Brix Testing / Refractometer Usage

[c-ray]

the brix story -> http://www.crossroads.ws/brix
some more relevant info -> http://www.crossroads.ws/CRActive/PikeAg.htm

brix testing techniques -> http://bensonlab.byu.edu/testing_tec...nual/brix.html

[c-ray]

from http://www.highbrixgardens.com/highbrix/highbrix.html

Quote:

What Is Brix?

Common optical refractometer can be used to measure high brix in produce and juices.Brix is a term popularized by Carey Reams. When used on plant sap it is primarily a measure of the carbohydrate level in plant juices. The instrument used to obtain a brix reading is the refractometer. Refractometers come in two basic styles, optical and digital. Both types work great. Here is how a refractometer is used: squeeze out some sap from a plant, put 2 drops of the juice on the prism, close the prism cover, point to a light source, focus the eye piece, and read the measurement. The brix reading is indicated where the light and dark fields intersect.

What part of the plant is used for taking a brix reading? Whatever part you eat if it is ripe. If it is not ripe take the most recent mature leaves that have had full sunlight for at least 2 hours. Ideally measurements should be taken at the same time of day as you compare throughout the growing season.

A refractometer measures the amount of bend or refraction in the rays of light as they pass through the plant sap. This is why a brix chart is more properly called a Refractive Index of Crop Juices.

What causes light to refract as it passes through plant sap?

1. The amount of carbohydrates in the juice.
2. The amount of dissolved minerals in the plant sap.
3. The amount of covalent bonding.

What proof can be offered to show that higher brix readings equal higher quality?


High Brix Foods Have Greater Carbohydrate Levels

Carbohydrates are the fuel the body uses for basic metabolic function. This has tremendous implications on digestion and human health. This is covered more fully in Food Quality & Digestion.


High Brix Foods Have Greater Mineral Density

One of the health rules that Dr. Carey Reams taught was that:

"All disease is the result of a mineral deficiency."

This rule clearly shows why it is so important to eat foods with high mineral density. One of the most important nutrients that increases with high brix readings is calcium. According to Dr. Reams calcium levels in produce rise and fall proportionately with the brix levels. This has been independently confirmed by Bob Pike in his research on tissue testing. Disorders and degenerative diseases resulting from a calcium deficiency could fill several books.

In addition to increased calcium levels, high brix foods also supply more trace minerals such as copper, iron, and manganese. Trace minerals function as co-enzymes in the digestive process. Co-enzymes work with enzymes as activators of those enzymes. These trace minerals have higher atomic weights. Due to greater mineral density and the inclusion of heavier trace minerals high brix foods weigh more per unit than lower quality produce.

Digital refractometer makes measuring high brix in foods easy.Minerals in foods are in a naturally chelated form. Naturally chelated minerals are bound to amino acids that have a right-hand spin. Amino acids with a right-hand spin are referred to as L-Amino acids. L-Amino acids are biologically active. This translates into easy assimilation into the body compared to inorganic minerals taken in pill form. Amino acids that have been compounded by man have a left-hand spin, which is known as D-Amino acids, or they are a mixture of the L and D form of amino acids. The D form is not biologically active and is rarely found in nature. The L and D forms of amino acids are mirror images of each other. This is the reason why mineral supplements that have minerals bound to an amino acid and claimed to be chelated need to be checked which form the amino acids are in. When it comes to supplementing with vitamins and minerals it is BUYER BEWARE. The indiscriminate use of vitamins and minerals can create a dangerous situation whereas the correct use of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes can be very beneficial to the body. When consuming high quality fruits and vegetables the there is no need for the BUYER BEWARE warning.


