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Growing from the sugarcane industry to all agricultural sectors, SASRI’s Fertiliser Advisory Service (FAS) has been making it possible for farmers to take the guesswork out of crop nutrition for over 66 years.

FAS was established in 1954. It has achieved recognition as one of the leading agricultural laboratories in the SADC region. FAS provides an efficient and reliable service to growers and researchers, giving cost effective, environmentally friendly fertiliser recommendations based on soil and leaf analysis.

The state-of-the-art laboratory offers comprehensive analytical packages with customised nutrient recommendations for a range of agricultural crops. Each year, the laboratory processes large volumes of soil, leaf, fertiliser, compost and irrigation water samples from South Africa and other African countries.

Enterprises include sugarcane, sub-tropical fruit, nut crops (including macadamias), grain crops, pastures, vegetables, gardens, nurseries, golf courses and bowling greens. For sugarcane, FAS’s comprehensive analytical package includes recommendations (at no extra cost) in accordance with the latest local and international scientific findings. Nutrient advice recommendations are based on decades of research, taking into account the attainable yield and management practices pertaining to each field.

For other crops, such as tree crops including macadamia, avocado, pecan, litchi, citrus and sub-tropical fruit, vegetables, and other row crops, we can provide a basic fertility recommendation package (extra cost option) on request for a fee.

FAS offers a wide range of agricultural soil testing options for many crops. Soil analysis is important to optimise production while efficiently managing your resources. Regular soil testing enables the early detection of harmful soil conditions such as acidity and salinity build-up, nutrient imbalances and overloads, and the depletion of organic matter. It is a cornerstone of sustainable farming.

We have a comprehensive and cost-effective routine soil package analysing pH (CaCl2), phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, exchangeable acidity (Al+H), total cations, acid saturation, exchangeable sodium, zinc, copper, manganese, sulphur, and volume weight, as well as estimates of clay and organic matter, potential nitrogen volatilisation, nitrogen mineralisation and reserve potassium.

Please contact Mbali Shezi at 031-508-7474 or Naven Naicker, Laboratory Manager, at 031-508-7476 or fas@sugar.org.za.

Website: www.fasagrilab.co.za.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fertiliseradvisoryservices/

The Fertiliser Advisory Service of SASRI is SABS ISO 9001:2015 certified (Registration no LS5079) and a participating member of two laboratory proficiency testing schemes, the Agri Laboratory Association of South Africa (Agrilasa) and the International Plant Analytical Exchange (WEPAL).