What is a penetrometer?

A penetrometer measures the resistance required to penetrate through an object . This principle can applied in several disciplines.

Penetrometer soil

Where there is a lot of traffic, heavy materials are stored or there is a built-up environment, trees and crops can experience growth stagnation. This reduces the condition of the trees and crops and is often caused by the compaction of the soil. Soil density occurs when the soil is compressed by, for example, the above factors. The natural cavities in the soil then disappear and the resistance required to penetrate through the soil increases.

This penetration resistance is an important indication of whether the soil can still be rooted well. This is essential for the formation of a strong and healthy root system of the tree or crop and indicates, as it were, how much effort a root has to do to grow further in the soil.

The air and oxygen content and the moisture supply capacity of the soil depend on this penetration resistance. Highly compacted soils can slow down or even block root growth and its functioning, so that trees and crops can even die completely due to the suffocation of the roots.

A penetrometer is used to measure the resistance to penetrate the soil (the resistance encountered by the tree roots / roots of the crop). The instrument consists of a thin metal rod with a conical tip at the end that must be slowly pressed into the ground. The resistance encountered is expressed in a value that serves as an indication of the soil density. This value is displayed on top of the instrument.

We are happy to help you accurately and reliably measure and monitor the desired soil density with one of our measuring instruments. View our range of penetrometers here.