Variation in the simultaneous analysis by emission spectrography of twenty‐four elements in plant material

Abstract

Abstract The objective of this study was to ascertain variability with multiple analyses by emission spectrography for 24 different elements in samples of plant material. The plant materials were obtained from plants grown to give a wide range in concentrations for each of the 24 elements. The coefficient of variation was obtained for each sample and each element for six analytical replicates. In general, the coefficient of variation was increased when concentrations of elements were very low. The coefficient of variation was generally around 10% or less in the range of most interest for most of the essential elements. For some nonessential elements, the coefficient of variation was 20 to 50% and the variability was due mostly to low concentrations near the limits of detectability.