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Analytical services
for growers
Analytical services
What farmers want to know
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
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.
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 cm3 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 oC 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
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.
About 100 g of leaf samples is washed with
water and dried overnight at 60 oC. The
brittle materials is ground to a powder.
The sample is heated in a crucible at high
temperature (540 oC) to form an ash. The ashed
sample is left to cool to room temperature.
10 cm3 of 10% hydrochloric acid is added to the sample. The mixture is
heated on a hot plate (set at 140 oC) 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.
Interpretation of analytical results
Megalab™
Analytical data are received electronically from laboratories around the world.
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.
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.
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