Electricity in soil conducted through moisture-filled pores between soil particles.Wenner developed a Method to estimate soil electrical conductivity in situ. Soil EC correlates to soil properties affecting crop productivity, including salt content, soil texture, cation exchange capacity, drainage conditions, organic matter level and subsoil characteristics. In this paper the so called Wenner direct contact method was employed to measure soil EC. There are four coulter probes where the first and the fourth probes provide the electrical charge while the second and the third probe measure the average electrical conductivity (ECa). Two types of electrode (plate and rod) and two types of electric current (AC and DC) were examined to determine the effect of electrode type and current type on apparent soil EC. The experimental results were compared with laboratory measurements using a standard EC meter. The R square of regression model was above 0.93 for all treatments. There was a significant difference between electrode type and current type in measuring soil EC.

Keywords