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Plant Sap Analysis

Plant sap testing is more efficient and effective when accessing crop information than soil or tissue testing. It can help you achieve maximum yield with adjustments to amendments and additives regularly.
This type of testing is helpful during different growth stages, as crop nutrient demands can change significantly. By analyzing the sap of your plants, you can accurately adjust nutrient amendments to correct any imbalances or deficiencies. This information will help you achieve your yield goals while optimizing amendment input costs.

What is Plant Sap Analysis?

Sap analysis measures the active liquids in the vascular tissues, the xylem and phloem. It provides a nearly real-time assessment of the nutrients available in the plant. At NEW AGE, sap is extracted through linear pressure, without compromising the integrity of the leaf. By using methods that do not include mastication, heat, acids, or solvents, we get a clear view of what is active in the plant at the time of sampling. Different pressures are also used for different crop types to ensure leaves and cellular structures remain intact.

Guard Cell

Cuticle

Upper Epidermis

Palisade mesophyll cells
(contain chloroplasts)

Xylem

Phloem

Bundle Sheath

Spongy Mesophyll Cells (contain chloroplasts)

Stoma

Vein

Lower Epidermis

Illustrated by our in-house artist, Jose Aburto. Prop. of NEW AGE Laboratories

When conducting sap analysis, it is essential to maintain the integrity of the samples from the moment the leaves detach from the plant. Following sampling and handling protocols for each crop ensures leaf integrity. To address these concerns, NEW AGE offers an overnight shipping program and a range of sampling guides to keep the samples fresh until they reach the laboratory.

Plant Sap & Combo Submission Form

A Guide To Interpreting Your Sap Analysis Report

General Sap Sampling Guide

Nutrient Mobility

NEW AGE Laboratories mobile and immobile nutrition wheel

NEW AGE Laboratory Nutrient Chart

Analysis of sap can detect nutrient issues often long before visible symptoms appear. As an example, Nitrogen (N), being highly mobile, will produce a deficiency symptom initially in the old leaves if the plant has been nitrogen deficient for a prolonged period. Old leaves start to turn yellow due to lack of chlorophyll synthesis. On a sap report, N deficiency is identified, often long before visual symptoms occur. When higher amounts of N are measured in the new leaf than the old leaf, this means the plant is remobilizing N from old leaves to meet the high demand in the new leaves, identifying when not enough N uptake is available. An excess of N is common in sap results as well, showing more N in the old leaves than in the new. When an excess of N is persistent in sap, this points to an area where fertilizer rates can be potentially decreased and production problems with pests and diseases associated with excess N can be avoided. This comparison of new vs old leaves is applicable to identify deficiencies and excesses of all mobile nutrients. The unique N information available from sap analysis also includes N conversion efficiency analysis, exclusively through NEW AGE Laboratories' sap analysis.

Nitrogen Conversion Efficiency parameter on plant sap analysis report

A Guide To Interpreting Your Sap Analysis Report

For more information on our sap parameters and how they may affect your yield, check out the tabs below.

Brix content, indicating the concentration of soluble solids such as sugars in plant sap or fruit juice, directly influences plant health and quality. Monitoring Brix levels is crucial for assessing plant vigor, fruit ripeness, and overall nutritional value. It enables growers to optimize cultivation practices, such as irrigation and fertilization, to enhance yield, flavor, and resistance to pests and diseases, ultimately ensuring superior crop quality and market competitiveness.

pH level profoundly impacts plant health by influencing nutrient availability, microbial activity, and soil structure. Monitoring pH is essential as it ensures optimal conditions for nutrient uptake and microbial activity. Maintaining the correct pH range facilitates efficient nutrient absorption, prevents nutrient imbalances, and promotes healthy root development. Regular pH monitoring allows growers to adjust soil acidity or alkalinity, optimizing growing conditions to maximize crop yield and quality

Electrical conductivity (EC) measures the concentration of dissolved salts in soil or nutrient solutions, reflecting the fertility and salinity levels. Monitoring EC is crucial as it helps maintain proper nutrient levels for plant growth. High EC levels can indicate excessive fertilizer application or salt accumulation, leading to nutrient imbalances and reduced plant health, while low EC levels may signal nutrient deficiencies. Regular EC monitoring enables growers to adjust fertilization practices, ensuring optimal nutrient availability and minimizing the risk of salt stress, thus promoting healthy plant growth and maximizing yields.

