The Farm ID is an optional field that allows clients to organize and easily locate reports in the PALS portal. It is especially helpful for clients who submit many samples. Clients can include identifiers in the Farm ID field such as location, treatment (for researchers), permit #s, or anything that will help to quickly locate the right report. 

Leave the Advisor fields on the submission form blank. Complete the Client fields with your information.

The sample ID is determined by YOU to differentiate between samples and serve as a reminder of where or why the samples were collected. Instead of labeling samples 1,2, 3, 4, etc., use sample IDs such as Front, Back, Veggie, Flower, Green, Yellow. The sample ID on the submission form MUST match the sample ID on the sample itself.

The growth stage that you specify affects the nutritional interpretation of the lab results, so it's important to get it right. For young seedlings, use S for Seedling. For plants at early growth before bloom, use E for Early. For plants in bloom, use B for Bloom. For plants that are currently producing fruit, nuts, grains, tubers, etc., use F for Fruit. For mature plants that are post-harvest or in dormancy, use M for Mature.

For most plants, the correct plant part to collect and submit is the Most Recent Mature Leaf.  If this is the part you collected, list M in this field. For young seedlings that lack mature leaves, collect the Whole aboveground plant (no roots) and list W in this field. E is for Earleaf and is only applicable to corn.  H is for Harvest and is only applicable to tobacco at harvest. P is for Petiole and is only applicable to vinifera grapes. T is for Top and is only applicable to grasses and other monocots.

Predictive samples are from healthy plants that are not showing any growth or productivity problems. Diagnostic samples are for crops that are having problems and should ideally include both a good and bad sample.  Including corresponding soil, media, irrigation water, nutrient solutions, nematode, or compost samples is also very helpful in diagnosising nutritional problems in plants.  An NCDA agronomist reviews diagnostic reports and makes recommendations based on the test results and information provided by the client.

There is NO difference between Predictive and Diagnostic reports in terms of the type or quanitity of lab tests performed or the turnaround time.