to show clients the effects of nutrient deficiencies on crops they may be growing or planning to grow; to assess the effectiveness of new fertiliser formulations. In the video clips, David Bilsborough, Foliar and Micronutrient Technical Manager at Yara, describes the effects of nutrient deficiencies. Back to Analytical services