A heavy-duty time domain reflectometry soil moisture probe for use in intensive field sampling
2002
Long, D.S. | Wraith, J.M. | Kegel, G.
Mapping soil water content for site-specific management of farm fields is commonly achieved through grid soil sampling. This effort frequently requires intensive soil coring, which is destructive and time consuming. Precision farming and research can be facilitated if sampling techniques are improved and made cost effective. We designed and constructed a heavy-duty time domain reflectometry (TDR) probe of simple design that fits a hydraulic soil sampling machine. The design is simple enough to be adapted to the TDR equipment and hydraulic sampler that a researcher or practitioner may already possess. The probe consists of a housing and adapter that can be fabricated in a local machine shop from materials that are easily obtainable. Probe schematics and summary soil water maps obtained using the new design are presented. As with conventional TDR probe designs, stony or indurate soils may present particular problems in effective insertion of the probe.
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