*Sample volumes required for dry tissue testing vary according to crop type and test.
Please refer to our Sampling Guide for full details.
Dry Tissue Testing
We provide nutrient analysis of dry tissue to help you to identify any problems within your crop, increase your yield and improve the overall quality of your crops. We can also test grain to determine your farm-specific nutrient removal rates and to assess the quality and suitability of the seed for planting.
How to collect and handle dry tissue samples
The accuracy of your results depends on how the sample is collected, handled and stored before it arrives at our laboratory, as well as our laboratory’s testing methodologies and sample handling procedures. As such, we ask you to follow the sampling guide provided and to take due care with the packaging and delivery of your sample (see our recommendations in the Sampling Guide).
How can dry tissue analysis be used?
Diagnose
- Understand the reasons for poor growth in your crop
- Assess accumulation of mineral elements toxic to plants
Monitor
- Current management practices over time
- Adjust existing fertiliser programs to achieve optimum yields
Post-harvest
- As part of an overall nutrient management program
- Make long-term fertiliser and regeneration decisions
Getting the full picture
It is important to remember dry tissue analysis only provides one piece of the puzzle when you’re trying to understand the cause of nutritional problems in your crop. Plant size, vigour and rate of growth should be observed and soil and irrigation water analysed to complement the dry tissue analysis. This will enable you to form a more complete picture of the inter-relationship between the plants, their growing environment and your farm management practices.
Testing provides the most benefits when it is scheduled and conducted as part of a regular, ongoing program that enables you to identify trends, seasonal changes and responses to any adjustments you are trialling. If you would like advice on developing a testing and analysis program for your farm, please contact us. We can also help you to establish trial protocols to establish and verify the efficacy of changes you are planning.