Soil moisture content is the amount of water that can be found in a material such as soil and the

information about this soil moisture content is very useful especially in achieving an effective irrigation
system. It enables highly efficient irrigation, only using when needed and avoiding wasteful usage of
water. Crop irrigation uses more than 70% of the world’s water, and thus, improving irrigation efficiency
is decisive to sustain the food demand from a fast-growing world population (Pardossi et al., 2009). The
amount of soil moisture is crucial for plant growth. If the moisture content of a soil is optimum for plant
growth, plants can readily absorb soil water and if not, the water will just be wasted. Furthermore, the
yield of a crop is more often determined by the amount of water available rather than the deficiency of
other food nutrients (Morgan & Connolly, 2013)

In this exercise, four methods will be used to determine the soil moisture content – Gravimetric
Method, Feel and Appearance Method, Tensiometer Method, and Resistance Block Method. The
purpose of this exercise is to familiarize ourselves in the procedures of each methods and to compare
their accuracy and practicality.

References:

Morgan, J., Conolly, E.. Plant-Soil Interactions: Nutient Uptake. Nature Education (2013). Retrieved from
www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/plant-soil-interactions-nutrient-uptake-105289112 on
January 30, 2019

Pardossi, A., Incrocci, L., Battista, P., et al. Root Zone Sensors for Irrigation Management in Intensive
Agriculture. Sensors (2009)