Soil-Plant Spectral Diagnostics Laboratory
The ICRAF Soil-Plant Spectral Diagnostics Laboratory is a lead global lab that offers reliable, cost-efficient and rapid analysis of soil, plants and agricultural inputs such as manure and fertilizers using dry spectral methods. It is the key reference laboratory for over 20 regional spectroscopy labs, globally. It is also a key partner in the GLOSOLAN global spectral library initiative with the FAO.
The ICRAF Soil Lab provides cutting edge services using visible, near infrared (NIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy. The use of these spectral methods has advanced landscape-scale assessments of soil and ecosystem health, which continue to play a key role in global monitoring of agriculture interventions and restoration efforts.
Using its cutting edge instrumentation, the lab can provide the highest quality analytics.
The analytical instruments we use include:
- Bruker Fourier Transformation Near-Infrared Multi-Purpose Analyzer (FT-NIR MPA),
- Bruker Fourier Transformation Mid-Infrared Tensor 27 with high throughput (HTs XT) screening device (FT-MIR Tensor27/HTs XT)
which are mainly used for prediction of the following properties:
- Soil – carbon (C), nitrogen (N), pH (water), electrical conductivity, exchangeable acidity, Mehlich-3 extraction of (Al, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, S, Fe, Mn, Cu, B, Zn), P sorption index and particle size distributions (% sand, % clay, % silt).
- Plants – Available N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu, B, Na
The lab also runs a portable X-ray fluorescence Bruker Tracer V-i spectrometer for determination and quantification of total elements in soils, plants and fertilizer as indicated below:
- Soil Trace and Major Elements - Na, Mg, Al, P,S, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Cd, and Pb
- Plant Trace and Major Elements - Na, Mg, Al, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Mo, Cd, Sb, Ba, Hg, and Pb
- Fertilizer Trace and Major Elements - Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Cd, and Pb
Growth areas for the ICRAF Soil Lab include
- high quality analysis of soil, plants, and agricultural inputs and products,
- big data analytics of soil and land health indicators at the landscape scale,
- providing quality control services for the global network of spectral labs and sensors,
- software development for managing and using spectral data,
- development of low-cost sensors,
- capacity development on the inclusion of spectral methods and analysis into government and non-governmental laboratories, globally.
Visit our resources page to see our latest videos and capacity development brochures.
Sample submission to the ICRAF Soil-Plant Spectral Diagnostics Laboratory is done by abiding with the indicated protocols and filling the attached form online or by sending it to the laboratory management. Contact Elvis Weullow at (E.Weullow@cgiar.org) or Dickens Ateku (D.Ateku@cgiar.org)
Testimonials
Director & Chief Executive of Rothamsted Research, UK
"I know of no other, comparable effort of this kind”
“The lab has also played a key role in the African Soil Information Service (AfSIS), a world-leading initiative funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to vastly improve the quality and quantity of diagnostic soil and landscape information for agriculture and other uses in Sub-Saharan Africa”
“A whole new paradigm for collecting and analyzing soils has been developed and is now being widely applied. These innovative efforts need to be expanded, in Africa and other world regions”
Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO
“The Soil-Plant Spectral Diagnostics Laboratory, in particular, is much more than a first-class facility”
“The team and the actual laboratory are really impressive. They match the best that I have encountered around the world.”
“In summary, the Laboratory has been a shining beacon of hope in a region where the challenges of agricultural development are daunting.”
Agriculture Innovations, One Acre Fund
“One Acre Fund is a direct farmer service organization that provides over 400,000 farmers with access to credit, agricultural inputs and training across eastern Africa”
“… access to accurate, cheap and large-scale soil data is critical for organizational success”
“Due to the tremendous scientific advancements of the Spectral Laboratory we were able to draw from the lab’s work in soil spectral analysis and incorporate these technologies and processes into our organization”
“In the first year of operation alone we have sampled and analyzed over 20,000 internal soil samples. We are using this data to directly inform internal programs that are reaching 100,000s of smallholder farming families across Africa and beyond”
“In addition, we are using our new soil data resources to leverage private agricultural industry to create new, locally-adapted fertilizer and other soil products”
“All of these efforts would have been cost-prohibitive were it not for the technological breakthroughs originating from the Soil-Pant Spectral Diagnostic Laboratory”
Senior Technologist, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
"I was really impressed by the state-of-the-art equipment available and more so by the staff who operate them and by the well-meshed flow of work right from the reception, preparation, coding and dispatch, processing, data analyses, and archiving. This was an eye-opener and so kindly keep up the good work"
Chief Agronomist AgroCares
“AgroCares has developed and commercialized handheld near infrared instrumentation for on-farm soil testing and advisory services. For this development AgroCares was inspired by ICRAF knowledge and published work in this area”