View Te Ara in

Story: Irrigation and drainage

Measuring soil moisture

Measuring soil moisture

For efficient irrigation, the farmer or orchardist needs to measure or estimate the soil moisture. This can be done by drying a sample of soil and calculating the moisture level, or by calculating evapotranspiration (the loss of water through evaporation and plant transpiration). An alternative is a time domain reflectometry (TDR) meter, which, when pushed into the soil, calculates the time taken for a signal to go between the two probes. This is directly related to the soil moisture content. Ross Gray from AgResearch is holding a TDR probe.

About this item

AgResearch
Photograph by Ross Gray

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

How to cite this page:

Terry Heiler. 'Irrigation and drainage', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 27-Sep-11
URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/irrigation-and-drainage/6/5