November 23, 2020
APAL now has even more options for producers to accurately tissue test with the recent commissioning of two new lab instruments.
This means APAL now offers the most comprehensive range of routine commercial plant tissue reporting options.
Our lab instrument arsenal now boasts a PerkinElmer NexION 2000 inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer, or ICP-MS for short, and another Skalar continuous flow analyser.
Prices remain unchanged for the complete tissue test set, PT2. All reporting for phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, copper, boron, iron, manganese, zinc, aluminium and molybdenum is derived from the new ICP-MS.
With this new instrumentation, APAL can now deliver a limit of quantitation (LOQ) for molybdenum is now of 0.02 milligrams per kilogram, irrespective of plant type or plant part, tissue, feed or grain.
The addition of another flow analyser allows side-by-side analysis for plant nitrate and chloride, improving speed of analysis and laboratory sample capacity.
Being able to quantify molybdenum with great precision and accuracy to 0.02 mg/kg allows clear management decisions regarding nutritional application.
Research has indicated that molybdenum plays an important role in grapevine fruit set, seed formation, berry formation and development and bunch yield.
The graphs below show the relationships between lentil molybdenum concentrations for whole tops taken at flowering and lentil grain yields at a site near Bute, SA. Different plant molybdenum levels were generated by applying different rates (0, 25, 50, 200, 400 g/ha) of sodium molybdate at early vegetative stage. Defined critical levels from this site at approximately 0.1 mg/kg highlights the need for sensitive plant molybdenum analysis.
This trial data is kindly supplied by Trengove Consulting and forms part of a South Australian Grain Industry Trust-funded project.
APAL is excited to announce a new F2 Feed Mineral Test Option, which is a comprehensive animal health product.
In addition to total nitrogen, nitrate, chloride, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, copper, boron, iron, manganese, zinc, aluminium and molybdenum offered in our PT2 product, F2 also includes additional ICP-MS elements cobalt, selenium, vanadium, arsenic, cadmium and lead.
As our premium offering, the test set is priced somewhat higher than PT2, with a list price of $70 + GST. APAL’s new reporting limits are shown below for vitally important animal health parameters.
The F2 product can be chosen with any crop type for those interested in monitoring levels of cobalt, selenium, vanadium, arsenic, cadmium and lead.
| Element | LOQ (mg/kg) |
| Cobalt | 0.03 |
| Molybdenum | 0.02 |
| Selenium | 0.04 |
| Vanadium | 0.015 |
| Cadmium | 0.006 |
| Lead | 0.03 |
| Arsenic | 0.003 |
Get in touch with the APAL office on 08 8332 0199, info@apal.com.au or visit the APAL website.