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24 

Interpreting EC Readings from Soilless Media 

 
The FieldScout EC meter allows for quick and easy 
readings of salinity in a greenhouse container. The 
following equations give an approximation of how a 
direct-insert reading relates to more conventional soil 
sampling techniques.  The FieldScout reading is 
designated by the variable FS. 
 

Pour-through Method (PT) 

PT = 1.637 * FS + 0.556 
 

1:2 Dilution (OTT) 

OTT = 0.448 * FS - 0.13 
 

Saturated Media Extract (SME) 

SME = 1.178 * FS - 0.294 
 
Source:  
Scoggins, H. L., VanIersal, M.W. 2006. 

In Situ

 

Probes for Measurement of Electrical Conductivity of 
Soilless Substrates: Effects of Temperature and 
Substrate Moisture Content. HortScience. 41:210-
214 

Summary of Contents for Fieldscout 2265FS

Page 1: ...Direct Soil EC Meter PRODUCT MANUAL Item s 2265FS 2265FSTP ...

Page 2: ...ass 20 3 Classification of Irrigation Water 22 4 Greenhouse Media 23 5 Diagnostic Messages 25 6 Celsius to Fahrenheit Conversion Chart 26 Warranty 27 This manual will familiarize you with the features and operation of your Field Scout Soil Water EC Meter Please read this manual thoroughly before using your meter For customer support or to place an order call Spectrum Technologies Inc 800 248 8873 ...

Page 3: ...to the salinity of the soil solution EC measurement is also affected by temperature and to a lesser degree by soil moisture content Use this portable EC meter and probe to measure sa linity in greenhouse soil media right on the spot with out tedious soil sampling and preparation Green house production managers can compare readings from plant to plant and fine tune their fertility program because m...

Page 4: ...requiring frequent fertilization EC should be checked regularly to ensure the plants are getting sufficient nutrients while avoiding the effects of salt toxicity See Appendix 1 p 18 for a list of preferred EC values for some common plants Typically younger plants will require lower EC than mature plants The stainless steel soil EC p r o b e i s designed to be inserted directly into soil The sensin...

Page 5: ...l has approximately reached field capacity The probe should be inserted in the root zone The measurement region is at the tip of the probe For turf the root zone is approximately 2 4 For vegetables and small plants this is about 8 12 Wait until the meter reading stabilizes before withdrawing the probe Taking several measurements will allow a representative average to be computed Important Do not t...

Page 6: ... meter to AUTO see Range Selection p 9 Periodically the calibration of the meter can be checked by immersing the sensor in the calibration solution This solution should not be re used at a later date Calibration Procedure 1 Open battery compartment lid on the top of the meter to access the small white Increment INC and Decrement DEC calibration keys When looking at the battery compartment with the...

Page 7: ... side or bottom of the container holding the buffer solution Wait for display to stabilize display value is unchanged and stable for 3 seconds 4 Pressing either calibration key will put the meter into CALIBRATION mode Press the INC or DEC key to adjust the reading If a key is held down the adjustment will happen more rapidly 5 When the EC of the calibration standard is reached release the keys for...

Page 8: ... press the ON OFF button to switch on the display The meter will go into calibration selection mode 3 The lower display shows A CAL and the upper display blinks the current choice YES or NO Press either the INC or DEC key to select the NO option This disables the Automatic calibration mode and configures the display for Manual calibration 4 Press the HOLD ENTER button to confirm the selection The ...

Page 9: ...I See table 1 for a description of each range 3 Press the HOLD ENTER button to select the desired option If the HOLD ENTER button is not pressed quickly after the o C o F button is released the meter will transition to measurement mode Return to step 1 and repeat Abbreviation EC Range PU 0 to 200 0 μS cm LO 0 to 2000 μS cm HI 0 to 20 00 mS cm AUTO Automatic Table 1 Definition of the 4 EC range mod...

