Agricultural Sampling: Removing and/or examining a portion of an entire set (i.e., examining three leaves per plant on 20 plants in an 11 ha field).
There are various well-known and tried and trusted methods of sampling. Before we explore these different methods, let us first decide what types of things we could possibly sample and what those samples could tell us.
The most important things that we sample on a farm, and the reasons why we sample, are:
What we sample: |
Why we sample it: |
Leaves |
To determine whether the plant’s fertilization needs. To check for pests and diseases. |
Soil |
To determine the structure and fertility of the soil for correction and soil preparation purposes. |
Fruit/flowers |
To determine ripeness or for fruit grading purposes. |