Soil electrical conductivity

Abstract

Soil properties often vary significantly within a field, and one of the challenges in precision agriculture is collecting enough soil data to accurately delineate this variability. Soil electrical conductivity (EC) has become a widely used tool for mapping soil variability within fields. Soil EC measurements are typically correlated with soil texture, moisture, and salinity. Soil texture is an important factor in crop yields because it relates to water-holding capacity, cation-exchange capacity, rooting depths, drainage, and other properties that impact crop production. Although high salinity is an issue in only a small percentage of U.S. soils, in those areas it can have a pronounced effect on crop yields. Soil EC maps are being used in various site-specific management approaches, including variable plant populations, zone sampling, and as a component of variable nutrient management.