*Note: Not all plants are suitable for SAP 4 Super Sap testing –
please see the attached list for those plants that we cannot accept for SAP 4 tests.
Please ensure that sufficient sample is collected to perform the anaysis requested. If you need any further information, please call us on (07) 4132 5000.
Differential Sap Analysis
If you are looking for an Old Leaf vs New Leaf Comparison test, we can help. This testing combo has been newly introduced to the Hortus Analytical Laboratory, but is based on over 30 years of Sap testing.
Plants will keep new leaves at optimum nutrition – they will sacrifice old growth for nutrients. By looking at the nutrients that are mobile in the plants, you can determine if adequate nutrients are available for storage in old leaves, or if the plant is moving nutrients away from the older leaves (cannibilising itself) to give to the new growth – suggesting inadequate supply.
Sap Testing
Our sap testing shows the level of nutrients available for metabolism in the sap flow of a plant. Undertaken during the growing season, sap testing enables you to correct deficiencies before crop loss occurs and improve your fruit set before harvest.
By responding to your crop’s needs throughout the season, you can achieve your best possible yield.
It is important to remember sap 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 your sap 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. For quick, accurate and comprehensive insights into your plants health throughout the growing season we recommend a program of Sap & Soil Combination analysis.
How to collect and handle sap 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).