Development and calibration/validation of an innovative and portable multi-parameter soil sensor for in-situ measurements

Abstract

Agricultural practices are modernized with the addition of technologies that are part of what the farmers call precision agriculture (PA). Portable Soil Sensors (PSS) are devices that can measure soil data (pH, moisture, EC, N, P, and K concentrations etc.) that can aid the cultivation management (fertilization and irrigation programming), and therefore, optimize plant growth and yield, while minimizing the cost. For the purpose of this paper, a PSS was calibrated and (Christos soil sensor) and data were collected from four different types of soil (AFS soil, Nikitas soil, Peat and Perlite, Biosolids and Perlite). These measurements were compared to those collected from PSS already publicly used (TEROS 12 and HI981030). Alongside the calibration of the PSS, an application was developed that can monitor and display the collected data, and assist the farmer in the decision-making process. From this experiment it was determined that Christos soil sensor can adequately provide information about the soil water content and electrical conductivity, without changes in the calibration.