Simple method for measuring soil sand content by nylon mesh sieving

Abstract

A rapid and reagent-free method for measuring soil sand content is presented. In this method, a 20-µm-opening nylon mesh cloth was used for wet sieving of the sand fraction, and the difference of the soil weight before and after sieving was measured with an electric balance. Once air-dried, 2-mm sieved samples are prepared, the analysis can be completed within 2 d and 50 samples can be handled together by one person. The accuracy of this method was evaluated using five agricultural surface soils with various textural classes. The sand content obtained from the proposed method agreed well with that from the conventional method. Repeatability and reproducibility of the proposed method were high for sandy soils and were moderate for a clayey soil. The sensitivity of the method was further evaluated by analyzing 100 surface soils collected from a single paddy field having a similar textural class. The regression analysis of data between the proposed and conventional methods yielded an R2 value of 0.83 and a slope of 1.04. The slight overestimation by the proposed method suggested a systematic error, originating probably from the lack of pretreatment to remove organic matter. Limited to agricultural soils containing total carbon (C) of less than 5%, the proposed method would be useful not only for scientific investigation but also for educational purposes.