Rapid in-field soil analysis of plant-available nutrients and pH for precision agriculture—a review

Abstract There are currently many in-field methods for estimating soil properties (e.g., pH, texture, total C, total N) available in precision agriculture, but each have their own level of suitability and only a few can be used for direct determination of plant-available nutrients. As promising approaches for reliable in-field use, this review provides an overview of electromagnetic, conductivity-based, and electrochemical techniques for estimating plant-available soil nutrients and pH. Soil spectroscopy, conductivity, and ion-specific electrodes have received the most attention in proximal soil sensing as basic tools for precision agriculture during the last two decades. Spectral soil sensors provide indication of plant-available nutrients and pH, and electrochemical sensors provide highly accurate nitrate and pH measurements. This is currently the best way to accurately measure plant-available phosphorus and potassium, followed by spectral analysis. For economic and practicability reasons, the combination of multi-sensor in-field methods and soil data fusion has proven highly successful for assessing the status of plant-available nutrients in soil for precision agriculture. Simultaneous operation of sensors can cause problems for example because of mutual influences of different signals (electrical or mechanical). Data management systems provide relatively fast availability of information for evaluation of soil properties and their distribution in the field. For rapid and broad adoption of in-field soil analyses in farming practice, in addition to accuracy of fertilizer recommendations, certification as an official soil analysis method is indispensable. This would strongly increase acceptance of this innovative technology by farmers.