The sap or juice of plants is comprised mainly of sucrose with small traces of minerals, fructans, vitamins, hormones etc.

The scale used for measuring sucrose or sugar in plant sap is termed the Brix Index (Degrees Brix or °Bx). A Brix reading of 10, for example, means that a plant is composed of 10 percent sugar.

Knowing the Brix level of forages such as grass can help with grazing management and in deciding on which hay to purchase. For example, you can use the grass tester to measure circadian changes in sugar levels in pastures according to time of day, weather conditions and/or seasonal variations. Understanding how the sugar content changes in your pastures can help you decide when it is safer to graze a horse.

The grass tester is very easy to use and it only takes a few minutes to test your grass. You can also use the refractometer to measure sugar levels in horse treats.