Effect of soil texture, irrigation water salinity, and sodium adsorption ratio on the soil moisture measurements acuracy by Theta Probe device

Soil moisture measurement is very important for better irrigation system management. One of the indirect methods for measuring the soil moisture content is to use Theta Probe device. Although the use of Theta Probe has many advantages over the other methods of measuring moisture content, but according to research conducted in most regions of the world, it has been shown that changes in the physical and chemical properties of the soil, and in general, all that affect the dielectric constant of the soil, cause an error in the accuracy of the measurement of moisture content with this device. Among the physical and chemical properties of the soil, the tissue type, the amount of clay contained in the soil, and electrical conductivity (EC) are the three main factors influencing the calibration of the Theta Probe system (Sarani and Afrasiab, 2012). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of soil texture, irrigation water salinity (EC), and sodium absorption ratio (SAR) on the accuracy of Theta Probe device.