Agriculture
Creating sustainable farming
Traditional soil testing involves collecting "representative" soil samples in the field and delivering them to the laboratory. The samples must be received quickly by the laboratory or be refrigerated to minimize changes in nutrient status. At the laboratory, samples are dried and pulverized – two processes which inherently alter the nutrient status. As many as six separate chemical extractions may be necessary on a given sample to obtain a complete nutrient test. Standard soil testing is not realistic. It does not represent how plants work. The UNIBEST resin capsule is a more realistic system of soil testing based on true nutrient availability processes.
Despite the poor credibility and limited acceptance of traditional testing, approximately 3.5 million soil samples are collected annually. The demand for improved accuracy and cost-effective soil testing continues to grow as agriculturists attempt to increase crop yields and quality while minimizing fertilizer costs and other operating expenses. UNIBEST’s “standard” worldwide testing product, Ag Manager™, places the company in a unique position to meet the demands of those who desire higher credibility.
The application of resin capsule technology and related innovations provide excellent long-term potential and farming sustainability. UNIBEST modernizes agricultural soil testing to reflect currently available technologies and to take advantage of analytical capabilities of laboratories. This simple, accurate measure of availability of elements to a plant gives agriculturists a way to identify nutrient deficiencies or imbalances and serves as an aid to diagnosing problems and assisting in long term crop management planning.
- Resin capsule technology does more for optimizing crop management - It does not give information on what nutrients are in the soil as in traditional methods. The capsules perfectly simulate the crop, giving the farmer information about nutrient uptake.
- Resin capsule technology is much less expensive than traditional soil sampling - it eliminates the need for drying, grinding, weighing, and multiple extractions; laboratory costs are reduced 50-70%.
- Smart crop management farmers to make informed decisions about fertilizer and soil amendment - Most clients realize savings in fertilizer costs, while maximizing yield and crop quality.
