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Kōrero: Irrigation and drainage

Measuring soil moisture

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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.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

AgResearch

by Ross Gray

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Terry Heiler, Irrigation and drainage – Irrigation methods, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/19646/measuring-soil-moisture (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Terry Heiler, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009.