Study on dielectric constant of different type of soils
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Date
2020-08
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CCSHAU, Hisar
Abstract
Soil is a very important natural resource and has pivotal role in agriculture. Soil moisture is responsible for healthy growth of the plant and directly affects the yield. The soil moisture of the field at any instant can be determined directly from the calibration curve between dielectric constant and soil moisture. For this purpose the dielectric constant of soil for different moisture content was measured. Three texturally different soils of 0-15 and 15-30 cm depths were taken. Their physical properties like texture, bulk density, organic carbon and maximum water holding capacity were measured. Bulk density was found to increase with depth, while the organic carbon percent and maximum water holding capacity of soil decreased with depth. The dielectric constant kit was used to measure the value of dielectric constant of soil samples. The variation of dielectric constant with soil moisture was noted, which forms a calibration curve. This curve helps to find out the soil moisture once the dielectric constant value of the soil is known. The dielectric constant was observed to be highest for sandy loam soil. The relation of dielectric constant with soil physical properties was investigated. It was found in the study that soil moisture significantly affects dielectric constant. The correlation of dielectric constant is positive with bulk density and sand, while it is negative with organic carbon, maximum water holding capacity, silt and clay content.