Standards Development

Scope

This document refers to methods to be used for the determination of specific parameters in soil improvers and growing media, but does not contain the methods themselves. The specific parameters in this document include:

— the cadmium content;

— the lead content;

— the nickel content;

— the chromium (VI) content;

— the mercury content;

— the inorganic arsenic content;

— the phosphonates content;

— the total chromium content;

— the bioavailable nickel content.

This document is applicable to the fertilizing product blends where a blend is a mix of two or more fertilising products belonging to the categories of fertilizers, liming material, soil improvers, growing media, inhibitors and plant biostimulants, and where soil improvers and/or growing media are the components with the highest percentage in the blend by mass or volume, or in the case of products in liquid form by dry mass. If the soil improvers and/or growing media are not the components with the highest percentage in the blend, the European Standard relevant to the component with the highest percentage in the blend applies. In case a blend is composed of fertilising products mixed in equal quantities, the user of the standard decides which standard to apply.

NOTE A soil improver or a growing medium consists of a single bulky (volume-building) component or a mix of bulky (volume-building) components (for example peat, wood fibres, coconut coir, compost, expanded perlite).