Every year, soft fruit growers collect samples for analysis by specialist laboratories to help them refine nutrient programmes and pest and disease control programmes. Farm staff are often given the task of collecting samples before submitting to laboratories but in some cases these staff have not carried out sampling before, are unsure as to how to collect the samples and don’t understand the importance of the job they are being asked to do.
To inform farm staff HDC has produced a set of new videos designed to help train staff so that they understand the significance of the task, how to collect the samples and how to package them correctly.
The videos include an introduction on the importance of why you should sample along with specific videos on how to sample:
- Field soils for nutrition analysis
- Soilless substrate samples for nutrition analysis
- Leaf samples for plant nutrient analysis
- Feed solutions and irrigation water for nutrient content
- Water samples for microbial content
- Soil samples for the presence of nematode pests
- Soil samples for presence of Verticillium pathogens.
The videos are free to view by all growers and can be found here.
Source: www.hdc.org.uk