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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp1 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Investigation of dielectric response of soil with varying physicochemical properties

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.10596
Submitted
11 July 2025
Published
08-04-2026

Abstract

Soil dielectric properties are essential for understanding electric response, which is an indicator for soil sensing. The relationship between soil dielectrics and the physicochemical property of soil is a useful link for remote sensing, widely used for agriculture applications. This investigation examines how soil dielectric response varies with fundamental physicochemical properties namely acidity/alkalinity levels (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon (OC) content and particle size distribution (texture). The measurements are carried out for the complex dielectric constant of different coloured soils, viz. black, dark red, very pale green, pale green and reddish brown collected from location India (20.5292° N, 76.1842° E). The validation and investigation of dielectric response for different physicochemical changes in the soil is a significant information for active and passive remote sensing. The measurements were performed for the complex dielectric constant of distinct soil samples representing different physicochemical profiles, collected using standardized protocol. The short waveguide method is used to perform these measurements using a precision automated waveguide-based measurement system, at X-, J-, C- microwave frequency bands. The results demonstrate variation of dielectric properties for different frequency bands as a function of colour, pH, EC, OC and texture of the soil. These trends provide unique frequency dependent signatures that are useful to build interrelationship between electromagnetic behaviour and characteristics of soil. This will help to enhance the capability of satellite-based soil monitoring and to establish models in this concern.

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