Near Infrared Spectrometry (NIRS) is an exciting technology that offers an ideal solution for such rapid analysis. It is a well tried and tested technique that is already effectively used in many other applications.

For soil, plant and fertiliser analyses however, this methodology has not reached its full potential..

To fully appreciate the potential of  this exciting and promising technique, it may be necessary to approach it like the ancient adventurers and explorers. The first phase is to get fully acquainted with  not only the theoretical aspects, but also with the practical understanding of the concepts. Then like a child, opening  the travel kitbag with all the wonderful new travel gadgets, open the mind for all the latest technologies and techniques which are now available. Sometimes it may be necessary to break away from the beaten track of pre-conceived ideas and explore with awe some unchartered territory where carefully hidden gems of success may be found.

There are examples where this technology is now already successfully applied for soil analyses and precision farming, leaf analyses and fertiliser quality control. The secret of this success lies in this understanding of the technology, knowing  the factors that affect the results and especially to be aware of the limits of the technology.

With such understanding and with the proper management support program in place, NIRS can certainly be the rapid analyses technique of the future.