High Brix Foods Taste Better

Quality foods that are high in calcium, enzymes and minerals provide good nutrition to the body.Why won’t little Johnny eat his peas? They taste terrible. Little Johnny instinctively knows that sweet tasting peas are better while poor-quality peas are instantly rejected. Have you ever eaten a 22 brix grape? Once you have you won’t forget the taste. A candy bar will be held in disdain by little Johnny compared to 22 brix grapes. Ask any old-timer if they like the taste of fruits and vegetables now compared to when they were young. I am sure you won’t be able to find a single person that feels today’s are better. Taste is built upon the upon the carbohydrate and mineral levels in the produce. When they decline so does the taste. What about aroma? That seems lost as well. Todays average 2-3 brix hydroponic greenhouse tomato looks like a tomato but it has virtually no aroma and is nearly tasteless. It is a poor caricature of what a tomato should be. As a culture Americans are so used to eating low quality produce we don’t even know what really good produce tastes like.


High Brix Plants Are Insect And Disease Resistant

Here we see the handiwork of our Creator. Plants in poor health emit an electo-magnetic frequency that insects tune in to. This in effect calls them in for a feast. Plants in good health emit a different frequency that insects do not tune in to. Nature has been designed to use insects to get rid of poor quality plants that are unfit for human consumption. In the same way a poorly balanced soil will produce plants susceptible to disease. Properly balanced soil will produce plants resistant to disease. William Albrecht put it this way:

“Insects and disease are the symptoms of a failing crop, not the cause of it. It’s not the overpowering invader we must fear but the weakened condition of the victim.”

Ouch!


Animals Instinctively Prefer High Brix Foods

Animals have a greater sense of instinct than does mankind. Their instinct for survival can be seen in the multitude of stories arising from the recent tsunami. Wild animals were not caught by surprise—they had fled for higher ground hours before the waves hit the shores. This same level of instinct carries over to their choice of foods. The foods of highest mineral density and health are preferred over poorer quality. Here is something to ponder over. Wild deer will not graze genetically modified corn stalks unless close to starving. This is why conservationists who are planting corn specifically for the deer population will avoid planting genetically modified corn. Production agriculture has found that it takes twice as many acres of genetically modified cornstalks to get the same amount of weight gain on cattle as compared to conventional non-GMO corn varieties.

Here is an easy experiment to prove this point. Buy whole field corn sold in the birdseed section of your local supermarket and some popcorn. Whole field corn will weigh somewhere around 55 lbs. per bushel while the popcorn will be around 66-68 lbs. per bushel. Offer both corn samples to some chickens that are not overly hungry and see which corn they eat first. They first go after the popcorn with great enthusiasm and then the field corn with less enthusiasm. Why? Popcorn has greater mineral density as indicated by test weight. Cattle have the same instinct. They will always prefer the forage with the higher sugar content. This has been proven many times by seeing which hay cattle eat first when offered a choice.

In conclusion Brix has become the gold standard to measure plant quality. Measuring the brix level on plants is quick, simple, and fairly inexpensive. Unfortunately some of the largest detractors of the Brix=Quality movement propagate a system of agriculture that produces low-brix plants. These plants need ‘crop protection’ in the form of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. These pesticides disrupt the delicate microbial balance in the soil and contribute to the continued production of low-brix foods. Another quote from that eminent soil scientist, William Albrecht, seems in order:

"The use of (pesticide) sprays is an act of desperation in a dying agriculture."

The good news is that more and more people are demanding higher-quality food and numerous farmers are getting off the pesticide/GMO/low-brix merry-go-round and beginning to produce food that can have a tremendous impact on improving our health and nutrition—and it all starts with our digestive system.

Click here to download the Brix Chart as a PDF.

[hazedaze]

very interesting !

[memyselfandi]

Quote:

Refractometers (A.K.A Brix Meter)

Refractometers are a simple optical instrument that measures the amount of light refracted in a liquid. Refractometers measure on a "Brix" scale and measuring the Brix level of fruits and vegetables is very important because it is a great indicator of flavor and quality.

