Lab analyses for plants, soil and substrate
- Contact person: Chris Van Waes
- See the BELAC scoop
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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