Solvita Soil Tests from Woods End Laboratories capture key biological, chemical and physical traits indicating healthy functioning in a farm system. The usefulness of Solvita commercial soil health tests as valuable tools to predict soil health indicators such as soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) has been confirmed by long-term field research conducted by the University of Guelph and released in the journal Soil & Tillage Research.
Highlights of the research included:
- Diversifying rotations with perennial and cover crops increased yields
- Higher concentration of SOC, evolved CO2-C and Solvita Amino-N developed from diverse rotations
- SOC positively linked with crop yield; thus, SOC an indicator of agricultural resilience
- Solvita labile amino nitrogen (SLAN) and Solvita CO2-burst positively correlated with SOC and total nitrogen
- Applied nitrogen in diverse rotations had a synergistic effect on soil health indicators
“The study accessed two long-term plot studies, providing optimal platforms to evaluate soil health test parameters,” says Will Brinton, founder and chief science officer of Woods End Laboratories. “Such long-term practices provide greater confidence in distinguishing soil quality effects in laboratory analyses than reliance on short-term studies. These projects reflect significant commitments of researchers supporting sustainability research objectives. Both Solvita tests (SLAN + CO2) were tested in several combinations of crops, soil management regimes and time frames, confirming their usefulness in monitoring changes that are indicative of soil health improvements. … The study further confirms that soil health is critical to the future of society ins far as it links farming, nutrition and climate under the theme of sustainable practices.”
Woods End Laboratories has been on a mission to increase awareness of soil biology functions by developing and providing simple, accurate tools for performing soil measurements in the field and laboratory. Solvita soil tests capture key biological, chemical and physical traits indicating healthy functioning in a farm system. There are also Solvita products for compost quality testing. These products are used by soil conservationists, crop producers and compost facilities worldwide.
To learn more, visit www.solvita.com.