The higher the brix level of your fruits juices is, the higher the dissolved solids in the foods juices such as sucrose, fructose, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, hormones and all the other goodness that the plant puts into the food is. It is estimated that in a healthy fruit or vegetable, approximately 80% of the brix is represented by the natural sugars which give the food its great flavor and goodness. It is believed by many people to be the best indicator of quality available in one quick and simple test.

Refractometers are a standard piece of equipment for many Agronomists and is a standard tool used in the fruit and citrus industries. Juice factories and vineyards especially use refractometers so they can measure the level of flavors in the juices and blend them to consistent brix level every time. Many companies are also now offering big bonuses to farmers who can produce high brix fruits because it means they have to add less artificial sweetener to the juices which are devoid of any nutritional value (unlike natural sugars).

So how can this tool help us ?
Well the more sugars the plant as the healthier it is.

I'm doing some tests i will keep you posted

boxed brix



the brix



this is what it looks like



first measure



I have a mother to test it.

-cfl 105 W lamp
4% brix

-600w hps lamp
4 days after change - 6 % brix

a mature flora stage plant should have 10-12 %

i use a garlic masher to extract the liquid

[c-ray]

awesome
always wanted to try this

how much did you pay for that unit?

[GoKart Motzart]

very cool! so you are putting fan leaves in the garlic masher to get your water sample?

[memyselfandi]

http://cgi.ebay.com/0-32-Portable-Br...item3a61e1de7f

i prefer with a led light, but there are cheaper ones

@GoKart Motzart i use 1 leaf with the stem

[Green Supreme]

Always been curious , if the healthiest plants produce the most trichomes. Food for thought. Peace GS

[memyselfandi]

My mother is huge drinking 4 gallons in 2 days.

Also using diamond nectar the brix is still 6%

[memyselfandi]

well the brix content of my current grow is still at 6

2 weeks in 12/12

[DOZEE]

nice always wanted a brix meter

[memyselfandi]

i am testing the new floraduo change the nutrients to 10/40 (grow/bloom)

brix now at 7

[memyselfandi]

brix still at 7.

i am starting to think i have lack of co2.

i am growing in a 1,2x1,2x2 9 plants using defoliation to allow light to reach all the flowers i am using a 600w lamp plus 2 18w 10% UV lights

when i lived in a major city i usually got more g/w ratio now i live 500m from the ocean and 50 meters from a river.

could it be low co2, i always pumping new air shouldn't it be enough ?

my room temps usually are 21º at "night" and 26 during "day" in the city the "night" temps were usually higher.

can't really understand what changed

[spaceman]

how often do you change your bulbs?

[memyselfandi]

i change them every year.

This time i am using a sunmaster super hps deluxe and i use a gib's digital ballast

The comparison is made with the same strain usually i keep the mother 2 years then i renew it from a clone.

[memyselfandi]

GS i followed your suggestion and made some samples the plants with bigger buds have higher brix.

the plant that have the biggest flower have a brix level 1 point higher then the rest.

[c-ray]

from http://www.crossroads.ws/brixbook/BBook.htm

Quote:

THE STAGES OF TESTING AS A GARDENER OR FARMER

1. IN THE FIELD
   
   Start by testing your finished produce when it is ready for harvest. Recognize that HIGH QUALITY produce comes from HIGH QUALITY plants. Test the leaves of your plants that are not ready for harvest. If they continually test high as the days go by, the harvest will ultimately test high.
   
   Start your testing earlier next season. You are no longer operating blindly. Adjust your fertilization to increase leaf brix. The QUALITY of your produce will be far higher. An excellent step-by-step program using pH & electrical conductivity to adjust leaf brix upwards has been developed by Bob Pike. This method removes much of the traditional guesswork that formerly dominated the "try this---try that" school of how to increase brix.
   
   
2. OBSERVE THAT INSECTS, VIRUS, BACTERIA, AND FUNGUS ONLY ATTACK LOW BRIX PLANTS
   
   Chemical control of plant pests is a multi-billion dollar industry. Each year, the chemical companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising their products purportedly to control insects, viruses, bacteria, and fungus. The chemical companies spend more millions conducting and sponsoring field tests that attempt to prove the special worth of their particular products.
   
