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Accurate crop nutrition starts with soil and nutrient management. If you face difficulties in growing your crop or garden, it’s always a good idea to begin with the soil sample. But where can you find a laboratory that can conduct analysis on your soil for fertilizer recommendation? You can get information from local farmers and gardeners associations or the Department of Agriculture for a list of accredited private laboratories near you. Testing for PH and Heavy Metals What can you expect from soil analysis? The best way to understand what you can expect from the test results is to know the process. Ordinarily, nutrients like calcium, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, sodium, zinc and magnesium are isolated from the soil and measure the spatial content in the sample. Depending on the results, you can then determine the amount of fertilizer (and the type of inputs) to be introduced into the soil. Though soil analysis, you can also determine the pH level of your soil as well as the presence of heavy metals such as lead and mercury for example, which can leach into the soil if your garden or field is near chemical manufacturing plants. Although in theory, you could concoct a home test kit or buy off the shelf from gardening stores to determine the pH level of your soil, it’s always best to invest in a commercial laboratory. The presence of heavy metals could stunt the growth of your plants. In some instances, replacing the top soil may be necessary once your field is already contaminated. High PH is Not Always a Bad Thing A common misconception is that a soil with high acidity or alkalinity can cause decreased harvest. Vegetables, for example, thrive on soils with slightly high acidity, which means the field should have a pH below 7.0. There are other plants that also need a little more acidity in the soil. It’s very easy to increase acidity, just by adding composted organic matter, sawdust and woodchips. If you want more alkalinity, add crushed marble, magnesium or limestone. You can bring in soil expert to determine the foliar nutrition and effective concentrations of soil nutrients. The Value of Organic Farming Organic farming in South Africa is a huge industry because of necessity. Most poor farmers could not really afford commercial synthetic inputs. Apart from the issue of cost, organic inputs—particularly compost—is a very effective method to increase harvest and eradicate soil deficiency by helping promote a healthy environment for microorganism to thrive. Author of this article is providing information about Foliar Nutrition Technique for Effective Concentration.Here you will also find info about Soil Analysis Test to Improve Soil Fertility.
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