Introduction

This document was prepared by the experts of CEN/TC 455 “Plant Biostimulants”. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) was requested by the European Commission (EC) to draft European standards or European standardization deliverables to support the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 of 5 June 2019 laying down rules on the making available on the market of EU fertilizing products (“FPR” or “Fertilising Products Regulation”).

This standardization request, presented as M/564, also contributes to the Communication on “Innovating for Sustainable Growth: A Bio economy for Europe”. The Working Group 1 “Sampling”, was created to develop a work program as part of this request. The technical committee CEN/TC 455 “Plant Biostimulants” was established to carry out the work program that will prepare a series of standards. The interest in biostimulants has increased significantly in Europe as a valuable tool to use in agriculture. Standardization was identified as having an important role in order to promote the use of biostimulants. The work of CEN/TC 455 seeks to improve the reliability of the supply chain, thereby improving the confidence of farmers, industry, and consumers in biostimulants, and will promote and support commercialisation of the European biostimulant industry.

This document covers the following aspects of sampling, derived from EN 1482‑1:2007, Fertilizers and liming materials — Sampling and sample preparation — Part 1: Sampling and documents indicated. This document is presented in a form adapted to the specificity of plant biostimulants. The titles of the standards are given in the Bibliography.

From a technical point of view, sampling is generally defined as the withdrawal operation, of the part of a “mass”, of such dimensions that the properties found in the sample taken are, within the limits of statistical acceptability, the same as those of the mass of origin (representativeness of the sample). In other words, the ultimate purpose of sampling is to allow the collection of representative portions of plant biostimulants to be subject to analysis. Therefore, it fundamentally affects the significance and reliability of the analytical results themselves.

The final results, in fact, must as far as possible refer to the state and conditions in where the material is found at the time of collection, therefore, care must be taken to avoid or minimize possible modifications to the chemical, physical and biological properties of the sample during or after sampling.

In conclusion, for a correct sampling, it is necessary that the sampling and collection of samples take place quickly, if possible, taking necessary precautions to ensure that they are representative of the plant biostimulants to be analysed and that the samples taken are stored in appropriate way. The surfaces, containers and instruments used must be clean and dry.

Furthermore, remember the protection of health and safety in places of work, and that every intervention must be carried out in compliance with the defined prevention and protection measures (including the use of any suitable personal protective equipment (PPE)), in particular a careful reading of the labels on the product and where available on the safety data sheet.

Figure 1 gives a schematic diagram of the sampling and sample preparation process.

Figure 1 — Schematic diagram of sampling and sample preparation process for solid plant biostimulants

PD CEN/TS 17702-1:2022

Plant biostimulants. Sampling and sample preparation - Sampling

Published:

31 Jul 2022

Withdrawn:

29 Nov 2024