   However, their tests assume that all pests voraciously attack all green plants. That premise brings forth the following questions:
   
   What kept the pests from multiplying, and then devouring, everything green millions of years ago? Why is the Earth not a bare rock now?
   
   Understandably, the chemical companies shy away from these questions. Most are well aware that pest problems occur in fields fertilized with NPK.
   
   The true answer is that pests are extremely selective in what they eat. Selectivity is well known. For instance, a cabbageworm dropped in a cornfield starves to death in the midst of plenty. Similarly, corn-smut fungus spores landing in a cabbage patch quietly die.
   
   HIGH-QUALITY organic growers have, for generations, calmly stated that pests leave their produce alone. They are telling the truth. However, the truth of their observations is often clouded by the pests that LOW-QUALITY organic growers battle with garlic sprays and other concoctions.
   
   Simply stated, unhealthy plants attract pests. Parallels are well known in nature. Predators are drawn to the weakest, most unhealthy, animals in a herd.
   
   Another thought is that the syrupy nature of high brix plant juices is simply too difficult for sucking insects, such as aphids, to ingest. In all likelihood they depart in frustration to seek out the watery chemical grown produce of the neighbor’s field.
   
   Finally, some students of BRIX=QUALITY theorize that alcohol plays a major part in plant/pest interaction. Apparently, insects, unlike warm-blooded creatures have no mechanism in their blood to prevent sugar from rapidly fermenting to alcohol. Therefore, they reason an insect feeding on a HIGH BRIX plant would suffer toxic effects from sugar fermentation in their blood. They reason, further, that predators easily catch toxic (or tipsy) insects¾ removing them from the gene pool.
   
   Some alcohol theorists add yet another concept: namely that formed alcohol tends to dissolve the waxy seal exo-skeleton creatures employ to prevent fatal dehydration in hot fields.
   
   Whatever---the reasoning goes on to suggest that insects feeding indiscriminately on HIGH BRIX plants fail to survive evolutionary pressures.
   
   Although there is scant official research to validate any of these theories, there is wide agreement among non-toxic farmers the world around that healthy plants are immune to insect attack and disease.
   
   
3. OBSERVE THAT HIGH LEAF BRIX READINGS PROTECT AGAINST FROST
   
   Pure water freezes at 32 degrees Farenheit. However, a 5 brix water-sugar mixture freezes at 26 degrees; a 10 brix mixture at 22 degrees; and a 15 brix mixture won’t freeze until it reaches 17 degrees. Plant frost damage (killing) occurs when ice crystals rupture plant cells. Many HIGH BRIX growers find their production season extended because the first few light frosts no longer harm their crop.
   
   While a sugar-water mixture is not exactly the same as brix, consumers would be wise to recognize that the last local field-grown produce is almost assuredly the highest brix and therefore the highest quality. Such growers are worth seeking out.
   
   Note: Some refractometer models are calibrated to directly show the temperatures needed to freeze certain liquids.
   
   
4. Price your output accordingly
   
   Once you understand that your produce is sweeter and more nutritious than average, you should be prepared to show your customers why it is worth more.

Quote:

DEHYDRATION

A drop of plant juice starts drying immediately. Wind and sun speed the drying. If you suspect that your test drop dried enough to affect your result, clean your refractometer and start over. It only takes a moment

Experts suggest that you re-check most tests when you first start using your own refractometer. The ability to duplicate your work by crosschecking is a powerful confidence builder.

Be alert for fading of the demarcation line in the viewing screen. Fading means the sample is drying on the prism. Do not confuse this with fuzziness (blurring---see below) f the demarcation line. You may want to gain experience at spotting fading with your refractometer. Place the smallest drop on the prism that will give a demarcation line. Then examine the screen for a minute or so. Fading should occur fairly soon as the moisture evaporates.

