Spade has been indicated in Brazil as the best tool for soil sampling to evaluate soil fertility, but its use is time consuming. In the present study the results of five different tools including augers, tubes and a power driven screw were compared with trowel samples as to the time consumed to sample the soil and results quality. The average time to take 10 samples was evaluated by 6 different operators. To evaluate the sample results quality, 15 areas differing in soil type, management and fertility level were sampled. The samples were taken according to soil depth or taken from 0 to 20 cm as a standard sample in Brazil. Sampling with a trowel took 1.3 to 2.3 more time than soil sampling with the other tools. For soil organic matter, acidity, exchangeable Al and available P all the tools can be used without difference in results quality. However, for the soil bases K, Ca and Mg results obtained with different tools were not comparable.
Soil analysis; soil auger; soil fertility
