Send samples to:
NIAB LabTest, 1 NIAB Park Farm, Impington, Cambridge, CB24 9NZ (please note the new address)
All samples must be accompanied by a completed order form.
Free postage-paid envelopes and sample bags are available - call 01223 342243 or email labtest [at] niab.com
Quality and traceability
NIAB LabTest has a unique capability of scale, scope and staff experience in crop quality testing, covering cereals, herbage, sugar beet, oilseeds, vegetables and potatoes. These services are increasingly valued by breeders, processors and researchers seeking high throughput, cost-effective biochemical screening services to determine crop quality and variety characteristics.
Pathogen diagnostics
NIAB LabTest’s pathogen diagnostics encompasses a wide range of research and technical applications, backed by extensive knowledge in the detection and control of crop diseases, including seed health testing, potato tuber health, soil testing for various pathogenic agents, and a wider Plant Clinic service diagnosing problems in the growing crop.
Seed quality
NIAB’s seed quality section covers both the function of the Official Seed Testing Station (OSTS) and commercial services to growers and their advisers. Accredited by the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA), the Official Seed Testing Station (OSTS) for England and Wales is based at NIAB Park Farm near Cambridge, and provides critical support to the statutory systems for Defra and the UK seeds industry. Using standardised and precise techniques and extensive specialist knowledge NIAB has unique expertise in seed sampling, biology and purity. The traditional skills first used by NIAB when it was established 100 years ago still form the basis of the work, enhanced by faster, modern analytical methods.