Quality Assurance and Quality Control Programs at UGA's Soil, Plant, and Water Testing Laboratory – A Model for Local, National and International Laboratories

Summary

Standard quality control procedures create the foundation of the quality assurance program. The University of Georgia Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories (AESL) has a defined system of quality assurance (QA) practices and operational policies essential for ensuring that data generated from analysis are accurate and defensible. To strengthen the laboratory's QA program, a computer model was developed and employed as part of the laboratory's daily soil analysis with several layers of routine operational performance checked and evaluated before data are reported. This computer program was tested and verified against thousands of data from the AESL database, and came out to be robust, useful and practical in any soil testing facility. The significance of this computer model and QA program to the soil testing community was acknowledged during the 14th International Symposium for Soil and Plant Analysis held at Kona, Hawaii as an invited paper for presentation in January 2015, and a QA/QC workshop is being organized for international audience during the 15th International Symposium on Soil and Plant Analysis in Nanjing, China in May 2017. The UGA AESL's reputation motivated the Vietnam Government to seek advice from the AESL Director, Dr. Leticia Sonon, on ways to improve the country's sole fertilizer testing laboratory and assess its capabilities and potential for growth. Dr. Sonon will be visiting Vietnam on November 28-December 6, 2016.

Situation

Soil testing laboratories including the UGA Soil Testing Lab receive thousands of soil samples every year from farmers, researchers, student, gardeners, and the general public. These samples are analyzed for their nutrient contents and data are used to determine appropriate fertilizer and management practices to maximize crop yields. As the analysis requires a fast-turn-around time, one of the challenges that soil testing laboratories face is the quality of results. For many years, various laboratories were searching for a more versatile and robust way of checking data before they are released to the stakeholders. The need becomes dire as laboratories have to constantly adapt to new methods of analysis of soil, plant, and other materials. As part of being a progressive lab, it is logical for it to study, develop, and improve existing analytical methods especially when new instrumentation becomes available.

Response

Equipped with strong IT department, a huge volume of dataset from multiple years, and respectable scientific background, we embarked on connecting various soil and mineral characteristics, relate them to each other, and create a model that could possibly predict the outcome given the combination of various soil parameters. Using data from more than 200,000 soil samples, strong relationships between soil parameters were noted and equations were established. To check if the equations were applicable to current soil samples, several analytical measurements were independently done in the laboratory after which, the data were tested against the model.

Impact

The University of Georgia Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories (AESL) is setting the standards for QA/QC programs in the soil testing environment both nationally and internationally. The laboratory has a defined system of quality assurance (QA) practices and operational policies essential for ensuring that data generated from analysis are accurate and defensible. The model, Mehlich-pH Model, helps ensure that soil sets are run in the correct order, and it helps ensure that each instrument is functioning properly. The model was has significantly strengthened the data quality of the laboratory thereby giving a positive impact to its wide clientele in Georgia and beyond. Additionally, other states in the Southern Region have sought technical assistance from UGA to improve their Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) programs. UGA's reputation in the area soil, plant, and water testing has reached international audiences including Vietnam, Guinea, and Congo.

State Issue

Agricultural Profitability and Sustainability

Details

• Year: 2016
• Geographic Scope: International
• County: Clarke
• Program Areas:
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources