Evaluation of nitrate soil probes for a more sustainable agriculture

Synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers and their increased production and utilization have played a great role in increasing crop yield and in meeting the food demands resulting from population growth. Nitrate (NO3−) is the common form of nitrogen absorbed by plants. It has high water solubility and low retention by soil particles, making it prone to leaching and mobilization by surface water, which can seriously contaminate biological environments and affect human health. Few methods exist to measure nitrate in the soil. The development of ion selective sensors provides knowledge about the dynamics of nitrate in the soil in real time, which can be very useful for nitrate management. The objective of this study is to analyze the performance of three commercial probes (Nutrisens, RIKA and JXCT) under the same conditions. The performance was analyzed with respect to electrical conductivity (EC) (0–50 mS/cm) and nitrate concentration in aqueous solution and in sand (0–180 ppm NO3−) at 35% volumetric soil moisture. Differences were shown among probes when studying their response to variations of the EC and, notably, only the Nutrisens probe provided coherent accurate measurements. In the evaluation of nitrate concentration in liquid solution, all probes proved to be highly sensitive. Finally, in the evaluation of all probes’ response to modifications in nitrate concentration in sand, the sensitivity decreased for all probes, with the Nutrisens probe the most sensitive and the other two probes almost insensitive.