HOW TO TAKE SAMPLES?

The most important point in taking soil samples for analyses is the fact that the soil sample taken to adequately represent the whole land. Before taking samples, various points of the field are to be determined and considering these as separate sections, mixed soil samples must be taken. Depending on the size of the land, samples are taken from 8–10 points.

For correct points, samples are taken on a zig-zagging route as seen on figure 1. A “V” shaped, 30 cm deep hole is dug by the help of a shovel, then one side of this hole is levelled and a 3-4cm thick soil slice is taken (Figure 2).

You can also use auger instead of shovel when taking soil sample. See the pictures above for detailed information about auger.

Soil taken is collected in a plastic bucket. It is stirred properly in the bucket, and pieces of plant, stone and turd are picked. Putting around 1 kg of sample in a plastic bag, the Analyses Request Form below should be filled and they both should be sent to the laboratory immediately.

Soil samples should have been taken and sent to the laboratory at least one month before the plantation season since a couple of weeks time is needed to be able to analyse the samples and suggest fertilizers.

Depth of soil sampling should be: for field crops,

• 0-20 cm

for vineyards and fruit trees, separately taken from,

• 0-20cm
• 20-40cm
• and 40-60cm.

Places where soil samples mustn’t be taken:

• Areas where lime, commercial and farm manure are previously applied.
• Points where the slope changes.
• Thick woody places and bottoms of trees (excluding orchards).
• Parts close to streams, forests, channels, furrow-drains, fences or roads.
• Field borders and areas close to these.
• Low or high parts of the land or field.
• Inter-row parts where row planting is applied.
• Puddled an flooded parts.
• Areas where stems, roots and weeds are piled up or burned.
• Gravelled and excessively sandy areas.
• Areas where salinity is explicitly ascertained.
• Excavated or graded parts of the land.
• Areas where manure is located.
• Threshing fields and areas where animals lied down.
• Places where ants and moles heap up soil.

• Features of the foliar samples taken must be the same.
• Especially fruit trees within the same orchard may be in different ages. Samples must be carefully taken from the trees within the same age group.
• Foliar samples taken must symbolize the fields, orchards and trees. If there are differences between the soil and foliar samples of the same sampling area, samples must be taken separately so as to symbolize these areas.
• Foliar samples may be taken in any time of the day. However, the foliar samples must not be wet.

The time and the way of taking foliar samples from fruit trees

Foliar samples must be taken from all around the tree, among the shoulder hight young shoots of the same year which have fulfilled their progress, walking in a “Z” or “X” route in the garden and skipping every other tree.

Taking foliar samples from apple, apricot, plum, peach, almond, pear, cherry and sour cherry trees:

• Together with their stems, 4-8 foliar samples from each tree are taken from all around the tree, from the middle of young shoots of the same year which have fulfilled their progress. Number of trees to take samples must be sufficient and total number of samples must be 50-100. The period to take samples is the months of july-august.

Walnut

• 6-8 weeks postemergence, the pair of pinnules in the middle of the frond is taken from fully formed shoots. As being from all around the tree, 30-35 samples must be taken from 20-25 trees.

Vineyard

• From the stem of the leaves adjacent to fruit bunches at the end of blooming period and from the youngest ripe leaves on the lateral shoots at the middle of the growing season, total 50-100 foliar samples are taken.

Strawberry

• In the middle of the growing period, 30-50 samples are taken from the young leaves which have completed their growth.

Tomato

• Field: Before or during the first blooming, 20-25 foliar samples are taken as 3rd or 4th leaf from the growth end.
• Greenhouse: Total 20-25 foliar samples are taken from the leaves adjacent to 2nd and 3rd bunches on young plants, 4th and 6th bunches on old plants, before or during the fruit bunching.

Cucumber, pepper and eggplant

• Foliar sample must be taken as soon as first generation fruits appear. The young leaf in normal size, closest to the growth peak, which has completed its growth, is applicable for sampling. 1-2 samples from each plant, total 50 foliar samples must be taken.

Bean

• If the plants are in seedling period, samples must be taken from the whole body of 20-30 plants above ground level. Besides, if they are in the first flowering period, 2-3 completely grown samples of each, from the tip of the plant, total 20-30 samples must be taken.

Lettuce and spinach

• While the plants are in the middle of growing period, 35-40 samples of youngest ripe leaves must be taken.

Sugar beet

• In the middle of growing period, total 30-40 fully grown and ripe foliar samples from the part between the centre and outher leaves must be taken. These samples must be put into perforated plastic or cloth bag and tied up.

Sending Samples to the Laboratory

After being filled by the foliar samples, perforated plastic bags must be labeled and sent to the laboratory as soon as possible. The samples which can’t be sent to the laboratory within the same day may be kept in a fridge for a short while.

1L of water sample will be sufficient to be able to analyse irrigation water.

• First of all, water must flow about half an hour from the point where sample will be taken.
• The bottle in which the water sample will be put mustn’t be a bottle of fizzy drink like cola, fanta, soda.

Sample must be taken in a clean water bottle after washing and rinsing it with the sample water 4-5 times.

After taking the water sample, if it is not possible to take it to the laboratory within the same day, it must be kept in a fridge maximum one day. Otherwise;

• As a result of chemical changes possible to arise in delayed samples, results of analyses may change.