IMPROVEMENT OF THE SIMPLE AND RAPID IMMERSION METHOD OF SOIL-WATER DETERMINATION

Rapid and accurate determinations of soil water content are important in many agricultural and hydrologic situations. In this article, an im proved method is proposed, which allows a quick and acurate determinat ion of soil water content under both laboratory and field conditions w ithout resorting to sophisticated equipment. A 500 CM3 erlenmeyer with an adapted level marker was employed for rapid determination of soil water content. The principle involved is to weigh the flask when fille d with moist soil and completed to level with water. An operation, whi ch involves a single calibration of the flask with the same, but dry s oil, eliminates the need of particle density determination. For severa l soils, results obtained with the new methodology deviated less than 1% from results of the traditional oven-drying method.