Impact of soil texture on the performance of three soil moisture sensor types

José Payero, Xin Qiao, Ahmad Khalilian, Rebecca Davis

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Accurate soil moisture sensors can be an important component of precision irrigation water management. There is a large variety of commercial sensors that relate electrical output to soil water content. However, sensor electrical output is also affected by soil characteristics other than water content, such as texture, salinity, temperature, organic matter, etc. This makes it difficult to accurately measure soil moisture with most sensors without prior on-site calibration. In this study we investigated the impact of soil texture on the performance of three types of soil moisture sensors, including the EC-5 sensor (Decagon Devices, Pulman, WA), the VH400 soil moisture sensor probe (Vegetronix, Inc., Riverton, UT), and the Watermark 200ss (Irrometer Company, Inc., Riverside, CA). A replicated laboratory experiment was conducted in 2014 to evaluate the performance of these types of sensors using four major soil textural classes. We found that the three types of sensors had a significant response to changes in soil water content. The EC-5 and VH400 sensors had a linear response, while the Watermark 200ss had a curvilinear response that was explained by an exponential decay function. The response of the three sensors, however, was significantly affected by soil texture, which will significantly affect the trigger point used to initiate irrigation based on the output from these sensors. Therefore, it is suggested that guidelines on how to use these sensors for local soils need to be made available to farmers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationAmerican Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2014, ASABE 2014
PublisherAmerican Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Pages1649-1657
Number of pages9
ISBN (Electronic)9781632668455
StatePublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes
EventAmerican Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2014, ASABE 2014 - Montreal, Canada
Duration: Jul 13 2014Jul 16 2014

Publication series

NameAmerican Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2014, ASABE 2014
Volume3

Conference

ConferenceAmerican Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting 2014, ASABE 2014
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityMontreal
Period7/13/147/16/14

Keywords

  • Calibration
  • Decagon
  • Soil moisture sensor
  • Soil texture
  • Soil water content
  • Vegetronix
  • Watermark

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
  • Mechanical Engineering

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