Back Paddock SoilMate · Cotton

Better nitrogen decisions start with what your crop is telling you.

Practical cotton plant tissue testing and interpreted reports to help you monitor nutrient status, fine-tune in-crop nitrogen decisions and manage seasonal risk.

Locally supportedSampling through regional service providers

Interpreted resultsSeasonal nutrient status, not just laboratory figures

Fast reportingStated target: 2 days for petioles; 4 for leaf blades

Agronomic expertiseIndependent technical support for results enquiries

Make informed in-crop decisions

Reduce reliance on nitrogen ‘rules of thumb’.

If soil testing was missed or the preplant nitrogen program was disrupted, plant tissue analysis can provide another valuable input to nitrogen management — alongside crop vigour assessment and field observations.

SoilMate uses measurements and interpretation to help you understand whether nitrogen supply is meeting crop demand during important growth stages.

Explore testing options →

Example SoilMate cotton petiole nitrate nitrogen management graph — Example petiole nitrogen management trend report from the source document.

Choose the right plant part

Two complementary ways to assess your crop.

Leaf blades give a broader picture of crop nutrition, while petioles are especially useful for tracking changing nitrogen supply against crop growth.

Broader nutrient health

Leaf blade testing

Analyses the youngest mature leaf blade without the petiole to assess general crop nutrient status and nitrogen stored to date.

Most useful:

Early and later growth stages
Checking the adequacy of multiple nutrients
Assessing the crop’s ability to maintain nutrition under demand

In-season nitrogen trends

Petiole testing

Measures nutrient trends that help determine whether soil nitrogen supply is matching recent crop growth, supporting tactical in-crop decisions.

Most useful:

From squaring through approximately four weeks after first flower
Timing post-plant nitrogen applications
Assessing vigour towards crop cut-out

Simple local service

Two steps from paddock to interpretation.

The service is designed to reduce the time spent on laboratory forms, sample freight arrangements, manual data entry and report preparation.

Collect your samples

Follow the plant-part and timing guidelines, and collect representative tissue from your selected field locations.

Lodge them locally

Deliver your samples to a participating service provider for analysis and interpreted seasonal reporting.

Regional service provider network

The supplied service document lists these providers. Confirm current participation and locations before publishing.

Crown Analytical · MoreeNetecom · GriffithNutrilab · Goondiwindi

Service commitments described in the document

Interpreted reports within 2 working days for petioles and 4 days for leaf blades.
Local drying of plant material to help avoid sample degradation in transit.
Technical enquiries supported by Dr Chris Dowling.
Preseason inter-laboratory quality comparison.

See what you receive

Reports designed to support decisions.

Interpreted reporting helps turn tissue concentrations into useful crop nutrient observations.

Petiole nitrogen management

Visualise nitrate-N trends and compare observed nutrient status with crop development.

Example nitrate nitrogen trend chart for petiole tissue analysis

Leaf blade crop nutrition status

Review multiple nutrients in a visual report to support nutritional assessment.

Example leaf blade nutrient status report with coloured nutrient bars

Why it matters

Better measurement supports better outcomes.

Yield and nitrogen costs

Use plant measurements to support nitrogen decisions and reduce avoidable input costs.

Nitrogen use efficiency

Support more informed nutrient management and the cotton industry’s environmental stewardship goals.

Late-season crop quality

Monitor nitrogen status and excess vigour that may contribute to lint quality issues.

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