TECHNICAL NOTES: A TRACTOR-MOUNTED MULTIPLE-PROBE SOIL CONE PENETROMETER

Abstract

Determining soil compaction profiles requires fast sampling systems due to changing moisture conditions withtime. Soil cone penetrometers are commonly used for this purpose, but acquiring the many readings required due tospatial and data variability can take long periods of time. A multiple-probe soil cone penetrometer was constructed andtested for the purpose of measuring cone index values throughout the entire soil profile from trafficked middle across acrop row to untrafficked middle. This machine has been successfully used in numerous studies and offers the capability ofobtaining soil strength information throughout an entire field in relatively short periods of time.