Analogy of Soil Parameters in Particle Size Analysis through Laser Diffraction Techniques

Abstract

A study was undertaken to optimize the parameters for particle size analysis through laser diffraction techniques. Fifty soil samples with varying soil texture, organic matter, sesquioxide content and calcareousness were collected and analyzed for soil texture by conventional (International Pipette Method-IPm) and Instrumental (Particle Size Analyser-PSA) methods. The study reveals that PSA is more accurate and preferable compared to IPm in determining the soil particle sizes. The clay content of the different samples estimated by International Pipette method and by Particle size analyzer varied from 0.9 to 48.4% and 0.35 to 41.2 %, respectively. PSA showed a good agreement (72% samples) for silt size fractions, and a slight shift in the upper limit of clay from conventional size of 2 µm could help in analysis of soil texture by PSA.