Simultaneous Soil EC and Organic Matter Sensing with Veris OpticMapper.

Soil sensing using tools such as soil electrical conductivity (EC) are being used to aid soil mapping in a variety of agricultural applications. While soil EC maps precisely delineate the location of soil changes, the cause of the change is not clearly evident directly from the data.  The inclusion of a soil sensor that identifies changes in a second soil property, such as organic matter (OM), may be helpful not only in mapping that property, but also may suggest additional information about the nature of the soil EC measurement.  Proximal near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy sensors have been developed for OM and carbon mapping; however the cost and complexity of these typically exceed the needs of commercial agriculture.  Single wavelength proximal sensors for OM were prototyped nearly twenty years ago, but none of these was ever fully commercialized.  Veris Technologies has developed and commercialized the OpticMapper, a two-wavelength optical module that measures soil reflectance in the visible and NIR ranges.  It operates under the soil surface with its depth controlled by adjacent disks and gauging wheels in order to produce a consistent soil scene.  Used in conjunction with proximal EC sensors, the OpticMapper produces maps that provide additional details compared to government soil surveys and EC maps. Results from multi-field, multi-state studies show the OpticMapper readings correlate well with laboratory-measured OM.