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Brix Device
Measuring Brix, which is a measure of the sugars in plant sap or fruit/berry juice, is important because it correlates directly with the plants ability to photosynthesise optimally and the amount of caloric value in the plant/fruit. Brix is usually lowest in the morning before plants begin photosynthesising and rises later in the day. Unfortunately, Brix values for crops and forages across much of North America are in the 3 range which is historically low. Roughly speaking, for every increase in Brix number, animals show an increased weight gain of .1 lb/day. Thus, improving soil and raising the Brix levels from 3 to 23 would result in an increase weight gain of 2 lb/day for each animal.
This obviously makes the forage Brix very important and knowing what the Brix level is on pastures and crops can be critical to profitability and evaluation of soil/plant management.
What is Brix?
Brix is a term used to describe the levels of 'sugars' in plant sap, grape and other fruit and berry juices.
How is Brix measured?
If a ray of light travels from one medium into another it changes direction (bends). The Brix meter measures this bending of light through plant sap or juice from a grape or fruit and gives a measure of the 'sugars' in this liquid.
Does Brix change with temperature?
Yes, the Brix measurement of a liquid fluctuates according to temperature. The Brix of a cold sample will appear higher than that of the same sample at room temperature. That is why an accurate Brix measurement needs to take temperature into account.
What is Brix vs percent Brix?
One degree Brix is equal to 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution, which is equal to 1% Brix. Therefore, there is no difference between them: In this case 1 °Brix = 1% Brix (weight / weight).
How much sugar is in one degree Brix?
Brix is a measure of the amount of dissolved solids in a liquid via its specific gravity, and is used especially to measure dissolved sugar. One degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution.
What does Brix in wine mean?
Brix in wine, as in every other substance, means the amount of sugars in a liquid. In wine Brix is measured before grapes are harvested to determine the sugar content, and therefore the alcohol content that the wine will have once the sugar is fermented.
How do you measure Brix with a portable refractometer?
Step 1: Verify the refractometer using distilled water. This should give a reading of zero; clean and calibrate the device if this value is not obtained.
Step 2: You should ensure that the refractometer surface is clean and dry.
Step 3: Place a small amount of the solution to be tested onto the prism. A couple of drops is enough.
Step 4: Look through the eyepiece while you point the prism toward a light source. Do not look at the sun.
Step 5: Focus the eyepiece, and take a reading where the base of the blue color meets the scale. This reading is the sample’s Brix.
However, measuring Brix with a classic refractometer may have some disadvantages:
- Small measuring range / requires several refractometers to cover a wide range
- No thermostating (your measurement will need to be at exactly 20 °C to be accurate enough)
- Operator dependent readings, therefore limited accuracy
- No measurement protocol.
