Spectrum Technologies says its new SPAD 502 Plus Chlorophyll Meter helps reduce the risk of yield-limiting nitrogen deficiencies or costly over-fertilization of your crops.

Instantly measuring the chlorophyll content, or “greenness,” of a plant, the SPAD 502 Plus calculates subtle changes in plant health before they are visible to the human eye. The amount of chlorophyll in a plant can be used to determine its nitrogen status because nitrogen is a key element in chlorophyll.

To use the meter, you simply clamp it over the leafy tissue of a plant and an indexed chlorophyll content reading is displayed in less than 2 sec. You can then assess the nitrogen needs for the crop by comparing the SPAD 502 Plus readings to university guidelines.

The SPAD 502 Plus can be purchased with or without a built-in data logger, and measurements can also be geo-referenced. The internal logger stores up to 4,096 measurements, which can be downloaded using the included FieldScout software.

Price of the SPAD 502 Plus is $2,495 with the Data Logger and $2,095 without it. For more information, call 800/248-8873 or visit www.specmeters.com.