We work with growers of food and medicine to assess nutritional deficiencies and optimize plant nutrition yielding healthier crops, reduces fertilizer waste and contribute to the stewardship of the soil.
Agronomic analyses are of major importance whether you are a large-scale agricultural operation or a home gardener. These assessments can give foresight into a pending nutrient imbalance and allow a cultivator to actualize their overall crop and soil health potential. By monitoring nutritional distribution within a cultivators operation, one can make informed decisions that will impact the crop and the land for many growing seasons into the future.
Total Nitrogen (N) and Organic Carbon (C)
Total elemental nitrogen analysis can be the single most important test performed to determine the health status of a crop or the suitability of a soil to support growth during the growing season. We perform Total Nitrogen and Organic Carbon analysis using the combustion method rather than the older Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) method. This reduces hazardous waste generation in the lab, yields less variability in the data, and provides a lower limit of detection.
Instrumentation
Carbon/Nitrogen Analyzer (Combustion method)
Total Nutritive Elements
(P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, S, Cu, Zn, Mn, B, Al, and Fe) analysis (Soil)
Total elemental analysis of soils give a grower a sense of the total distribution of nutritional elements within a soil or media. This is only possible by completely dissolving the soil or media using strong mineral acid.
This analysis reports even the most stable of mineral elements, providing the capacity to make decisions that will impact the current crop and improve the tilth of the land or media for years to come.
Instrumentation
ICP-OE
Soil Extractable Ammonium and Nitrate
Extractable nitrate and ammonium concentrations in the soil give the cultivator insight into what is presently taking place and what will happen biologically a month or two into the growing season. In terms of pH alone, one can infer a great deal regarding overall nutrient availability. Most plants will preferentially uptake nitrate at lower pH values and ammonium when pH is closer to neutral.
Energetically, ammonium is less costly to uptake and transport, but the hidden cost is that the positive charge on the ammonium ion must be balanced across the root epidermis and, thus, the plant must exchange a positively charged proton (H+) to the soil solution and decrease the pH. This analysis can support making the appropriate decision for your growing season needs.
Instrumentation
Flow Injection Analyzer (Exchangeable Ammonium/ Cadmium Reduction Method)
Mehlich-3 (M3) Soil Extractable ElementalAnalysis
(P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, S, Cu, Zn, Mn, B, and Fe)
Mehlich-3 Soil Extractable Elemental Analysis involves a soil extraction method that is modeled to simulate the acidic plant exudates that dissolve minerals bound in the rhizosphere; or, in other words, plant-extractable elements. This analysis is often used to determine the suitability of a particular soil to support plant growth, or to assess the need for amendments. Furthermore, this analysis can provide data indicating the mobility or accumulation of elements in the rhizosphere and allow for soil/tissue correlation and sufficiency studies over time.
Instrumentation
ICP-OES
Saturated Media Extract (SME) Elemental Analysis
(P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, B)
Saturated Media Extract (SME) elemental analysis quantifies ions that are readily available in the soil. This process simulates the general concentration of salts that are around the plant under normal watering conditions. A grower can use this information to maintain a good cation balance or diagnose a cation imbalance. Coupled with a Mehlich-3 Soil elemental analysis, a grower can infer the rate at which ions are replaced from the soil when removed from the soil solution.
Instrumentation
ICP-OES
Saturated Media Extract (SME) Soil pH and EC
Soil pH is one of the primary factors that influences nutrient availability within a soil substrate. It is a function of plant metabolism (crop nutrient acquisition), microbial metabolism, irrigation, soil temperature, and amendments; including fertilizers, lime, sulfur, etc. Soil pH exists in dynamic equilibrium within a crop production system and will fluctuate over time as changes in crop production methods, inputs and seasonal shifts occur. Recognizing this,it is important to monitor to ensure that fertilizers are optimally utilized and the soil is a suitable host for plants to thrive.
Electrical Conductivity (EC) is the measure of a solution’s ability to carry an electrical current, which correlates to the concentrations of salts in solution. The EC of a SME (soil solution) can be very different than the EC of the fertilizer solution that is added. Monitoring the EC of a substrate can inform a grower if salts are accumulating over time and the suitability of the substrate to promote water and nutrient uptake.
Instrumentation
ICP-OES
Soil Analysis Packages:
Comprehensive Soil:
$150.00
Total Nutritive Elements, M3 Extractable Elements, SME, Total-N and C, C:N Ratio, Extractable Nitrate/Ammonium, pH & EC included for free.
Master Gardener Soil:
$100.00
M3 Extractable Elements, SME, Total-N and C, C:N Ratio, Extractable Nitrate/Ammonium, pH, EC pH & EC included for free.
Soil Solution:
$70.00
SME, Total-N and C, C:N Ratio, Extractable Nitrate/Ammonium, pH & EC included for free.
Soil Nitrogen Profile:
$50.00
Total-N and C, C:N Ratio, Extractable Nitrate/Ammonium, pH & EC included for free.
Individual Tests:
Total Nutritive Elements:
$50.00
M3 Extractable Elementss:
$30.00
SME Extractable Elements:
$20.00
Total Nitrogen and Carbon and C:N ratio:
$30.00
Extractable Nitrate/Ammonium:
$35.00
Extractable Nitrate/Ammonium:
$35.00
pH:
$10.00
EC:
$10.00
Rush sample requests are available; however, it depends on the analysis being performed and the current workload of the lab staff.
Please call to set up possible rush analyses. This service may not be available at all times.
