• Journal of information and communication convergence engineering
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• 제20권1호
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• pp.49-57
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• 2022

Fertilizers have long been used to increase crop yields; however, farmers are still having difficulties in managing fertilizers for growing crops as well as economic problems. The conventional method of soil sampling and laboratory analysis to determine soil pH is time consuming and costly; therefore, a portable pH sensor is developed to characterize spatial or temporal variability within fields via rapid and dense data acquisition. The portable pH sensor comprises an electrode unit, a portable console, and a USB connector. The soil water content (SWC) and electrical conductivity (EC) affect the electrical resistance of soil. An artificial test soil is performed to evaluate the effect of SWC and EC on soil pH. The test results show that stable pH measurements are achieved at SWCs greater than 20 mL (16.3%). Regardless of the SWC, the electric potential difference (EPD) remains at 2.5 g of NaCl. As the EC increases in the soil samples, the EPD increases.