Experiment one

Title: soil moisture content

Aim: to determine the moisture content of a soil using gravimetric method.

Apparatus:
1. Soil auger: for collecting soil samples in the field.
2. Oven: for drying the soil at 105C
3. Weighing balance : for measuring weight of sample.
4. Desiccator with silica gel : used to prevent moisture from the atmosphere from entering the
sample after drying.
5. Container can: for putting the soil sample.

Theory:
A critical environment factor to plant growth is maintenance of adequate moisture in the root
zone. The water is needed not only as a transport medium in which nutrient are absorbed and moved
through the plant, and wastes and expelled, but more critically on a short-term basis, as a coolant.
Transpiration of water by the plant is required to maintain non-lethal temperatures. A lack of water,
for even a short time, can cause death/ yield reduction.
The water content of a soil can be represented on a dry soil mass basis, a bulk volume basis, or a
pore volume basis. On dry mass basis:

W=MW /MS

Where:
W = the soil water content(g/g).
Mw= the mass of water in a soil sample (g), and
Ms= the mass of oven-dry soil in the sample(g).

On a bulk volume basis:

BV= Vw/Vb

Where:
BV = the volumetric moisture content(cm 3 / cm3)
Vw = the volume of water in the soil (cm )
Vp = the bulk volume of the sample

On a pore volume basis:

S = Vw / Vp

S = saturation (cm3 / cm3 ),

Vp = the pore volume ( cm3 ) and

Several direct and indirect methods are available for measuring soil-water content. Direct methods
are those in which the water in the soil is removed from the soil by evaporation, distillation or
chemical reaction. Determination of the amount removed may be by:

1. Measurement of the weight loss of the soil sample by evaporation( gravimetric ).

2. Collection of water by distillation.
3. Extraction of water with substance which will replace it in the sample and measurement of some
physical / chemical property of the extracting material which is quatitatively affected by the
water content.
Two indirect methods are those of neutron thermalization and gamma ray absorption. In the neutron
thermalization, a radioactive source is placed in the soil and emitted neutron are thermalized by
water held in the soil and in gamma ray absorption, a beam of monoenergetic gamma rays is
attenuated ( reduced in intensity ) in passing through a soil is measured.

Gravimetric method:
Water content determination by the gravimetric method involves collecting and weighing a
moist sample, removing the water by oven drying , and weighing the dry sample. Water content is
determined by:
W = Mw /Ms

There are 2 factors which are important in this simple process, Firstly, the sample must not be
allowed to lose water between collection and weighing and the standard dryness must be reached by
drying at 105oC. After the sample is dried, it should be cooled before reweighing because the sample
heat will create convention currents which will affect sensitive balance.

Procedures:

1. Firstly weight the container cans in a weight balance.

2. Collect the samples from the desired depth.
3. Place the sample of approximately 100g of the soil in container with tight fitting lid.
4. Weight the samples immediately or store them in such a way that the evaporation is negligible
until the mass is determined.
5. Place the samples in a drying oven with the lids off , and dry them to constant mass at
approximately 105C for 24 hours.
6. Remove the samples from the oven, replace the covers and place them in a a desiccator
containing active desiccant.
7. Weigh the samples when cool.
8. Empty the cans of all and reweigh to obtain the tare mass.
9. Determine the dry and wet basis.

Table and calculation

Samples M1 (g) M2 (g) M3 (g) M3 - M M3 - M2 - M3 Moisture Moisture
1(g) M1(g) (g) content content
on wet on dry
basis basis
A
B
C
D
E
F

M1 (g) = mass of container,

M2 (g) = mass of container + wet soil,
M3 (g) = mass of container + dry soil,
M3 - M 1(g) = mass of wet soil,
M3 - M1(g) = mass of dry soil,
M2 - M3 (g) = mass of water.

Observation:
1. I noticed that mass of the wet sample weighed more than the dry sample.

