Leaf Extract Analysis

The most advanced form of plant sap analysis available on the market today.  Accurate insight into plant nutritional stress with hundreds of data points per report.

Soil Solution Analysis

Rapidly compare  the nutrient availability in the shallow soil profile (active rooting zone) with the deep Soil  (the passive rooting zone)

Irrigation Water Analysis

Rapid comparison of  source of water (well, lake, ditch, creek, river, etc.) with field water (dripline, sprinkler nozzle, hose end, pivot, etc.) to check for unknown influences on the plant.

Soil Nutrient Analysis

Accurately assess the myriad of variables in a number of soil Nutrient Analysis packages, including Water Soluble, Mehlich 3, Modified Morgan and Total Digestible.  Using all soil methods helps to give a complete picture of how a soil functions and how it can be restored methodically to health.

Leaf Extract Analysis is a horticultural analysis technique developed and perfected by Apical that is used to analyze the mineral content of plant fluids to grow healthier crops.

To use plant fluid mineral data reports to inform nutrient management decisions.

Our Getting Started Guide has instructions for taking and submitting samples, ordering labels, preparing labels, shipment and more.

Each standard report costs $85 and analyzes and compares old/new leaf, shallow/deep soil, source/field irrigation water, or one of our basic soil packages. Upgraded packages and deluxe analytes are available at additional cost. Reports include Target Range Charts to visually identify deficiencies.

NOTE: For best results, we highly recommend sending both samples for your reports. Our reports compare the samples to each other to show how nutrients move through the plant or soil, or how nutrients are lost or changed between a water source and a field irrigation point.

Yes. Bulk Orders (ordering more than one report at the same time) use scheduled discounts:

• 1-9 reports: $85 each
• 10-99 reports: $80 each
• 100-499 reports: $75 each
• 500+ reports: $70 each

NOTE: Discounts apply only when all reports are:

-Prepaid and ordered in bulk in advance on the web site,

-or-

-Prepayment is made in advance by contacting our office.

For large numbers of reports (20 or more), we recommend contacting our office at (503) 479-8407 to set up a prepaid account. This gives you immediate access to your reports once the samples have processed, bypassing the PayPal process and fees.

After your samples arrive at our offices, water and leaf reports take 2-3 business days to be uploaded to your Apical account. Soil reports may take up to 5-7 business days depending on soil moisture content. Please remember to take weekends into account for your sampling timeline, as the laboratory and many parcel carriers do not operate on weekends.

If you purchased additional agronomy services, Detailed Recommendations will be added to your report within 1-3 business days.

Our Organic Products List shows all of the products available for purchase through Apical.

We offer organic agricultural products from the following major suppliers:

• Apical Custom Blend Fertilizers
• Agro Research International (ARI)
• Eden Solutions
• Ferticell
• FertilGold Organics
• Grower’s Secret
• Growth Products
• Mapleton Agri Biotech
• Pacific Gro
• Hello Nature
• Sym-Agro
• Cultivace
• TEP Inc
• Tainio Biologicals, Inc.

Shop our Organic Store.

Our Sample Labels page has detailed instructions for printing and applying your sample labels.

Click on Orders on the top menu. You will see a page for ordering a single report (Leaf Extract Analysis, Soil Solution Analysis, Irrigation Water Analysis) or multiple reports at once with a Bulk Order.

Each single report costs $85, and each report in a Bulk Order costs $85. For example, if you order 5 reports in a Bulk Order, your total cost is $425.

Apical can receive and analyze hemp and cannabis plant material; however, it is the customer’s responsibility to know and follow state and federal shipping regulations. Contact carriers directly for further information regarding shipping regulations and requirements.

We generally accept samples from 9am-3pm on weekdays. You may also call to make an appointment.

We can make arrangements to leave out our leaf drop cooler at the front door if you need to make a delivery after hours.

Yes, on a limited basis, as it requires additional paperwork and licensing.

Apical is currently approved to accept samples of about 20 species from Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Guatemala, and a few others. We are working on adding several more species and may add more countries to the list over time.

If you wish to send samples from outside the United States, please email [email protected] to begin the permitting process with APHIS-USDA.

You must print and sign the International Leaf Sample Agreement. Include this document in your shipment.

Currently accepted species are:

• Coffea arabica
• Coffea robust
• Theobroma cacao
• Musa acuminata
• Carica papaya
• Persea americana
• Gossypium hirsutum
• Malus domestica
• Prunus avium
• Zea mays
• Avena sativa
• Phaseolus vulgaris
• Sorghum bicolor
• Triticum aestivum
• Vaccinium myrtillus
• Vitis vinífera

Our reports list concentrations of elements and molecules, Mobile Nutrients (Phloem), Immobile Nutrients (Xylem) – along with helpful interactive charts and graphs – and are grouped into the following categories:

• Primary Indicators
• Major Cations
• Secondary Cations
• Minor Cations
• Major Anions
• Secondary Anions
• Minor Anions
• New Leaf vs. Old Leaf Ratios
• Calcium Ratios
• Limiting Indicators (Mobile, Immobile)

In addition to pH, Digital Brix, Qualitative Brix and Electrical Conductivity, we report concentrations of the following elements and molecules:

• Ammonium (NH4)
• Potassium (K)
• Magnesium (Mg)
• Calcium (Ca)
• Sodium (Na)
• Iron (Fe)
• Manganese (Mn)
• Zinc (Zn)
• Copper (Cu)
• Cobalt (Co)
• Nitrate (NO3)
• Phosphorous (P)
• Sulfur (S)
• Chloride (Cl)
• Silicon (Si)
• Iodine (I)
• Boron (B)
• Molybdenum (Mo)
• Aluminum (Al)
• Selenium (Se)

Our Agronomists and Recommendations page has detailed instructions for sharing your reports with other Apical customers.

