A method for elemental analysis of plant tissue, using the Spectraspan III with a dc argon plasma emission source, is presented. Values are reported for boron, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, aluminum, iron, copper, calcium, and potassium. NBS Orchard Leaves and NBS Tomato Leaves Standard Reference Material and a soybean tissue sample from 7 separate sample preparations and ashings are analyzed. Instrument operation is relatively simple, with rapid startup. Analysis is fast, requiring only 1.25 min/sample. Results and standard eviations compare favorably with NBS certified values for most elements. Dry ashing is responsible for differing results in the analyses for iron and aluminum. The discrepancy for molybdenum cannot be explained at present.
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Darrell C Debolt (1980) studied this question.