Aluminum is a common element in soil, but high levels can be toxic to plants, especially in acidic soils. Aluminum is a phytotoxic metal, monitoring aluminum levels is crucial for assessing soil health and preventing toxicity. Excessive aluminum can inhibit root growth, reduce nutrient uptake, and impair overall plant development. By regularly assessing aluminum levels and implementing soil amendment strategies such as liming to raise soil pH or using aluminum-tolerant plant varieties, growers can mitigate the negative effects of aluminum toxicity, ensuring healthy plant growth and optimizing crop yields in affected areas.

Boron is less commonly analyzed, but still important for plant growth. In crops such as strawberries, boron is an essential micronutrient, playing a critical role in cell wall formation, carbohydrate metabolism, and reproductive development. Monitoring boron levels is crucial for maintaining optimal plant health and productivity. Boron deficiency can lead to symptoms such as stunted growth, leaf deformation, and poor fruit set, while excess boron can cause toxicity symptoms and reduce crop quality. Analyzing the boron content of plant sap is most important early in the season during root development and late in the season during flowering and fruiting. By regularly assessing boron levels, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure balanced availability, promoting robust plant growth, improved flowering and fruiting, and maximizing agricultural yields while minimizing the risk of boron-induced stress.

Calcium is an essential nutrient for plants, playing a critical role in cell wall structure, membrane integrity, and enzyme activation. Maintaining proper calcium levels throughout the entirety of a season is critical to crop yield as calcium is crucial for maintaining plant health and structural integrity. Calcium is an immobile nutrient, meaning symptoms of a deficiency show up first in newer growth leading to disorders such as blossom end rot in fruits and poor root development, while excess can impair nutrient uptake and lead to toxicity symptoms. Taking a comparative sap analysis of your plant can help assess calcium levels, allowing growers to adjust soil amendments and irrigation practices to ensure optimal calcium availability, promoting strong cell walls, improved disease resistance, and overall plant vigor, thereby maximizing crop yields and quality.

Monitoring the ratio between calcium and potassium is also vital. It ensures plants are utilizing their calcium concentrations properly, so we include a K/Ca statistic along with our tests to highlight if your plants are maintaining a healthy balance.

Chlorine is an essential micronutrient for plants, playing a role in photosynthesis, osmotic regulation, and disease resistance. However, excessive chlorine levels can be toxic to plants, causing leaf burn, wilting, and reduced growth. Monitoring chlorine levels is crucial to prevent toxicity and maintain optimal plant health. By regularly assessing chlorine concentrations in soil or water sources, growers can adjust irrigation practices and fertilizer formulations to ensure balanced nutrient uptake, promoting vigorous plant growth and minimizing the risk of chlorine-induced stress.

Copper is an essential micronutrient for plants, playing a key role in enzyme activation, photosynthesis, and oxidative stress response. Copper deficiency can lead to symptoms such as leaf chlorosis, reduced growth, and impaired reproductive development, while excess copper can cause toxicity symptoms and interfere with nutrient uptake. Copper uptake can be hindered by zinc concentrations, and excessive copper in acidic soil can cause toxicity in plants. Copper has intermediate mobility, so Comparison Sap Analysis allows you to see how copper availability has changed during the season. By regularly assessing copper levels, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure balanced copper availability, promoting healthy plant growth, enhanced disease resistance, and improved crop yields while minimizing the risk of copper-induced stress and environmental impact.

Magnesium is an essential macronutrient for plants, vital for chlorophyll synthesis, enzyme activation, and energy transfer processes. Magnesium deficiency can result in chlorosis, leaf curling, and poor growth, while excess magnesium can induce nutrient imbalances and interfere with calcium uptake. Unlike some other nutrients, magnesium is highly mobile, showing symptoms in older growth leaves first. Both individual and comparison sap tests can help growers ensure balanced nutrient availability, promoting vibrant green foliage, improved photosynthesis, and enhanced crop yields, thereby optimizing agricultural sustainability and productivity.

Molybdenum is an essential micronutrient for plants, critical for nitrogen fixation, enzyme activation, and nutrient metabolism. Improper molybdenum levels can hinder your crops ability to soak in nitrogen during application and waste valuable application product. Molybdenum deficiency can lead to symptoms such as yellowing of older leaves, reduced growth, and impaired nitrogen fixation in legumes, while excess molybdenum is rare it can inhibit plant growth and cause nutrient imbalances. By regularly assessing molybdenum levels, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure balanced molybdenum availability, promoting efficient nitrogen fixation, improved nutrient uptake, and enhanced crop yields while minimizing the risk of molybdenum-induced stress and deficiencies in nitrogen-dependent crops.