Precaution:
1. I avoided parallax error while taking readings.
2. I made sure that the mass of the soil was 100g.
3. I made sure the weighing balance was set correctly before weighing.
4. I ensured the sample can was air tight before measuring to prevent loss of moisture.
5. Before taking our samples from the soil, we ensured that the vegetation was well cleared.
6. I ensured that the soil sample was cooled in the desiccator before measuring it.

Experiment two

Title: bulk density

Aim : to determine the bulk density of a soil.

Apparatus:
1. Vernier calliper
2. Core samplers
3. Metal cores
4. Oven
5. Weighting balance
6. Aluminium boxes

Theory:
The bulk density of soil, pb ( g/ cm3 ) is the average mass of dry soil solid, Ms (g), per unit volume
of soil, Vb (cm3);
The bulk volume includes the actual volume occupied by the solids or soil gains as well as the
pores volume. Bulk densities will therefore vary not only with the actual density of the solids but
more importantly with the packing of the soil particles. Consequently, a given soil can have widely
varying bulk densities depending upon its state of compaction or aggregation, and the state of the
sample must be considered and carefully preserved during collection to achieve an accurate
measurement.
Soil bulk density is also sometimes represented as specific gravity ( or weight ), which is the mass
if the soil relative to the mass of an equal volume of water, M w .

Soil bulk density is determined by collecting a known volume of soil, oven drying it, and
determining its mass. The main difficulty is accurately determining the volume of a soil sample in its
natural state.
1. Inserting a rigid container of known volume such as a soil tube into the soil and extracting ths
sample.
2. Extracting a soil sample and then determining the volume of the resulting hole.
3. Collecting a soil aggregate or clod coating it with an impermeable material such as a paraffin
and determining its fluid displacement.

The primary difficulty with the first method is compaction of the soil sample when the container is
inserted due to friction against the leading (cutting) edge and walls. Pounding with hammer or force
from and hydraulic/ mechanical driver is often required to insert the container. The slow, even
insertion possible with a hydraulic ram minimizes sample compactness. A difficulty with the second
method is collecting the samples without compacting or disturbing the walls of the holes or losing
part of the sample while the third technique is the most difficulty and time consuming of the three,
but is useful if the density of an irregular shape such as soil aggregate is required.

Procedures:

1. Prepare the soil surface by removing vegetation, loose the soil and smoothen the surface.
2. Measure the length and diameter of the core using vernier calliper or metre rule and arrange
them before going to the field.
3. Collect the soil sample given at 30cm depth by assembling the core samplers over a cleared
leveled surface and press inside the soil by dropping the mallet over a centre position of the
upper end of the thick rod until the edge of the collar comes to rest with the soil surface.
4. Loosen the grip of the core sampler from the soil around it.
5. Pull out the soil sampler slowly from the soil and place it on the horizontal surface.
6. Trim off the extra soil from both end of the core with a sharp knife/ spatula.
7. Transfer the soil core from the sampler to the pre-weighted aluminium can and take the weight.
8. Oven dry the sample at 105C for 24 hours
9. Take the dry weight of the soil with can.
10. Calculate the oven dry soil sample mass.
11. Calculate the bulk density of each sample.

Table and calculation

Sample Wc Wcms Wcds Weight of Weight of Wet bulk Dry bulk

moist the dry density density
sample sample
1 185.9
2 157.8
3 159.6
4 127.6
5 120.3
6 123.6

Analysis

Depth of sample = 30cm

Inner diameter =
Length of the core =
Volume of the core =
Weight of moist soil + can =
Weight of the can =
Weight of the can + dry sample =
Weight of moist soil =
Weight of dry sample =

Wet bulk density = W - W / V

Dry bulk density = W - W / V

Experiment three

Title : Sieve analysis

Aim: to determine the particle size distribution of a sand.