Dehydration is necessary when preparing certain foods. For instance, you must remove many gallons of water from maple sap to make a gallon of maple syrup. A refractometer user could determine in advance exactly how many gallons to evaporate by checking the brix of the fresh sap.

Some refractometer users also know raw sap with HIGH BRIX produces far better, tastier, and more abundant syrup.

Stored fruit & vegetables either rot or dehydrate. Rotting in storage is an unmistakable sign of poor quality. Dehydration is an absolute sign of HIGH QUALITY. The purveyors of low-quality fruits and vegetables seem willing to resist this fact until the end of time. Many consumers are terribly confused on this point because they have been conditioned to cut off rotting portions of a fruit or vegetable and eat the remainder.

Please understand that testing the juice from a dehydrated item of produce can be misleading. Your refractometer will indicate a higher than true brix. While seldom a problem when selecting foods, checking leave tissues in a field of heat-stressed plants can result in erroneous readings. You should avoid using a refractometer to check any plant with any possibility of lack of turgor¾ i.e., droopy leaves. Even when drought is not apparent, it is best to check leaves as early in the morning as possible.

ADVANCED USE (blurry line)

• A less-than-sharp demarcation line (blurry/fuzzy/diffused) on the screen is an indication of varied atom distribution¾ i.e., an excellent mixture of minerals. For instance, many veteran refractometer users grow forages for animals and also have access to standard lab tests (so as to make possible direct comparisons of brix vis-à-vis other lab tests). They are adamant in insisting a sharp demarcation is an indication of increased simple sugar and therefore lesser high-quality protein (and other life-enhancing substances) at any given brix level.
  
  Conversely, they suggest a blurry/fuzzy line predicts more, and better quality, proteins (*). Interestingly, the fuzzy line concept appears to be supported by the ability of astronomers to use refracted light to determine the elemental makeup of distant stars. Starlight, properly refracted, is spread out so that the lines left by various elements can be identified. It is suggested that you think of your readings as, say, 12S (sharp) or perhaps 14D (diffuse). In almost all cases, blurry tastes better.
  
• You will quickly, and easily, learn to judge the mid-point of any blurring. Your correct reading lies there.
  
• Blue intensity matters on those models that have a blue background field. When different items reveal the same brix but one has a less intense blue, it will taste sweeter and be higher in calcium, which neutralizes acids. However, the blue background can be overcast by the deep green chlorophyll color of some leafy plants. Do not be discouraged if your field of view appears to "greenout." Simply rotate your body away from the light source and watch for the demarcation as the light intensity diminishes.
  
• Although your mouth readily tells the difference, the refractometer cannot easily distinguish starch from sugar. There is an additional chart in the book to convert starchy food readings to sugar equivalents.

Some produce resists efforts to get a drop of juice for testing:

• Consider that it may be very high brix and that the juice is really thick.
• Try cutting a very thin slice (1/16" to lay on the prism---it really works!), or
• Crush a leaf and lay that on the prism, or
• Grind the food in a processor and squeeze the chopped result.
• Be wary of dehydrated produce.

Some foods are made to order for testing:

• You can plunge the prism end of many refractometers into citrus fruits. Then pull the instrument back and flip the plate down to get the reading. (The plunge method works well on other very ripe fruits and any tomatoes).

(*) Protein quality is a subject of much interest to farmers. Should you ever visit a farm show devoted to biological growing, as opposed to chemical growing, you are almost sure to find a booth where they have common ear corn sealed in air-tight jars. As could be expected, corn grown with their products will be as good as the day it was picked. On the other hand, ears of corn identified as grown with ordinary N-P-K technology will be seriously decomposed. This "oddity," which is far more common than you may suspect, is generally attributed to "funny" protein. When pressed, the speaker will describe malformed proteins and how they appear when too much nitrogen in the form of N-P-K is applied to the growing crop. Much money is spent on "research" to discover ways of using yet more chemical additives to keep poor quality food from decomposing right on supermarket shelves. One must wonder if any of those funds found their way to explore this phenomenon whether we might learn much about good agriculture and good food.

