Soil moisture determination is of major significance. Soil moisture influences crop growth not only by affecting nutrient availability, but also nutrient transformations and soil biological behavior. Measurement is carried out by gravimetry after drying at a maximum temperature of 105°C. This increase in temperature maintained for a controlled period of time, is sufficiently high to eliminate “free” forms of water and sufficiently low not to cause a significant loss of organic matter and unstable salts by volatilization

Apparatus

·         Oven

·         analytical balance.

·         Desiccator

Procedures

·         Homogenize the sample of soil

·         Take a portion of well homogenized sample of soil and weight it.

·         Dry it in an oven at 105⁰C until a constant weight is attained.

·         Cool in a desiccator and record the final weight of sample.

·         Calculate the percentage moisture content of a given soil with the formula below:

                                                   Moisture content (%) = W_i-W_f/W_i*100                          

Where, W_i is initial weight of soil

             W_f is final weight of soil after drying

References

1. George E., Rolf S., John R.; Methods of Soil, plant and water analysis;3^rd ed; p65

2.Sadhan C. Anand Dev G.; Handbook of Water, air and soil analysis; international E publication;2014

3.Haluschak P. Laboratory Methods of Soil Analysis Canada-Manitoba Soil Survey, April 2006

4.Marc P.; Jacques G.Handbook of Soil Analysis Mineralogical, Organic and Inorganic Methods;Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006