Nickel is considered a micronutrient for some plants, playing a role in nitrogen metabolism, seed germination, and enzyme activation and is readily available in almost all soil. Nickel deficiency is rare but can lead to reduced growth and impaired nitrogen metabolism, while excess nickel can be toxic and cause symptoms such as leaf chlorosis, stunted growth, and reduced yield. By regularly assessing nickel levels, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure balanced nickel availability, promoting optimal plant growth, improved nutrient utilization, and enhanced crop yields while minimizing the risk of nickel-induced toxicity and nutrient imbalances.

Iron is an essential micronutrient for plants, critical for chlorophyll synthesis, photosynthesis, and enzyme function. Iron deficiency can lead to symptoms such as chlorosis, necrosis, reduced growth, poor fruit or seed production and bleaching of newer leaves, while excess iron can cause toxicity and inhibit nutrient uptake. Plants require acidic soil for proper iron uptake, and low levels can indicate pH problems (which can cause many other issues). By regularly assessing iron levels, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure balanced iron availability, promoting vibrant foliage, improved photosynthetic efficiency, and enhanced crop yields while minimizing the risk of iron-induced stress and nutrient imbalances.

Nitrogen in the forms of nitrate and ammonia is essential for plant growth, serving as a building block for proteins, enzymes, and chlorophyll. Monitoring nitrate and ammonia levels is critical for optimizing nitrogen use efficiency and preventing environmental pollution. Excessive nitrate levels can leach into groundwater, leading to contamination, while inadequate levels can limit plant growth. By regularly monitoring nitrate and ammonia levels, growers can adjust fertilizer applications to maintain optimal nitrogen availability, promoting healthy plant growth, minimizing environmental impact, and ensuring sustainable agricultural practices.

For optimal nitrogen management, comparison sap tests are recommended. This allows you to get the best idea of how your plants' nitrogen availability is changing. We also recommend sampling your crops on regular intervals. Doing so will ensure there are no gaps in nitrogen availability to hinder your crops' yield.

Phosphorous is a crucial macronutrient for plants, playing a vital role in energy transfer, root development, and flowering. Monitoring phosphorus levels is essential for promoting healthy plant growth and maximizing crop yields. Deficiencies of phosphorous can be noticed in older leaves first. Signs include stunted growth, poor fruit or seed development, and a red color due to elevated anthocyanin pigments. Excess phosphorous can prevent plants from absorbing zinc, iron, and copper into the roots, leading to deficiencies in those micro-nutrients as well. By regularly assessing phosphorus levels in soil or through sap analysis, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure optimal phosphorus availability, fostering robust root systems, improved nutrient uptake, and enhanced overall plant vigor, thereby optimizing agricultural sustainability and productivity.

Potassium is a key macronutrient for plants, essential for various physiological processes including osmoregulation, enzyme activation, and nutrient transport, and is absorbed in abundance by plants. Similar to magnesium and nitrogen, potassium is highly mobile inside plants, and is utilized in new tissue development. Potassium deficiency can lead to symptoms such as leaf yellowing, reduced growth, and increased susceptibility to pests and diseases, while excess potassium can interfere with the uptake of other nutrients. Extended periods without ample potassium will cause plants to begin to die around the edges of leaves and fruits to be underdeveloped and fruits to remain under ripe.

Monitoring the ratio between potassium and calcium is also vital to ensure that plants are utilizing their potassium concentrations properly, so we include a K/Ca statistic along with our tests to highlight if your plants are maintaining a healthy balance between the two.

Selenium is an essential micronutrient for some plants, playing a role in antioxidant defense, enzyme activation, and stress tolerance. Small amounts of selenium are known to improve a plant's survival in cold and drought weathers. Selenium also can help plants endure toxicity from metals from improper fertilizer supplement applications. Selenium deficiency can lead to symptoms such as reduced growth, increased susceptibility to diseases, and impaired reproductive development, while excess can be toxic and cause symptoms such as leaf necrosis, stunted growth, and reduced yield. By regularly assessing selenium levels, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure balanced availability, promoting healthy plant growth, improved stress tolerance, and enhanced crop yields while minimizing the risk of selenium-induced toxicity and nutrient imbalances. In addition, plant consumption of selenium is the main source for humans, so monitoring crop content can be beneficial for nutritional information.

