1 / 7

Accuracy of Soil Moisture Devices

Explore factors influencing accuracy of soil moisture devices, calibration methods, errors in measurement, and suitable device selection based on crop type, soil texture, and cost considerations.

rcristina
Download Presentation

Accuracy of Soil Moisture Devices

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Accuracy of Soil Moisture Devices Sanjay Shukla Agricultural and Biological Engineering UF-IFAS

  2. Accuracy of Devices • Factors • Soil type (water holding capacity) • Texture, organic matter, salinity • Sandy soil • Low plant available water (e.g. 5-6%) • Example: 25% error – sufficient to close to wilting point • Soil specific calibration • Silt and Clay • Relatively less accuracy is acceptable • Crop type • Cost • Type of device • Not a big limiting factor with multi-depth devices

  3. Examples of Types of Devices

  4. Sensor Evaluation – Preliminary ResultsExample Purposes only – Default Calibration - Not For Distribution

  5. Sensor Accuracy and Irrigation Scheduling • Example • Sandy soil with low water holding capacity • Plant available water = 6 %, FC = 9%, PWP = 3% • 25 % error in measuring 6% PAW • actual moisture = 6%; moisture read from sensor = 7.5 or 4.5% (under irrigation, adverse impact on crop) • If errors are systematic • can be calibrated for specific soil • important for sandy soils • errors can be substantially reduced • calibration is time consuming • calibrate with the gravimetric method data

  6. Which Device Should I Use? • Factors to consider • Area of the farm and crop type • Soil type and variability (texture, water holding capacity, types of soils within same farm) • Accuracy - applicability of default calibration to your soil • For coarse textured soils, better accuracy is needed • User’s comfort level and ease of use • Maintenance requirement • Cost (sensor, installation, and maintenance cost) • Installation cost is high for short duration crops • e.g. tomato, every 4-5 months

  7. Which Device Should I Use? • Using a soil moisture device, even inaccurate, is better than not using any • If cost is a consideration, using handheld devices such as Hydrosense is a better option • Soil specific calibration is important, especially for the coarse textured soils

More Related