Lab analyses for plants, soil and substrate

More details on the used methods and prices.

Overview available analyses

I. Chemical analyses on mineral soil
Sample preparation: drying 40°C, mortar (and ball mill)
% organic carbon (OC)
Total N (Dumas method)
pH-KCl
EC (electrical conductivity)
P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Al, Mn, Si and/or Zn in ammonium lactate extract
Total P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Mn, Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn, Hg, B, S, Co, As, Mo and Si in soil or biochar (microwave destruction)
Hot water extractable C and P (HWC/HWP)
CaCl2 extraction and measurement P (and K and Mg) in extract
Profile analysis NO3/NH4 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 without sampling
Manual texture determination
CEC (kationuitwisselingscapaciteit en kationen op complex
Plfa (measure for total microbial biomass)
II. Plant analyses
Moisture (ISO 6496)
Crude ash
Total N (Dumas method)
Total P, K, Ca, Mg and Na (digiprep)
NDF
ADF
NDF, ADF, ADL (sequential)
Crude fiber
Crude protein
Starch (polarimetric)
Water soluble sugars
Total sugars in cichory
In vitro digestibility based on enzymes
Cell wall digestibility
NIRS analysis on dried and milled samples:
- Moisture (grass/maize)
- Crude protein (grass/maize)
- Crude fiber (grass/maize)
- Starch (maize)
- Water soluble sugars (grass)
- Digestibility (grass/maize)
III. Chemical and physical analyses on growing media, compost and soil improvers
Sample preparation: drying 70°C, milling and dry matter content determination
Drying with tartaric acid
Dry matter content (only DM at 105°C)
Chemical substrate analysis water extract: NH4, NO3, SO4, Na, Cl
Chemical substrate analysis ammonium acetate extract: P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe
pH water
EC (electrical conductivity)
Total N (Dumas method)
Total/organic C
Organic matter
NDF, ADF, ADL (sequential) + determination lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose
Water extractable C
Total P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Al, Fe, Mn, Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn, Hg, S, As, Mo (digiprep)
CEC + cations on complex (with or without first flushing for salts)
NH4 in 1M KCl extract
N immobilisation test
Ammonium retention
Moisture retention
Physical analysis substrates (10L sample needed!): Dry bulk density, pore volume, water on fresh weight, water capacity, air and water volume, shrink, moisture, organic matter and ash. Suction: -10cm (pF 1), -50cm (pF 1.7), -100 cm (pF 2.0)
Volume weight
Laboratory bulk density
Impurities>2mm + stones>5mm
Sieve fractions (multiple fractions between 0.500 and 40 mm)
Emerging weeds
Phytotoxicity
Plfa (measure for total microbial biomass)
Self heating test
Aerobic biological activity: oxitop
IV. Measurements on extracts
P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Al in extract (ICP-OES), possibly after destruction extract (digiprep)
Mn, Cd, Cu, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn in extract (ICP-OES), possibly after destruction extract (digiprep)
B, Hg, S, As, Mo, Si in extract (ICP-OES), possibly after destruction extract (digiprep)
Carbon in extract (C/N analyzer)
NO3, Cl, SO4, PO4
pH in extract
EC in extract

More details about the methods used and the prices.

How do you deliver a sample?

  • Substrate: For a routine chemical analysis on substrate, a sample of 0.5 l is sufficient. For a physical analysis on potting soil, a minimum of 10 l of steel is required. Use a closed plastic bag when bringing in the samples.
  • Soil: When sampling soil, take at least 15 subsamples from the top 20-30 cm of the soil, mix this material thoroughly and bring about 0.5 kg of this into a closed plastic bag.
  • Plants: For plant samples, a minimum of 50 g of dried and ground (1 mm sieve) steel is requested.

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