Penetapan Kadar Air Gravimetri dengan Microwave dan Korelasi Hasilnya dengan Metode Oven Konvensional

Abstract

Soil moisture content is a critical parameter in soil analysis influenced by various factors, including soil texture and bulk density. This research aims to examine the determination of soil moisture content by utilizing the microwave oven drying method as an alternative to conventional ovens. Careful calibration and consistency in soil moisture content analysis are essential for this experiment. The experiment was conducted from January 2021 to July 2023 at the Soil Physics and Land Conservation Laboratory of the Department of Soil Science, University of Jember, using 140 soil samples with diverse textures and moisture content. The data, analyzed through various statistical tests, indicate that the microwave and conventional oven methods for measuring soil moisture content have similar error rates, with values below 10% for RMSE, RRMSE, NRMSE, and a strong correlation (R2 close to 1.0). Welch's statistical test on 140 samples revealed no significant difference between the methods, confirming the effectiveness of the microwave oven in determining soil moisture content. The results of this research support the practical and efficient use of the microwave oven for soil moisture determination. The research findings show that the microwave oven method can replace the conventional oven method, with greater measurement discrepancies observed in fine-textured soil compared to coarse-textured soil.