Is it wise to test?

Once you have applied something to your soil, you can’t take it back!… So when it comes to determining your soil constraints and fertiliser requirements, guesswork or gut feel can waste thousands of dollars and valuable time, or even create another problem!

By understanding your soils parameters, attributes and available nutrients, you remove the guesswork from your decision making and save time and money on otherwise unnecessary inputs. There are several soil and plant tests on the market with varying degrees of quality and measure.

We recommend a soil or plant test that fits ALL of the following criteria:

• Independence (removes bias towards particular companies/products)
• Clearly displays current nutrient status in comparison to optimum levels
• Quantifies the soils capacity to hold onto nutrients (TEC or ECEC)
• Uses modern calibrated equipment, the latest testing methods, and ASPAC accredited
• Helps to determine recommendations specific to your needs

Our years of experience have led us to APAL

Research and experience have led us to favour the expertise and systems of Australian Perry Agricultural Laboratories (APAL). Years of positive experiences with the staff and management of APAL has developed a healthy working relationship of mutual trust and respect that we wish to pass onto our customers.

APAL subscribe to the Albrecht soil analysis methods which are based on extensive global research into the most productive soils. Albrecht’s philosophy is about achieve the optimum balance of nutrients in your soil, which translates to biological balance, and productive and resilient crops. Although critics of this system remain, there are thousands of successes clearly reflecting reductions in input costs, reduced chemical requirements and significantly improved soils and yields.

 Arrange a soil / plant tissue test now

Download soil test kit and forms (pdf)

Download plant tissue test kit and forms (pdf)

To get a complete picture of the characteristics and nutrient status of your soil, a comprehensive range of values are analysed, including:

Effective Cation Exchange Capacity (ECEC), pH, EC (conductivity), Organic Carbon, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Phosphorus, Phosphate Recovery %, Exchangeable Cations – Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium, Aluminium and Hydrogen, and Trace Elements – Boron, Iron, Manganese, Copper & Zinc.

Additional Tests include: Chlorides, Cobalt, Molybdenum & Total Aluminium. Selection of these additional tests will depend on your crop, pasture and soil conditions. Call us if you have any queries or would like to book your testing.