NEW DGT Phosphorus Test
This
exciting new test is far more accurate and reliable for assessing
phosphorus availability to crops than any currently used method.
Be one of the first farmers in Australia to access this exciting new phosphorus test.
The GRDC is keen to see the DGT test become the standard phosphorus test Australia wide and it is already calibrated for wheat, barley, peas, chick peas and canola.
APAL has signed an agreement with GRDC and ARI (Adelaide Reseach & Innovation) to offer growers trial DGT analysis for the 2012 season prior to the full commercialization of the method. The trial will run for 6 months from March until August 2012 and the results will be collated and the information made available to GRDC and ARI.
The DGT phosphorus test (from Diffusive Gradients in Thin films) has been developed by Dr Sean Mason of Adelaide University who has had a long association with APAL. The test mimics plant roots in the way they remove phosphorus from the soil solution and is not influenced by soil type.
The extracting solutions used in other phosphorus methods like Colwell and Olsen, can sometimes solubilise P that is not plant available and therefore over estimate the amount available to the crop. This can occur in a broad range of soil types including both calcareous (alkaline) and acidic. Even when adjusted with PBI, the current tests fail to predict crop response to phosphorus in a high percentage of situations.
The test involves placing a DGT device in direct contact with soil that has been brought to the point of saturation. The device contains a ferrihydrite gel that binds phosphorus diffusing towards it over a period of time and the gel is then analysed.
In extensive trials across Australia, the DGT results have been correlated very closely to the phosphorus response curve in a way that no other testing method can match.
For more comprehensive information, follow this link to watch a CSIRO Seminar given by Dr Mason at the Waite Institute in 2011. Click here
APAL DGT P packages:
- APAL Premium Soil Test + DGT P
Premium Soil Test ($110) + DGT P ($18) = $128+GST/sample
APAL comprehensive soil analysis with DGT in addition
- Total Farm Phosphorus Audit $550+GST/10 samples
The Total Farm Phosphorus Audit will test 10 samples and include
DGT P + Colwell or Olsen P + Total P to enable broadacre croppers
to assess the new method against their usual soil test method.
LIMITED AVAILABILITY SO PLEASE REGISTER YOUR INTEREST NOW click here
As this is a trial we will need to know the number of devices to prepare so use the link above to let us know how many samples you would like to have analysed and we will send you the submission forms.
APAL will run a free Webinar on 28th March where Dr Sean Mason will explain the benefits of the DGT method - details will be available soon