Page 10: ... saturation will have readings 10 15 more than SME measurements due to a lesser amount of water in the soil Soil EC measurements should be made 30 60 minutes after irrigation Procedure Press On Off button to power up the meter Insert the probe tip 1 inch below soil surface Wait for reading to stabilize stable for 3 seconds Automatic Temperature Compensation ATC will correct for temperature changes...

Page 11: ...rized as this will affect the growth medium properties and alter the results Traditionally the soil solution from the saturated medium is extracted by a vacuum pump However the Field Scout Soil Water EC Meter allows the saturated sample to be tested directly Procedure Moisten the media sample with distilled water to reach a consistent saturated moisture level When saturated the media should gliste...

Page 12: ...r 3 seconds Other Features Hold Pressing the HOLD key will freeze the display Press HOLD again to release Temperature Units Press the C F key to toggle between displaying temperature in Fahrenheit and Celsius Auto Ranging If the meter s range mode is set to AUTO see Meter Configuration p 8 the LCD will automatically transition from mS cm to μS cm as the unit of measure when the EC value gets small...

Page 13: ...make fu ture battery removal much easier 3 Recalibrate meter after every battery change Maintenance To improve performance and avoid transferring soil borne diseases clean the sensor tip by rinsing in alcohol for 5 10 minutes Replace all batteries if low battery indicator appears or if readings are faint or unstable Store the probe sensor dry Important Do not touch the sensor tip with your fingers...

Page 14: ...e or tip Replacing a tip 24 probes only The replaceable tip left is designed to thread in and out of the end of the probe A new tip has two flat faces on opposite sides This allows the tip to be tightened onto the probe with a pliers or 5 16 wrench I Removing a direct insert probe The 8 probe and older 24 probes do not have a replaceable tip The replacement procedure is outlined below 1 Remove the...

Page 15: ...nd the assembly 4 Attach the probe plug to the socket in the meter housing 5 Push the assembly onto the meter housing so the metal pegs on the assembly line up with the notches on the inner diameter of the meter opening Be sure that the small o ring sits at the base of the large plastic assembly 6 While holding the assembly in place hand tighten the nut to the strain relief 7 Connect and tighten t...

Page 16: ... probe cable plug is firmly connected to the socket in the meter 4 Push the assembly onto the meter housing so the metal pegs on the assembly line up with the notches on the inner diameter of the meter opening Be sure that the small o ring sits at the base of the large plastic assembly 5 While holding the assembly in place hand tighten the nut to the strain relief 6 Connect and tighten the tan nut...

Page 17: ...122 o F Range Accuracy EC 1 Full Scale Temperature 0 5 o C EC Resolution 0 01 mS cm Calibration 1 point manual calibration Temperature Automatic from 0 to 50o C Compensation Power Four LR44 1 5V alkaline batteries Battery Life 150 hours Auto Shutoff After 8 5 minutes Specifications ...

Page 18: ...2 0 2 5 Strawberry 2 0 2 5 Lettuce 1 0 1 5 Eggplant 2 5 3 0 Melon 1 5 2 5 Potato 2 0 3 0 Pepper 2 0 3 0 Pea 1 0 1 5 Tomato 2 5 5 0 Celery 2 0 2 5 Marrow 2 0 2 5 Recommended soil EC for selected vegetable crops Note The values on this table refer to measurement of a saturated media extract SME Appendix 1 Preferred EC Values for Selected Plants ...

Page 19: ...5 2 8 4 1 Pansies during active growth 0 25 1 5 0 1 0 6 0 35 2 1 Geraniumus during active growth 1 6 2 4 0 65 1 0 2 2 3 3 Comparison of substrate tests for various EC sam pling methods Calvins Whipker and Fonteno North Carolina State University a saturated media extract b 1 part soil to 2 parts water ...