Apparatus:

1. Set of sieves.
2. Oven.
3. Soft brush.
4. Weighing balance.
5. Piston/ mortar.
6. Soil auger.
7. Weighting container.

Theory:
Particle-size analysis is a procedure to determine the relative proportions of the different
particles (or grain) sizes which make up a given soil mass. Two technical will be used in this
experiment to separate the soil particle into particle-size ranges. Coarse particles (sands and gravels)
can be separated with mechanical sieves. The distribution of fine particle size (silts and clay) are
determined by uniformly dispersing the soil in water and measuring how quickly the particle fall in the
mixture.
Sieve analysis involves passing a soil sample through sieve with successively smaller holes.
Consequently, the method cannot determine individual particle size. It only divides the particles into
size categorizes bracketed by the sieve opening sizes. All particles retained on a given sieve in a stack
are larger than the holes in that sieve but smaller than the previous sieve’s holes. By dividing the mass
retained on each sieve by total mass, the percent of the particles in each size range can be
determined.
Sieves are made of woven wire screen. They are available in many hole size from 100mm to
0.037 mm. The smallest practical size is the 0.074 mm #200 sieve, since its difficult to even pass water
through smaller holes. Occasionally, the #270 sieve (0.053 mm) is used to seperate the sand from the
silt fraction, but sieve analysis is used only to separate out sand and gravel particles.
The opening in the sieves are square. The opening size is the distance between two sides of the
square opening. Since soil particles are highly irregular in shape, some particles with no longer
dimensions will occasionally pass through a given sized opening while others with a shorter dimension
may never become properly oriented to pass through the opening.sieve analysis data must be
accepted with this limitation. Also, neither sieve analysis nor hydrometer analysis provides
information about the shapes of the particles.
A more serious limitation of sieve analysis of soil materials is the difficulty of separating all the
particles into their elemental grains without crushing some of the grains.

Procedures:

1. Weigh the nylons and label them.

2. Collect the sample 80g each from the field into 6 places.
3. Weigh the samples to ensure you have the exact desired weight for each sample.
4. Dry the sample in an oven at 105C at about 24 hours.
5. Weigh the dry samples and crush them with mortar/ piston.
6. Transfer the samples to the top of the stack of sieves arranged in decreasing hole size with a pan
at the bottom and lid at the top.
7. Shack for 15mins.
8. Weigh the soil retained on each sieve. This can be done either by weighing the sieve and soil and
removing the soil to get tare weight of the sieve/ by pouring and brushing the soil into a
weighing container/ unto a paper.
9. The sieves are very delicate and uttermost care must be used in removing the soil in order not to
damage them such as paint brush.

Sieve size Weight of Weight of Weight of % retained Retained

sieve sieve + soil retained - cumulative
weight of
sieve
2mm 415.4 426.3 10.9 2.49% 2.49
425  m 347.3 578.3 231.0 52.75% 55.24
212  m 315.4 439.1 123.7 28.25% 83.49
106  m 293.3 334.3 50.1 11.44% 94.93
63  m 292.2 314.4 22.2 5.07% 100
EXPERIMENT FOUR

TITLE: INFILTRATION RATE

AIM: To determine the rate of infiltration in a given area with time by cylindrical infiltrometer

APPARATUS:

1. A cylinder infiltrometer, 20 to 30 cm in diameter and 30cm to 40cm in length, made of smooth

steel, rigid enough to allow it to be driven into the ground.
2. A buffer cylinder having a diameter of at least 30cm greater than the infiltrometer and a length
of about 20cm.
3. A hooked gauge for measuring the change in water.
4. Heavy timber and a sledge hammer for installing the cylinders.
5. A plastic sheet.
6. Source of water
7. Bucket, shovel and watch.

