Question:hard

Which statements are incorrect?
(A) In the field, soil moisture content determined by the gravimetric method is used as the reference in calibrating the other soil moisture instruments.
(B) Resistance blocks are useful for saline soils, since the resistance reading is not affected by salt concentration.
(C) The principle of the neutron probe moisture meter is based on the measurement of the number of carbon nuclei that are present in a unit volume of soil.
(D) Tensiometer satisfactorily measures the entire range of available moisture in all soil types.
(E) In sprinkler irrigation the soil moisture measuring stations should be between the sprinkler heads and 3 to 4 m away from the lateral.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Show Hint

Check what each instrument physically measures: weight loss, electrical resistance, hydrogen nuclei count, or suction.
  • (A), (B) and (C) only.
  • (B), (C) and (D) only.
  • (C), (D) and (E) only.
  • (A), (B) and (E) only.
Show Solution

The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

Go instrument by instrument instead of statement by statement.
Gravimetric method: it is the oven-dry weighing method, the oldest and most direct way to know soil water content, so every other instrument gets checked against it. This supports (A) as true.
Resistance (gypsum) blocks: their electrical resistance changes with the ions dissolved in the soil water, so a saline soil confuses the reading regardless of actual moisture. That makes (B) false.
Neutron probe: it fires fast neutrons which lose energy mainly when they strike a nucleus of similar mass, which is the hydrogen nucleus in water molecules; the slowed neutron count is proportional to water content. Carbon has nothing to do with this, so (C) is false.
Tensiometer: it is a water filled tube with a porous cup, and it can only hold a vacuum reading over a narrow suction range before air enters the system, so it stops giving useful values in dry soil. So (D) is false.
Sprinkler moisture stations: placing sampling points between heads and a few metres from the lateral is exactly the standard recommended practice, so (E) is true.
\[\boxed{\text{(B), (C) and (D) are incorrect, option 2}}\]
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