A sample preparation method for reducing variability in the chemical analysis of mineral fertilizers
| Autor: | Rafael Otto, Pedro Henrique de Cerqueira Luz, Jessica Angela Bet, Sophia Regina Quaglio, Risely Ferraz-Almeida, César Gonçalves de Lima |
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| Jazyk: | English<br />Spanish; Castilian<br />Portuguese |
| Rok vydání: | 2024 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Scientia Agricola, Vol 81 (2024) |
| Druh dokumentu: | article |
| ISSN: | 1678-992X 1678-992x |
| DOI: | 10.1590/1678-992x-2023-0089 |
| Popis: | ABSTRACT Analyses of fertilizer are essential to ensuring that fertilizer sold to final users presents chemical and physical qualities in the range determined by law. As regards the sampling of fertilizers, the official method currently used in Brazil for sampling preparation is to reduce the size of the sample (from ~ 3 kg to ~ 0.25 kg) by quartering, followed by grinding (so as to pass through a 0.85 sieve) and nutrient quantification. Herein, we propose an alternative method of sampling preparation by grinding the total sample (~ 3 kg) before quartering to improve accuracy and reduce segregation during quartering. Six formulations of fertilizers (basal samples) were weighed (0.01 kg precision) and sampled according to the two methods (official and alternative), followed by the quantification of nutrient concentration in duplicate. Results showed that both methods presented similar nutrient concentrations for most formulations compared to the basal samples. However, the alternative method presented higher precision (less variation between replicates) and accuracy (versus the basal samples) than the official method. Consequently, the alternative method can be used for sampling preparation fertilizers with high accuracy and precision in determining nutrient concentration. |
| Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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