The unit provides soil and crop management services to the general public such as soil and plant analyses. This unit is tasked with monitoring the fertility levels of soils around the island and makes recommendations in terms of taking corrective action to alleviate or eliminate issues that may arise with respect to the different types of soils.

With regards to soil analysis, the unit has capacity to conduct macro and micro nutrient analysis, measure the pH of samples, electrical conductivity readings, determine the moisture factor, organic matter content and cation exchange capacity, all of which are important factors in determining a soil’s fertility status.

 The laboratory also has capacity to conduct plant tissue analysis in order to investigate the level of nutrients found in the plant’s tissue which is directly related to nutrient absorption and deficiencies, soil fertility and healthy plant roots. This is critical in determining a plants nutrient status. Our unit can also conduct soil physical analysis such as soil composition analysis i.e. the percentage of  sand, silt, clay to determine a particular soil type, hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, porosity, moisture content and moisture retention.