Silicon is beneficial to plant growth, but is particularly necessary in grain crops such as rice. It is needed for healthy shoot development and protection from abiotic stressors such as drought and frost. Silicon can also help facilitate plant uptake of other essential nutrients, such as potassium. Silicon deficiency can lead to increased susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses, reduced structural integrity, and decreased yield, while adequate levels can improve plant resistance to pests, diseases, and environmental stressors. By regularly assessing silicon levels, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure optimal silicon availability, promoting robust plant growth, enhanced defense mechanisms, and improved crop yields, thus contributing to sustainable agricultural practices and resilience against various stress factors.

Zinc is an essential micronutrient for plants, crucial for enzyme activation, hormone regulation, and overall growth and development. Monitoring zinc levels is vital for maintaining optimal plant health and productivity. Zinc deficiency can lead to symptoms such as stunted growth, interveinal chlorosis, and decreased fruit or seed production, while excess zinc can cause toxicity symptoms and impair nutrient uptake. By regularly assessing zinc levels in soil or through tissue analysis, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure balanced zinc availability, promoting healthy plant growth, improved stress tolerance, and enhanced crop yields while minimizing the risk of zinc-induced stress and nutrient imbalances.

Manganese is an essential micronutrient for plants, playing a key role in photosynthesis, enzyme activation, and antioxidant defense mechanisms. Excess manganese can affect a plants uptake of iron, calcium, and magnesium, leading to symptoms such as interveinal chlorosis, stunted growth, and poor fruit set, while excess manganese can cause toxicity symptoms and impair root function. By regularly assessing manganese levels, growers can adjust fertilization practices to ensure balanced manganese availability, promoting healthy plant growth, improved stress tolerance, and enhanced crop yields while minimizing the risk of manganese-induced stress and nutrient imbalances.

Sodium, while not considered essential for most plants, can still influence plant growth and health, especially in saline environments. Monitoring sodium levels is important, particularly in irrigation water and soil, to prevent salt stress and maintain optimal plant health. Sodium provides similar growth support as potassium, substituting in when potassium levels are deficient. Excessive sodium can lead to osmotic stress, ion toxicity, and reduced water uptake, resulting in stunted growth and crop yield loss. By regularly assessing sodium levels and implementing appropriate management strategies such as leaching, soil amendments, and selecting tolerant crop varieties, growers can mitigate the negative effects of sodium, ensuring sustainable crop production and minimizing soil degradation in saline-affected areas.

Sulfur is a vital nutrient for plants, contributing to protein synthesis, enzyme activation, and chlorophyll formation. Monitoring sulfur levels is essential for ensuring proper plant nutrition and overall health. Sulfur deficiency can lead to yellowing of leaves, stunted growth, and decreased crop yields, while excess sulfur can result in toxicity and nutrient imbalances. This can be seen in low nitrogen uptake and decreased soil pH below a safe acidity, so keeping an eye on sulfur content in sap is particularly important for hydroponic growers. By regularly monitoring sulfur levels in soil or through sap analysis, growers can adjust fertilizer applications and soil amendments to maintain optimal sulfur availability, promoting robust plant growth and maximizing agricultural productivity while minimizing environmental impact.

Cobalt is essential for nitrogen fixation in leguminous plants, facilitating the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms. Additionally, it plays a role in the synthesis of vitamin B12, which is crucial for various metabolic processes. Monitoring cobalt levels is important to ensure proper nitrogen metabolism and overall plant health, as deficiency can impair growth and reduce nitrogen fixation capacity, affecting crop productivity in legumes and other plants dependent on this nutrient.

Detect nutritional imbalances four to five weeks earlier than tissue analysis.

Manage nutrition and fix the cause of problems before they negatively affect production.

Determine which nutrients and product sources work.

Understand different nutritional requirements between different cultivars that can affect your ROI.

Optimized use of resources and better results.

Comparison Sap

We gain a deeper understanding of a plant's nutrient content by comparing the older and newer growth instead of assuming uniformity. Analyzing the sap between leaves of different growth stages can provide additional insight into how the availability of nutrients has changed throughout the season. Doing this is particularly useful for growers who cultivate plants without soil, such as hydroponic and aeroponic growers, as it helps them track how their plant's nutrient uptake changes over time.

Translocative Sap

Translocative sap analysis combines the benefits of individual sap testing with the trusted knowledge that soil testing provides. We compare the nutrients available in the soil with those your plants absorb through your roots. This type of test is most informative when done periodically throughout the growing season. It allows you to monitor what nutrients your crops absorb from their soil amendments, enabling you to make informed management decisions when they matter the most.

Individual Sap

By conducting individual sap tests, we can provide a detailed analysis of the nutrients flowing through your plants' xylem and phloem. This method provides a more precise representation of nutrients available to your plant than soil and tissue tests.