Page 20: ... the Field Scout meter This equa tion is the basis for table 1 Table 2 lists a variety of grass species and the range of EC values converted to SME they can tolerate FS SME FS SME FS SME 0 1 1 1 1 1 3 8 2 1 6 5 0 2 1 3 1 2 4 0 2 2 6 7 0 3 1 6 1 3 4 3 2 3 7 0 0 4 1 9 1 4 4 6 2 4 7 3 0 5 2 2 1 5 4 9 2 5 7 6 0 6 2 4 1 6 5 1 2 6 7 8 0 7 2 7 1 7 5 4 2 7 8 1 0 8 3 0 1 8 5 7 2 8 8 4 0 9 3 2 1 9 5 9 2 9 8...

Page 21: ...uegrass Creeping Bentgrass Tall Fescue Seashore Paspalum Rough Bluegrass Hard Fescue Buffalograss St Augustine grass Centipedegrass Bahiagrass Zoysiagrass Table 2 Relative tolerance of turfgrasses to soil sa linity measured by the SME Method Salinity in Turfgrass Harivandi M A Butler J D Lin W 1992 Note The values on this table refer to measurement of a saturated media extract SME Use table 1 to c...

Page 22: ...od 0 25 mS cm EC 0 75 mS cm Permissible 0 75 mS cm EC 2 0 mS cm Doubtful 2 0 mS cm EC 3 0 mS cm Unsuitable EC 3 0 mS cm Categories of irrigation water quality based on electrical conductivity Wilcox L V 1948 The Quality of Water for Irrigation Use USDA Techni cal Bulletin 962 ...

Page 23: ...nutrient status 0 74 0 25 0 12 Suitable range for seedlings and salt sensitive plants 75 1 99 25 75 12 35 Desirable range for most established plants Upper range may reduce growth of some sensitive plants 2 00 3 49 75 1 25 35 65 Slightly higher than desir able Loss of vigor in upper range OK for high nutrient requiring plants 3 50 5 00 1 25 1 75 65 90 Reduced growth and vigor Wilting and marginal ...

Page 24: ...ates to more conventional soil sampling techniques The FieldScout reading is designated by the variable FS Pour through Method PT PT 1 637 FS 0 556 1 2 Dilution OTT OTT 0 448 FS 0 13 Saturated Media Extract SME SME 1 178 FS 0 294 Source Scoggins H L VanIersal M W 2006 In Situ Probes for Measurement of Electrical Conductivity of Soilless Substrates Effects of Temperature and Substrate Moisture Cont...

Page 25: ...erature value exceeds specified maximum or minimum value Sensor electrodes have short circuited Sensor probe tip may need to be replaced Sensor is not connected properly see Checking Probe Connection p 16 OR UR ATC blinking Short or open circuit at the built in temperature sensor Er 0 Temperature not within specified range Er 1 EC not within specified range ...

Page 26: ...9 48 2 24 75 2 39 102 2 10 50 0 25 77 0 40 104 0 11 51 8 26 78 8 41 105 8 12 53 6 27 80 6 42 107 6 13 55 4 28 82 4 43 109 4 14 57 2 29 84 2 44 111 2 Appendix 6 Celsius to Fahrenheit Conversion Chart The Field Scout Soil Water EC Meter gives temperature readings in Celsius The conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit is calculated with the following equation F 9 5 C 32 This information is also contain...

Page 27: ...anty does not cover damage due to improper installation or use lightning negligence accident or unauthorized modifications or to inci dental or consequential damages beyond the Spectrum prod uct Before returning a failed unit you must obtain a Returned Materials Authorization RMA from Spectrum Spectrum is not responsible for any package that is returned without a valid RMA number or for the loss o...

Page 28: ...to the following Model Number 2265FS 2265FSTP Description Electrical Conductivity Meter Type Electrical Equipment for Measurement Control and Laboratory Use Directive 89 336 EEC Standards EN 50081 1 EN 55022 EN 50082 1 Douglas L Kieffer Soil Water Products Manager April 7 2009 R 12 13 3600 Thayer Court Aurora IL 60504 800 248 8873 or 815 436 4440 Fax 815 436 4460 E Mail info specmeters com www spe...

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