The Department of Agricultural and Biosystem Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Technology at UGM, together with the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, Austria, held a Training on CN Analyzer Maintenance & Available N Analysis in Soil on February 5-7, 2024. This training is a manifestation of collaboration between the two institutions and was attended by undergraduate and graduate students as well as technicians from the Department of Agricultural and Biosystem Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Gadjah Mada University. Dr. Orracha Sae-Tun, a researcher at BOKU Vienna, Austria, served as a mentor in this training.
The first day began with an explanation of basic chemistry concepts and the operation of the C-N analyzer machine to separate carbon and nitrogen from other components in the sample. During the briefing on basic soil chemistry, participants are enthusiastic about following the presented material and paying close attention to Orracha’s explanations. Additionally, technicians received training on maintaining the C-N analyzer. The training activities on the first day concluded with the preparation of soil samples from Bangka for extraction on the following day.
The second day of training began with a review of the material learned the previous day, and participants quickly grasped the content once again. Following that, participants proceeded to extract ammonium from the soil samples prepared the day before. Participants carefully followed the instructions and guidance provided by Orracha in extracting ammonium from the soil. The extracted samples were then stored for experimentation the following day.
On the final day of the training, participants were trained to use the equipment that would be used in the ammonium analysis process. Enthusiastically, participants took turns trying out the equipment until they became accustomed to preventing sample contamination during analysis. Afterward, participants moved to the Food Material Quality Laboratory at the Faculty of Agricultural Technology, UGM, where the soil extraction samples were tested using a microplate reader. The results obtained were then processed together under the guidance of Dr. Orracha.
One of the training participants, Yunita Nur Azizah, a student of Agricultural Engineering, expressed her enthusiasm for learning new knowledge about soil chemistry and collaborating with BOKU. Yunita also mentioned that the explanations provided by Dr. Orracha were very clear, detailed, and easy to understand. In the future, Yunita hopes that the knowledge gained during this training will help her in her academic activities and research.