Theory:
Infiltration is the entry of water into soil through the soil surface. Nearly all water which enters
the soil enters via infiltration, either from rainfall or from water directed to the soil surface via
irrigation. Knowledge of the irrigation characteristics of a soil is basic information for designing
efficient irrigation system or predicting run-off. The soil infiltration rate will affect advance and
recession times, deep percolation and tailwater runoff in furrow and border systems, advance and
ponded times in level borders (basins), and maximum allowable application rate for sprinkler or drip
irrigation systems.
The time rate at which water is absorbed by the soil is the infiltration rate, I, which has units of
volume per unit area per unit time, cm3/cm3/min, or equivalently depth per unit time cm/min. The
cumulative infiltration, z, is the total accumulated depth infiltrated in a given time period. Cumulative
is thus the integration of the infiltration rate, and conversely, I is the derivative of z.

Z(t) = oʃt i dt

I(t) = dz/dt

The rate at which water infiltrate into the soil usually decrease over time until a relatively steady basic
infiltration rate is asymptotically approached. The decrease is caused by the decreasing capillary
pressure of the soil as it becomes wet. The constant rate is due to the constant gravity force, the
other component of the driving force.
Pre-existing soil moisture content will affect the initial infiltration rate. Drier soil will have higher
infiltration rate, due to their high capillary pressure. Infiltration rate within one area or field are highly
variable -- variations as high as an order of magnitude in one field are not uncommon -- due to
inhomogeneities in the soil (both textural and structural) and variation. These variations are both
areal and temporal. The infiltration rate of a wheel-track furrow is usually much less than that of a
less compacted furrow. Factors to consider include:
1. Soil moisture content at the time of irrigation
2. Soil texture.
3. Subsurface strata (plow pan, clay layers).
4. Surface soil compaction (wheel tracks).
5. Surface sealing (sedimentation, erosion, dispersion)
 6. Soil cracking
7. Soil structure (tillage operation).
8. Irrigation method (sprinkler vs surface; border vs furrow)
9. Crops and surface mulches
10. Soil and water salt ion concentrations
11. Soil and water temperature.

Several mathematical relationship or models have been proposed for infiltration rate and cumulative
infiltration, including the empirical kostiakov- lewis equation:

X = kta

The theoretically based approximation developed by philips;

Z = St1/2 + At,

The empirical relationship used by the u.s. soil conservation service:

Z = kta + ibt,

Where ;
K and a = empirically determined coefficients,
Ib = basic infiltration rate,
S and A = theoretically determined values,
C = 0.6985 cm, and
T = time excess water is available at the surface (intake opportunity time).

Several methods can be used to determine the infiltration characteristics of a soil under field
condition. Method frequently used for basin and border irrigation are;
1. Cylinder (ring) infiltration, and
2. Basin infiltration.
The two common method used for furrow irrigation are;
3. Blocked furrow infiltrometer, and
4. Inflow - outflow measurement on a segment of a furrow.

Cylinder infiltrometer:
The cylinder or ring infiltrometer is a metal cylinder which is driven into the soil. It measures
primarily the vertical rate of water movement into the soil surface (one-dimensional) from the pond it
encloses. Cylinder infiltrometer infiltration data are obtained by measuring the depth of ponded
water inside the cylinder at time intervals.
After water penetrates the soil to the depth of the bottom of the cylinder, it will spread radially
as well as vertically and the infiltration rate will change accordingly.buffer pond surrounding the
cylinder are used to minimize the effect, water is maintained in the area between the two cylinder at
about the same depth that's in the inner cylinder.
Two problems may make infiltration rate measured by cylinder infiltrometer unrepresentative of
the true infiltration rate. Firstly, The soil may be distrubed when the rings are driven into the ground.
Secondly, The ponded water may not duplicate real conditions. The infiltration rate measured with a
infiltrometer of 30cm of ponded water will not be equivalent to that in a border with 10cm water
depth, or to that under the sprinkler were no water is ponded.

