Plant Sap Conductivity Meter

Plant sap conductivity is essentially a measure of the presence, availability or oversupply of nutrients. It can be used as a direct guideline for ideal fertiliser timing.

The Plant Sap Conductivity Meter is manufactured by the high-tech Japanese company, Horiba, and marketed by NTS. It can measure the conductivity of plant sap, soil and liquid fertiliser solutions with just two drops. Sap conductivity measurements indicate the level of ion uptake. Low sap readings usually relate to low soil conductivity.

Soil conductivity is related to energy release associated with fertilisers. Ideally a crop should be started with soil electrical conductivity (EC) readings of around 0.2 mS/cm and increased to around 0.6 mS/cm when the crop is fruiting or seeding. When soil conductivity exceeds 1.2 mS/cm, most plants will be negatively affected.

If sap conductivity is too high then ions are not being "complexed" correctly. Excessive nitrate nitrogen or saline water are often the culprits (however, over application of other nutrients can also be responsible). If the plant sap conductivity is low it suggests that more ions (fertiliser) could be applied. As a rule of thumb, a plant's sap conductivity should ideally be between 2 and 12 mS/cm.

This meter can also be used to determine ideal conductivity for nutrient solutions. An EC reading of 2 mS/cm is ideal for both foliar solutions and fertigation. Readings below 1.2 mS/cm will highlight poor production potential and readings above 2 mS/cm suggest the possibility of crop burn.

Benefits

  • Measures conductivity from 0 - 19.9 mS/cm.
  • Converts the conductivity reading to a sodium chloride equivalence reading within the range 0 - 1.1%.
  • Measures reliably within a temperature range of 5 - 35ºC.
  • Includes automatic temperature correction.
  • Offers manual holding memory (stores the recorded value).
  • Features automatic power off.
  • Automatic range switch (switches from μS/cm to mS/cm, depending on the conductivity of the solution).

Click here for a detailed product information sheet.


To purchase this product, please contact NTS


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