On 15 February 2024 we hosted our 2nd Technical Discussion, this time in Nelspruit, at LVCC (Lowveld Country Club). In the agricultural sector well-informed, objective discussions are rare. Labserve acknowledges the significance of fostering such dialogues and is committed to openly sharing our knowledge, as...
SOIL SAMPLING In order to correctly manage the amount of fertiliser applied to a crop for an optimal yield, an accurate analysis of the amount of nutrients already available in the soil is required. Sampling error is often the most significant source of error that affects...
It makes sense for producers to seek and maintain soil health. Let's explore how. By Pieter Raath (CRI) and Larne Auerswald (Labserve) • Published in the SA Fruit Journal OCT / NOV 2023 The UN Agency's Intergovernmental Technical Group on Soils (ITPS) defined healthy soil as “the...
In citrus new vegetative shoots provide the bearing positions from which flowers develop in spring. These new vegetative shoots are strong sinks for carbohydrate supply from both mature leaves and reserve carbohydrates from the previous season. One could expect that citrus trees should be able...
Both sulphur (S) and boron (B) are essential plant nutrients. Sulphur is a macro-nutrient of which roughly about 30 kg/ha is utilized by orchards, while B is a micro-nutrient and only about 120 g/ha is annually taken up by trees. For inexplicable reasons, many producers...
Introduction In circa 1500 Leonardo da Vinci said: ”We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot”. Although our knowledge of both these fields of science has developed immensely over the last five centuries, this statement undoubtedly remains true. Soil life,...
As guidelines upon which soil analyses are interpreted and fertilisation is applied, the basic cation saturation ratio (BCSR) concept (now better known as the Albrecht system) has become popular amongst various plant nutritionists. It is based on a presupposition that plants will only grow optimally...
By Bennie Diedericks ‘n Grond se vermoë om water vas te hou is ‘n funksie van die grond se tekstuur. Tekstuur word bepaal deur die hoeveelheid en verhouding van sand, slik en klei deeltjies tot mekaar. Hierdie verhouding is ‘n funksie van die moedermateriaal waaruit die...
by Bennie Diedericks In the world of soil science, all particles of 2mm and larger, are regarded as course fragments or stones. In a soil analysis report the amount of stones in a soil is expressed on a volume basis, e.g., 30% of the soil...
The cation exchange capacity (CEC) is a property of a soil that describes its capacity to adsorb plant nutrient cations (positively charged atoms or molecules such as Ca2+, Mg2+, H+ and K+). Soil clay minerals and organic matter tend to be negatively charged, thus attracting the...
Die gebruik van blaaranalises en grondanalises is die akkuraatste tegniek om element behoeftes van ‘n boord of wingerd te bepaal, saam met alle ander inligting van ‘n betrokke blok. Dit bied die versekering van optimale produksie en kwaliteit van ‘n gewas deurdat elke seisoen se...