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Lesson Outline What is a Soil Test? Assessing Nutrient Levels A Good Soil Sample is Important Soil Variability and Sampling Sampling Procedures for Field-Based Samples Grid Sampling Procedures Sample Preparation Chemical Analysis Developing Soil Tests Correlation and Calibration For Further Reading

Soils - Part 9: Fundamentals of Soil Testing Rate Me 1 2 3 4 5 Sample Preparation For best results, soil samples should be air dried before they are sent to the laboratory for analysis. Samples should be dry to the touch. Break up as many clods as possible before drying. Usually, this can be done easily by hand when samples are moist. In drying soils:  — do not apply heat;  — a simple fan may be used to speed drying;  — spread the soil out on clean paper; and  — protect the soil from contamination from any source, especially fertilizer, any kind of dust, cigarette ashes, and cats. Comments Be the first to write a comment... Add Comment

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This project was supported in part by the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants CAP project 2011-68002-30029 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, adminstered by the University of California-Davis and by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education, National SMETE Digital Library Program, Award #0938034, administered by the University of Nebraska. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USDA or NSF.
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