Colombia: New technology to analyse soils and make them more fertile

The Agustin Codazzi Geographical Institute (IGAC) has replaced the three machines they were using to analyse soil samples for the Elemental Analyzer CNS. This machine can analyse up to fifty different soil samples and vegetable tissues in three hours, a task that would take up to three days with the old method.

The entity stated, via a press release, that they were going to analyse the amount of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur in the soil "to find out the productive capacity of the Colombian territory in order to figure out which treatments are needed to make it more fertile."

The CNS does not need to use toxic substances as soil and plant tissues are analysed in a combustion chamber (at a temperature of 1300 degrees Celsius), which transforms the samples into gas.

The CEO of IGAC, Juan Antonio Nieto Escalante, said the tool "enables us to get results and analyse samples faster, more efficiently and safely. It does not endanger the environment or our experts like the former machines did because they generated hazardous waste."

Another advantage of the CNS is that one person can operated it and validate the results, which are stored in software once the three-hour process is completed.

"If a sample has a high percentage of carbon, the soil has plenty of organic matter, i.e. it is quite fertile," explained IGAC via a statement. If, however, the sample has a high concentration of sulphur, it is a clear indicator that the soil requires the use of a fertilizer.

The CNS is an important alternative for Colombian farmers, who are gradually implementing these technologies in their farms to improve their production, working times and crop yields.

Source: Contextoganadero.com