Soil and Plant Analytical Laboratory (SPAL)
The SPAL was started with financial support from the European Union in the early
1990s to provide analytical facilities for the Agriculture sector. The services
provided are free of cost.
Manpower
The laboratory has one Analytical Chemist with MPhil in Soil Science from the University
of Reading, and one graduate Research Officer with Post Graduate Diploma in Management
Services & Information Systems from the University of Manchester, UK. There are 9
technicians for routine work.
Equipment
The major equipment of the laboratory comprises
of Segmented Flow Analyser Type 4000 with 4 Channels; Flame Photometer FLM 3 50R76N10 ;
Atomic Absorption Spectrometer Model PU 9100X ; UV/VIS Spectrometer 8625, and Gas
Chromatography HP 6890 series.
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Samples
The laboratory analyses soil samples for fertility
and survey, plant samples for foliar diagnoses, fertilizer samples for quality control,
water samples for potable water and environmental quality control and feed samples for
quality control. It has the capacity to handle about 3000 samples in a year.
Analysis
Parameters measured in samples are: moisture content,
pH, electrical conductivity, N,P,K, cation exchange capacity with exchangeable cations Mg, K,
Ca, and Na, organic matter, trace elements- Fe, Cu, Zn, B, Mn and Al.
Quality Control
To maintain analytical standards, SPAL
participates in the International Exchange Programme for Soil and Plant Samples Analysis
organized by the Wageningen University (WAU), The Netherlands with an Annual Fee of EU 990.
In a batch of 10 samples, local control samples are introduced as standards to have consistency
in output. Software package have been developed and database developed for managing data
generated from the above-mentioned analyses.
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