Calibration of Low-Cost Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensors for Irrigation Management Applications

作     者：Abdelmoneim, Ahmed A. Al Kalaany, Christa M. Khadra, Roula Derardja, Bilal Dragonetti, Giovanna 

作者机构：Mediterranean Agron Inst CIHEAM Bari Sustainable Water & Land Management Agr I-70010 Valenzano Bari Italy 

出 版 物：《SENSORS》 (Sensors)

年 卷 期：2025年第25卷第2期

页      面：343-343页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 071010[理学-生物化学与分子生物学] 0808[工学-电气工程] 07[理学] 0804[工学-仪器科学与技术] 0703[理学-化学] 

主　　题：capacitive sensors SEN0193 soil moisture precision agriculture microcontroller ESP32 

摘      要：The calibration of capacitive soil moisture sensors is an essential step towards their integration into smart solutions. This study investigates the calibration of a widely used low-cost capacitive soil moisture sensor (SKU:SEN0193, DFRobot, Shanghai, China) in a loamy silt soil typically found in the Puglia region of Italy. The calibration function was derived from a random sample of 12 sensors, with three soil sample replicas per sensor, each of which had one of five gravimetric soil moisture contents, from relatively dry (5%) to full saturation (40%). The study reports the resulting calibration function along with the accuracy achieved with the generalized calibration function. The sensors proved to be accurate, with an R2 value ranging between 0.85 and 0.87 and a root mean square value (RMSE) ranging between 4.5 and 4.9%. The variation between the sensors was also investigated. The results showed that with higher soil moisture contents (above 30%), the sensor-to-sensor variability becomes significant, with a coefficient of variation (CV) ranging between 10 and 16%;meanwhile, in lower soil moisture contents, the CV ranged between 6.5 and 10.3%, implying that it is more consistent in lower moisture content within this soil condition. The resulting calibration function enhances the integration of such low-cost sensors into smart farming solutions. With proper calibration, these affordable capacitive sensors can achieve a high degree of accuracy, making them a viable option for widespread use in cost-effective precision agricultural applications.