Procedures:
1. The spot at which the infiltration rate is to be determine was carefully cleared and vegetation
leveled.
2. Drive the infiltration cylinder to a depth of at least 15cm.the cylinder should be installed as
vertically as possible, don’t drive the cylinder into the soil irregularly which could cause onr side
 to be higher than the order and if the cylinder goes out of alignment, remove it and reset it in a
comparable area nearby.
3. Set the buffer cylinder around the infiltrometer and drive it into the soil, 5 to 10 cm should be
adequate.
4. Place a plastic sheet or other waterproof membrane on the soil within the cylinder infiltrometer
so that it forms an inner cylinder to hold water.
5. Fill the buffer pond with water to a depth roughly equal to the depth desired in the inner ring.
6. Fill the cylinder infiltrometer with water to a depth of about 10cm.
7. Place the hook gauge board on the cylinder and set the point of the gauge at the water level.
8. Read the scale from the top edge of the clip. This the initial depth reading corresponding to the
time reading.
9. Quickly but carefully remove the plastic membrane recording the time which is done, make the
hook gauge reading as long as the water surface is still enough to do so.
10. Make additional gauge readings at periodic intervals and record the hook gauge and time
reading. Intervals between observation should be short as 5mins.
11. When the water level has dropped in the cylinder infiltrometer after each time interval, carefully
add a sufficient volume of water to return the water to the initial level.
12. Where abnormally high or low infiltration values are indicated by the test results, the
infiltrometer should be dug out and the soil examined for possible cause.
13. The equipment used should be cleaned and returned.

Table and calculations

Time Time Cummulative Depth of Depth Intake Cummulation Infiltration

interval Time water(Before of infiltration rate
) water
(after)

Experiment five

Title: porosity

Aim: to determine the porosity of the soil(marble).

Apparatus:
1. 15 - 20 stones/ marbles.
2. A large 200ml beaker.
3. Small 100ml beaker.
4. Digital scale.
5. Sand or similar material to test.
6. 100ml of water.

Theory:
The pores in a soil are the voids between the solid grains of the soil. The air and soil water
solution in the soil is stored in and moves through those pores. Although the geometry of these pores
is important in the determination of soil-water storage and movement, the total pore volume is also a
widely used parameter. The pore volume of a soil will vary somewhat with the size and shape of the
soil grains, but soil structure is a more important determinate.
The porosity of a soil is the ratio of the volume of pores V p, to the bulk volume of a soil sampe Vb.
Soil porosity can be measured directly using a gas pycnometer and the relationship between gas
pressure and volume (boyle’s law). since the pore volume is equal to the difference between the bulk
volume and the volume of the soil solid, Vs , the porosity can also be calculated if Vs , is known:
 = Vb - Vs / Vb = 1 - Vs /Vb

If the bulk soil sample could be crushed and compacted to the point where no voids remained, V s
could be determined directly. However, this is not possible, so indirect method must be used. The
pore space of the oven dry soil sample contains only air whose mass is insignificantly small.
Consquently, the mass of the dry bulk density sample is equivalent to the mass of the solid, M s.
Since:
Ps = M s / Vs
Then:
 = 1 - Vs /Vb = 1 - Pb/ Ps

Procedures:

1. Gather all your materials (beaker, ruler, water, marbles e.t.c).

2. Analyse the marbles and as a group predict the for porosity of the marble.
3. Choose 15 marbles of similar size and measure their diameter, create a table of marble number
tested and diameter in cm and also include in the table the average diameter value dvg.
4. Add the fifteen marble to the large beaker, pushing them down to a flat horizontal line
representing the top of the marble.
5. Pour water into the small beaker feeding off the 10ml line, add this water into the large
beaker.repeat this step until the water line matches the horizontal plane.
6. Count the total volume of water added, using 10ml for each pour minus the remaining volume in
the small beaker.
7. Calculate the grain volume by finding the volume of the marbles. This can be done using the
volume of a sphere . use your average diameter and multiply by the number of marbles in the
container is the grain volume.
8. Compute the found porosity using 1ml = 1cubic centimeter.