Res. Agr. Eng., 2025, 71(2):88-94 | DOI: 10.17221/33/2024-RAE

Stability of soil moisture sensors for agricultural crop cultivationShort Communication

Sitti Nur Faridah1, Muhammad Tahir Sapsal1, Tisha Aditya A. Jamaluddin2, Andini Dani Achmad3, Muhammad Adi Surya1
1 Agricultural Technology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia
2 Energy Conversion and Conservation Research Centre, National Research and Innovation Agency,South Tangerang Banten, Indonesia
3 Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Hasanuddin University, Gowa, Indonesia

Soil water content is critical in plants’ morphological and physiological processes; therefore, water must always be available in appropriate quantities to meet plant growth needs. Soil moisture can be easily detected using sensors, which offer a practical solution for monitoring water content in the soil. However, using sensors for a long time, especially on agricultural land, will reduce sensor accuracy. This research aims to investigate the accuracy of soil moisture sensors during their use for cultivating crops. Using sensors in sandy clay soil can detect soil moisture levels with an accuracy of 93.80% and a precision of 90.81%. A reading deviation (error) of up to 49.74% with a precision level of 75.69% occurred when the sensor had been used for 40 days. Regular cleaning and calibration of the sensor are necessary to obtain accurate soil moisture readings. A copper-based sensor module kit can be used to detect soil moisture with reasonable accuracy during plant growth with a 5–6 weeks harvest time.

Keywords: agricultural land; copper sensor; sandy clay; soil water content

Received: March 27, 2024; Accepted: March 11, 2025; Prepublished online: April 22, 2025; Published: June 18, 2025  Show citation

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Faridah SN, Sapsal MT, Jamaluddin TAA, Dani Achmad A, Surya MA. Stability of soil moisture sensors for agricultural crop cultivation. Res. Agr. Eng. 2025;71(2):88-94. doi: 10.17221/33/2024-RAE.
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