A Pasture Soil test measures:
- pH – measures the acidity or alkalinity of the soil which affects the availability of nutrients to plants.
- Phosphorous (Olsen P) – assesses the availability of Phosphorous to plants, important for energy transfer n plants supporting plant growth and health.
- Cations (Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium and Sodium) – measures the extractable amount of cations, key nutrients essential for plant growth.
- Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) – the higher the CEC the greater the capacity of soil to store and retain cations (Ca, Mg, K, Na).
- Base Saturation – provides a percentage saturation of the CEC for each of the cations and can be used to better understand and plan your fertiliser needs.
- Volume weight – the density of a known volume of air-dried and ground soil - gives an indication of the soil’s physical character (e.g. sandy soils vs clay vs pumice vs peat, etc).
- Sulphate Sulphur (SO42-) – provides the extractable amount of Sulphate Sulphur - a building block for plant protein.
- Extractable organic Sulphur – provides the extractable sulphur content in the organic matter which is an indicator of sulphur reserves in the soil.