When you order a report on our web site, there is a field on the order form where you add email addresses of Apical customers with whom you would like to share the report. These individuals will receive email updates about your order and will be able to view your reports from their own Grower Home page.

When you print and apply your Sample Shipping Labels, you may also enter those email addresses on the sample labels for each sample set.

Additionally, each report has a ‘Share This Report’ button that takes you to a sharing page which allows you to share a single report with an agronomist or consultant. There is a secondary field on that page that allows you to share ALL of your reports with an agronomist or consultant.

You can share with multiple people by adding comma-separated email addresses.

For example, to share the current report with a business partner and a biostimulant provider, you might enter:

• [email protected],[email protected]

Plant (sap) nutrient flow and translocation has been studied for over 80 years in hundreds of peer-reviewed journals.  By sampling and analyzing different parts of the plant, agronomic principles can be utilized to determine which nutrients are deficient, balanced, or toxic.

You can order a Detailed Recommendation for $25 for a full review of your report, including specific products and quantities to apply.

For example: (on a per acre basis):

• 500 lb Soft Rock Phosphate
• 500 lb Perfect Blend 4-4-2
• 250 lb Feather Meal
• 500 lb Fish Bone Meal
• 250 lb Humates

Click on Order -> View All Orders on the top menu. You will see a list of Pending Orders, followed by a list of Completed Orders.

If you placed your order on the web site, you will see the current status of all your orders. If you sent in samples to the laboratory without creating an online order, then your order will be added to the web site only after it has been processed by the laboratory.

Click on Reports on the top menu. You will see lists of reports, grouped by report type. Each entry has a ‘View’ link to view the report.

You can also see all of your reports on your Grower Home page. Scroll down to see links to all of your leaf, soil and water reports.

If looking for reports on your Grower Home page, note that you can click in the top right corner of the report section to switch between Card View (colored tiles) or List View (more efficient data display). You can change your default setting (card vs. list) on your Grower Settings page, which is available by clicking the ‘Grower Settings’ button on the top right corner of your Grower Home page.

See our Leaf Extract Analysis Interpretation Guide.

By reading our interpretation guide, one can usually learn the basics within half an hour; however, after generating and reading reports for 7 years, we are still gaining insights every week.  Plant Nutritional Stress is a new frontier of plant science and reveals exciting new opportunities for crop management.

• Add a Detailed Recommendation to each report ($25)
• Book a private consultation
• Gain Deeper insight on crop health with the Apical LEAF Program

Reports are made available to you within 24 hours of being processed by the lab. As soon as the data is uploaded to the website, you will receive an email with a link to view (or pay for) the report.

Rest assured that you will receive your reports as soon as they are created. There is no need to call, and calling Apical will not speed up your results.

• Farmers that wish to improve crop productivity and health
• Agronomists, Crop Advisors and Consultants who make fertilizer recommendations
• Organic growers looking to maximize the organic method
• Conventional growers looking to minimize fertilizer costs
• Students of Agriculture/Horticulture

• How to optimize fertilization
• General plant health by primary indicators
• Balance of nutrients in different parts of the plant
• Toxic elements that are causing plant stress
• Nitrogen excess/deficiency
• Micronutrient deficiencies
• Nutrient management preferences by cultivar
• And much more…

The mineral content of the plant fluids is a predictive indicator of plant tissue content.

By analyzing the plant fluids during transport prior to becoming part of the plant tissue, the mineral needs and excesses of the plant can be adjusted.

This operates similar to process controls and quality assurance which are common in other manufacturing industries.

In Tissue Analysis, the plant fluids within the plant leaf are excluded and the cellular tissue is analyzed.

In Leaf Extract Analysis, the cellular fluids are analyzed and the tissue components are excluded.

Sap testing can mean many different protocols depending on the researcher studying it.  Some labs juice plant leaves to a pulp and analyzed in the field for 1-5 nutrient analytes using portable meters.

In Apical’s Leaf Extract Analysis, the pure cellular fluids of the plant are extracted and analyzed on precision laboratory equipment for 24 or more analytes.

To prevent confusion, we use the term Apical Leaf Extract Analysis (or simply referred to as Apical testing or the Apical Leaf test) which operates on strict quality assurance, standardization and data science protocols to optimize the science of plant sap analysis.

We employ a multi-stage process that excludes the vascular transport bundles, cellular wall structures and other tissue components. The process produces pure plant fluids to be used for analytical purposes.

We utilize scientifically accepted methods for plant-matrix analysis using precision laboratory techniques and sub-part-per-million quantitation.