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April 2010

Welcome to the April 2010 edition of Fertile Minds, the newsletter of Sydney Environmental & Soil Laboratory.

In this issue we feature our new plant disease ID service, our new rainwater testing service, autumn fertilising to improve turf resilience, and yet another new gadget to greatly improve result turnaround.

If you have any questions you would like answered in Fertile Minds, please write to info@sesl.com.au. If you have any special requirements, we would be pleased to talk with you and tailor a package and price. Please contact the office on (02) 9980 6554 or write to us at info@sesl.com.au.

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In this issue

• The Loam Ranger – Testing water from rainwater tanks
• Potassium for winter resilience
• New disease ID service at SESL
• New C and S analyser
• NATA accreditation getting close
• Did you know ... ? – Alumin[i]um

The Loam Ranger – Testing water from rainwater tanks

Dear Loam Ranger,

Here is a sample of water from my rainwater tank. Is it safe to drink?

Following the drought years of the noughts and the government rebates aimed at promoting the installation of home rainwater tanks, many old homes and all new homes in NSW are now self-sufficient in water for the garden and even for flushing the toilet and washing clothes. Of course, residents in the bush have always relied on rainwater tanks for everything, including drinking. These days we receive several requests a week to test tank water from all parts of NSW for its suitability for drinking or other uses.

SESL offers a 24-hour turnaround for bacterial presence/absence and a 7-working-day turnaround for a full suite of tests (or 24-hour turnaround for a premium price if it’s urgent).

Click here for details of what we test for (500 words, 2 minutes)

Potassium for winter resilience

In anticipation of spring growth, growers will apply a general fertiliser, with the emphasis on nitrogen, to stimulate new growth with warming temperatures. But sometimes the crop or turf doesn’t survive the winter in the first place.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that potassium (K), and maybe sulphur (S) and silicon (Si), applied in autumn can improve the plants’ winter-hardiness. When we get calls in spring from councils because their ovals have died yet nearby ovals remain healthy, nutrition is a likely factor (because weather isn’t). Soil testing then often reveals low K and S.

The important point to recognise is that when playing fields deteriorate over winter, the cause is hard playing on a surface that cannot grow and repair itself during winter (most turf species grown in most of NSW are warm-season species). And frosts don’t help either. Nevertheless, appropriate fertilising in autumn could prevent this.

Click here for info on how to prepare your turf or crop for winter (600 words, 2 minutes)

New disease ID service at SESL

SESL has always offered a complete testing service, covering soil, water, plant tissue, pesticides and much besides. To do this, we have had to send out some samples to outside specialist labs, many of whom we rely on for their excellent work.

For plant disease identification we have previously relied on government labs, whose work is faultless but slow.

So during the past year we have begun to build up our own in-house service, with a result in 24 hours.

Click here for how we test and what we test for (600 words, 2 minutes)

New C and S analyser

SESL has installed yet another new sample analyser, bringing the analysis of carbon (C) and sulphur (S) into the 21st century.

The new machine is an Analytik Jena multi EA 4000 (multi-element analyser).

The EA 4000 is a vast improvement: running costs are greatly reduced; the operator loads it and can then go and do other work; it can analyse 48 samples in one batch; it shuts itself down at the end of a run; all results are fed directly into a computer (and eventually will be able to go straight into the database); it is much more accurate; it uses no chemicals; it automatically calibrates and cleans itself; and it is accurate over a very wide range of values.

Click here for further details (350 words, 1 minute)

NATA accreditation getting close

As we reported in the August 2009 edition of Fertile Minds, SESL is currently working on NATA (National Association of Testing Authorities) accreditation. NATA accreditation is an official (government-recognised), independent verification of a laboratory’s ability to carry out tests according to world’s best practice, and is recognised worldwide.

The process began formally in September 2009, when a NATA representative visited us for a day to inspect our lab and to advise on what we needed to do to gain accreditation. Early this month, two NATA assessors visited us over two days to assess our set-up, procedures, documentation, quality control (QC), quality assurance (QA), equipment, methods for handling problems, adherence to protocols and lots more.

The assessors gave us a preliminary report detailing improvements still needed, and will give us a formal report in May. Once we have attended to all outstanding matters, we are confident that we will be NATA-accredited within another three to four months. This might seem a long time, but it will take us that long to collect enough routine lab data to verify some of our new procedures.

Click here for more details (350 words, 1 minute)

Did you know ... ? – Alumin[i]um

We say aluminium. Americans say aluminum. (You say potayto, I say potahto.) Who is right?

Click here for a brief history of alumin[i]um (150 words, 1 minute)