Development of a T-instrument for soil resistivity measurement in agricultural applications

Tedy Setiawan (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
Satria Bijaksana (Institut Teknologi Bandung)
Ulvienin Harlianti (Institut Teknologi Bandung)

TELKOMNIKA (Telecommunication Computing Electronics and Control)
Vol 24, No 5: October 2026

Geoelectric measurements are widely applied in natural resource exploration and groundwater studies. In this work, a prototype resistivity meter, referred to as the T-instrument, was developed for soil resistivity measurements in agricultural applications. The system is designed with an emphasis on portability, ease of operation, and field applicability. Measurements were conducted using the Wenner electrode configuration, and system performance was evaluated through comparison with a commercial resistivity meter (OYO McOhm). The results show a strong correlation coefficient of 0.96 between the two instruments, indicating good agreement. The instrument performs reliably within typical agricultural soil resistivity ranges and targets shallow soil depths relevant to crop root zones. However, further refinement is required to improve performance under high-resistivity conditions and optimize power efficiency.