Soil testing equipment, also known as soil testers, soil fertilization instruments, or soil-based fertilizer application instruments, is used to detect the chemical composition (such as nutrients, pH, salinity, heavy metals, etc.) and physical properties of soil. Its core function is to quickly and conveniently acquire key soil indicator data to support the formulation of precision agriculture planting plans, scientific fertilization, and environmental monitoring.
Moisture measurement mainly uses the drying and weighing method. Its advantages are high accuracy and relatively low equipment requirements, but the measurement time is long and it must be done in a laboratory. It cannot provide continuous, long-term online measurement of soil moisture, making it difficult to meet the measurement requirements of precision agriculture. Furthermore, traditional soil moisture meters generally only measure soil water content and cannot directly measure the location information of sampling points, thus failing to reflect spatial differences in soil moisture. Soil moisture is an important component of soil and plays a vital role in crop growth. my country faces severe water scarcity, with agricultural water use accounting for approximately 70% of the nation's total water consumption. Of this, over 90% is used for irrigation. In 2020, the national average irrigation water utilization rate was only 43%, and the agricultural output per unit of water used is far below that of developed countries, indicating significant potential for water conservation. Measuring soil moisture and implementing precision irrigation are integral parts of precision agriculture. Rapid and accurate measurement of soil moisture allows for better understanding of farmland conditions, facilitating water-saving irrigation and improving crop yield and quality through precise water supply.