About Soil EC
Soil EC is soil electrical conductivity – a measurement of how much electrical current soil conducts. It’s an effective way to map soil texture because smaller soil particles such as clay conduct more current than larger silt and sand particles. As the EC system is pulled through the field, one pair of coulter-electrodes injects a known voltage into the soil, while the other coulter-electrodes measure the drop in that voltage. EC signal arrays reach (60-90 cm) into the soil. The result: a detailed map of the soil texture variability in the crop rooting zone.
Why It Matters
Soil texture has a major impact on productivity, affecting water holding capacity, cation-exchange-capacity (CEC), drainage, topsoil depth, and nitrogen use efficiency. Whether soil will hold, lose, or use nutrients is strongly related to its texture. Mobile nutrients like nitrogen are leached through light soil and lost through de-nitrification in heavy soil. Immobile nutrients like P and K will vary for many reasons – especially crop removal variances. Soil EC maps define the soil texture variability, so your samples are in the right spot and your prescriptions change where the soil does.
Applications
Growers, consultants, and suppliers are using Veris soil EC maps to devise management zones, set sampling locations, vary seed rates, nitrogen, irrigation, and better manage your at risk nitrate leeching zones – just to name a few uses of EC maps.
