Estimation of Soil Physico-chemical Properties by On-the-go Measurement of Soil Electrical Conductivity

For modern crop management practices, like precision farming, is crucial information about detailed spatial distribution of soil properties. A study was conducted to evaluate the on-the-go measurement of soil electrical conductivity for mapping of agronomical relevant soil properties. The experimental work was carried out on the eight fields of Rostenice a.s. farm enterprise, located in the South Moravia region of Czech Republic. The measurement of apparent electrical conductivity of soil was done by using CMD-1 and CMD-6L instruments (GF Instruments, Czech Republic) in 2013 (117 ha) and 2016 (359 ha). Soil properties were obtained by soil sampling in irregular grid with the density of 1 sample per 3 ha. Soil samples were taken from the depth of 30 cm and analyzed for soil texture (percentage of clay, silt and sand particles), content of available nutrients (P, K, Mg, Ca) and soil organic matter (SOM) content. The results of correlation analysis showed differences in main sensitivity of EMI to the soil properties across observed fields. Most frequent correlation was found in the percentage of clay particles smaller than 0.002 mm (r = 0.598). The correlation between EMI and nutrients content in soil and pH value was significant only for few fields. These results were obtained for individual fields, the aggregated evaluation showed lower relationships to EC. These outcomes showed, that rather than predictor of soil properties could be on-the-go measurement of soil EC used for identification of main zones within the fields at high spatial level