Soil & Plant Tests from SWEP

This information is intended to help you choose which of the available soil and plant tests best suits your needs. You can also find information on our Organic tests here. For more information or any special requirements you may have, please Contact us .

You can also read more about Collecting Samples and look up Prices for the various tests or read about our Special Purpose Tests.

Standard Soil Balance Analysis (according to the Mikhail system)

When you are ready you can Order this test using PayPal.

This test features a four-page report that incorporates the results from 23 laboratory tests and 11 calculations, together with desirable levels individually determined to suit your specified Land use and characteristics of the soil sample.

 You can specify up to three Land Uses (crop or pasture types) for each sample at no extra cost. This allows you to assess alternatives or plan for a number of steps in a rotation. The report then include Desirable Levels and Recommendations for each specified Land Use.

Two sets of recommendations are provided: 

• Cation Balance corrections to optimise soil structure, friability and other physical attributes. These are based on desirable percentages of the five major cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K & H) as calculated from the Adjusted Cation Exchange Capacity. The recommendations are then given in terms of the most appropriate material (Gypsum, Lime, Dolomite, Magnesite, Magnesium Oxide or Magnesium Sulphate) to provide the amounts of Calcium &/or Magnesium needed.
• Balanced plant nutrition requirements relative to the needs of the Land use, CEC and what is presently available in the soil.

NB. We do not consider the preferences of fertiliser manufacturers, spreading contractors or other 'external' factors - ONLY what is going on in your soil and what your Land use requires.

Nutrient recommendations cover both major nutrients (N, P, K & S) and Trace elements (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Co, Mo, B) and are provided in terms of kilograms of the elemental nutrient required per hectare. This means you can take our recommendations to any suppier for conversion into fertiliser applications and make 'apples-for-apples' comparisons of their costs and service.

The results and recommendations are backed up by FREE phone/fax/email support. Whatever questions or problems you may have can be addressed by talking to us directly.

Optional inclusions with this test package include:

• Total Nitrogen
• Total Phosphorus
• Total Calcium
• Total Magnesium
• Total Sodium
• Total Potassium
• Available Silica
• Extractable Aluminium
• Total Chloride
• Extractable Cadmium
• Extractable Nickel
• Extractable Chromium
• Extractable Lead
• Extractable Mercury
• Extractable Arsenic
• Particle size distribution

 For more information you can also read about Applications for this test, How to get the best results from soil testing, see Prices and Download an Example Report.

Complete Soil Balance Analysis (according to the Mikhail system)

When you are ready you can Order this test using PayPal.

This test has a nine page report that includes 28 laboratory tests (including Total N & Total P) and 17 calculations, with desirable levels individually determined to suit your specified Land use and characteristics of the sample. The results are organised into each of the three Soil Balance components - Structure, Nutrients and Biology to make the report more readable and the information more accessible.

Three sets of recommendations are provided:

• Cation Balance corrections to optimise soil structure and other physical attributes. These are based on desirable percentages of the five major cations (Ca, Mg, Na, K & H) as calculated from the Adjusted Cation Exchange Capacity. The recommendations are then given in terms of the most appropriate material (Gypsum, Lime, Dolomite, Magnesite, Magnesium Oxide or Magnesium Sulphate) to provide the amounts of Calcium &/or Magnesium needed.
• Balanced plant nutrient requirements relative to the needs of the Land use, CEC and what is presently available in the soil.
• Balanced Soil Biology, using various bio-active materials (eg. Humate, Kelp extract, Fish emulsion, etc.) to help manage the relative proportions of five key Indicator Groups of soil microbes - Lactic acid bacteria, Photosynthetic bacteria, Fungi, Yeast and Actinomycetes.

NB. We do not consider the preferences of fertiliser manufacturers, spreading contractors or other 'external' factors - ONLY what is going on in your soil and what your Land use requires.

Nutrient recommendations cover both major nutrients (N, P, K & S) and Trace elements (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Co, Mo, B) and are provided in terms of kilograms of the elemental nutrient required per hectare. This means you can take our recommendations to any supplier for conversion into fertiliser applications and make 'apples-for-apples' comparisons of their costs and service.

 Our results and recommendations are backed up by FREE phone/fax/email support. Whatever questions or problems you may have can be addressed by talking to us directly.

Optional inclusions with this test package include:

• Total Calcium
• Total Magnesium
• Total Sodium
• Available Silica
• Extractable Aluminium
• Total Potassium
• Extractable Cadmium
• Extractable Nickel
• Total Chloride
• Extractable Lead
• Extractable Mercury
• Extractable Chromium
• Extractable Arsenic
• Particle size distribution

For more information you can also read about Applications for this test, How to get the best results from soil testing, see Prices and Download an Example Report.

Standard Plant Tissue Analysis

When you are ready you can Order this test using PayPal.

This test features a three page report that incorporates the results from 13 laboratory tests, together with desirable levels individually determined according to your specified crop or pasture type. The report also includes a table of calculated excesses and deficiencies, together with a guide to nutrient imbalances, with a colour graph of nutrient levels for quick assessment of any problems. Analysis is by wet digestion (not ashing).

Optional inclusions with this test package include:

• Total Chloride
• Total Molybdenum
• Total Selenium
• Total Silicon
• Extractable Nickel
• Extractable Chromium
• Extractable Cadmium
• Extractable Mercury
• Extractable Arsenic
• Extractable Lead

For more information you can also read about Applications for this test, How to get the best results from soil testing, see Prices and Download an Example Report.