CARE & CLEANING

Refractometers require little, if any, special care. Normal wind, rain, cold, or heat will not damage them. (However, you should remember that temperature extremes might require using the correction chart).

• Clean off plant juices with a moist paper towel after use (avoid grit or sand).
  
• You should not drop one, but accidents do happen. Check the calibration and continue using the instrument if there is no physical damage. Physical damage requires a return to the factory.

Note: you can purchase prepared standard calibration liquids if your work requires extreme accuracy. Perhaps you have contracted to pay a certain premium if a grower achieves a higher-level brix and there is some question as to whether the specified mark was reached. A calibration solution can help referee.

[c-ray]

I just bought one off e-bay for 26 bucks, direct from hong kong.. 0-32 degrees brix, ATC (automatic temperature compensation)

[c-ray]

lately I've been posting lots of brix info into The Ideal Soil thread, check it out..
www.cannabis-world.org/cw/showthread.php?t=4892

[Sicarii]

Cray, didnt you post something about a guy using raw milk as a fert? I recall he recorded some very high brix levels in his cow pasture after using it.

[c-ray]

yes indeedy

www.cannabis-world.org/cw/showthread.php?p=96181

[2broke2smoke]

What is a good brix reading for cannabis?

2b2s

[c-ray]

from my research we are aiming for 12 brix or above, but we'll see..

[c-ray]

from http://highbrixhome.com/brix-book/page-7.html

Quote:

THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD BRIX
Professor A. F. W. Brix was a 19th Century German chemist (b.1798, d.1890). He was the first to measure the density of plant juices by floating a hydrometer in them. The winemakers of Europe were concerned that they could not predict which of various grape juices would make the best wine. Being able to judge quality ahead of actual bottling was of immense importance in an industry where a bottle of the best wine might sell for hundreds of times more than a bottle of everyday wine. Professor Brix was greeted as a great hero when he emerged from his laboratory to claim his most generous prize. He was also honored by having the measuring process named after him.

• BRIX is a measure of the percent solids (TSS) in a given weight of plant juice---nothing more---and nothing less.
• BRIX is often expressed another way: BRIX equals the percentage of sucrose. However, if you study the contents of this book, you will soon enough understand that the "sucrose" can vary widely. For, indeed, the BRIX is actually a summation of the pounds of sucrose, fructose, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, hormones, and other solids in one hundred pounds of any particular plant juice.
• BRIX varies directly with plant QUALITY. For instance, a poor, sour tasting grape from worn out land can test 8 or less BRIX. On the other hand, a full flavored, delicious grape, grown on rich, fertile soil can test 24 or better BRIX.

I suggest that you remember that sugar is only one of the components of brix. Also remember that many other substances can falsely indicate "brix" readings (although those readings are valid in their own right). Try rubbing alcohol, whiskey, vinegar, or wine. Interestingly, cooking oil, molasses, syrup, and other thick liquids require a refractometer calibrated to read 30-90 brix. Honey is checked with a refractometer calibrated to measure the water within it instead of the solids in the water.

[c-ray]

from Icemud @ http://www.420magazine.com/forums/cu...vels-here.html

Quote:

Strains Tested and Brix%
Silverback OG 19-22% brix
Holy Grail OG 20-22% brix
Platinum Bubba Kush 17-20% brix
Sour Bubble 12-18%brix
Blackberry Kush 10-15% brix

and further down from runningbird

Quote:

that's a great reading 13.5, my LA Cheese is at 13 its in about week 4 outdoors. most readings i took in veg were between 3.5 -7

[c-ray]

for ~ 100 bucks a gardener can get a fancy pair of vice grips for squeezing sap



I'll be back later with the ghetto approach