1. UV-Vis Spectroscopy for determination of Phosphorus, Boron, Sulphur
Mrs Paskalina Mtanke Laboratory technician operating the UV Spectrophotometer for detemination of Phosphorus.
UV-Vis Spectroscopy is a quantitative technique used to measure how much a chemical substance absorbs light. This is done by measuring the intensity of light that passes through a sample with respect to the intensity of light through a reference sample or blank.
Spectrophotometry is a quantitative measurement of the absorption/transmission or reflection of a material as a function of wavelength. Despite being termed UV-Vis, the wavelength range that is typically used ranges from 200 nm up to 1,100 nm in the near-infrared.
Using a spectrophotometer and carrying out absorption/transmission measurements we can determine the amount (or concentration) of a known chemical substance simply, by studying the number of photons (light intensity) that reach the detector. The more a material absorbs light at a specific wavelength, the higher the concentration of the known substance.
2. Block Digester
Simple block digester for total soil N measurement with aluminum block and a hot plate. Samples are digested for 2hrs in 16 mm diameter heat resistant glass tubes using H2SO4 and a digestion mixture composed of CuSO4 and K2SO4. The ammonium content in the digest is determined colorimetrically.
Mr Eliah Andenginiye Kamwela Mounting prepared Sample on Block Digester for Nitrogen determination
3. For determinantion of Macro and Micro nutrients (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Pb, Cd...)
Atomic Absorption Spectrometers
4. Screen house for pot experiment
MSc Stundent Ms. Asha Ally Hatibu doing her experiment on responce of rice under different organic fertilizer ratio