International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE) ISSN: 2277-3878, Volume-8 Issue-4, November 2019 64 Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering & Sciences Publication Retrieval Number: C5871098319/2019©BEIESP DOI:10.35940/ijrte.C5871.118419 Effect of Ammonium Sulphate on Dielectric Properties of Soil AT X & J-Band Microwave Frequency Syeda Ruhi Nishat, Gulam Rabbani, H.C. Chaudhari, Y.H.Shaikh Abstract: Microwave play important role in the moisture detec- tion of soil plant and other agricultural product. In present paper the study of effect of ammonium sulphate on microwave dielec- tric properties of soil is presented. For this three soil samples were collected from different geographical region of Maharash- tra. The infinite sample method was employed for the determina- tion of storage factor (ε’) and loss factor (ε”) of the soils. In this paper the effect of ammonium sulphate on dielectric properties of soil when X and J-band microwave frequencies incident on it is discussed. The variation in values of dielectric properties of these soil samples mixed with different chemical contents are then measured at frequency 6 GHz and 9.86 GHz. The concentrations of this chemical in the soil samples are increased from 0 to 12 % and results are presented. Keywords: Dielectric parameter, microwave frequency, X and J- band, ammonium sulphate. I. INTRODUCTION There are different types of waves present in electro- magnetic spectrum. Out of these waves microwave has its vast importance. From cooking popcorn to study the galax- ies they are being used in different ways. Microwave elec- trical properties of material provide information about mate- rial characteristics. The natural nutrients found in the soil essential to plant growth, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, are manufactured synthetically from inorganic material and applied to soil in the form of chemical fertiliz- ers. Although chemical fertilizers improve the growth of plants and increase the yields of fruits and vegetables in a relatively short period of time. Many researchers have re- ported the results of their studies on the variation of dielec- tric characteristics of fertilized soils at microwave frequen- cies. Wang J. R. and Schmugge T. J. [1] estimated that the dielectric constant is directly related to pore- space of soil. H.C.Chaudhari and V. J. Shinde [2] studied the dielectric properties of black and red soil. They concluded that the dielectric properties of soil varied with varying moisture, temperature, density as well as other physical and chemical properties. Also the existence of bound water in sol water mixture significantly affects the electrical properties of soil. Hoekstra P. and Delaney A [3] Revised Manuscript Received on November 15, 2019 Dr. Gulam Rabbani, Associate Professor And Head Department Of Physics Maulana Azad College Of Arts, Science And Commerce, Auran- gabad. Dr Yusuf H. Shaikh, Associate Professor Shivaji Arts, Commerce And Science College Kannad; Dist. Aurangabad. Dr.Harish Chaudhari, Professor Department Of Physics, J.E.S. College Jalna. Syeda Ruhi Nishat pursuing Ph.D Physics Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathawada University, Aurangabad. have measured the complex dielectric constant of soils as a function of water content and temperature over the fre- quency range from 0.1 to 26 GHz .Peplinski N. R. et al. [4] also studied the dielectric constant ε' and dielectric loss ε" of four soil types having various moisture contents in the fre- quency range between 0.3GHz and 1.3 GHz In a detailed study, Sengwa R. J. and Soni A. [5] have reported the varia- tion of dielectric constant with density of dry minerals of soil at 10.1 GHz. Chaudhari H. C. and Shinde V. J. [14] have reported that the dielectric properties of dry soil at microwave frequency in X- band are function of its chemi- cal constituents and physical properties. Calla O. P. N. et al. [16] have studied the variability of dielectric constant of dry soil with its physical constituents at microwave frequencies. II. SAMPLE PREPARATION For preparation of soil samples three samples were col- lected having textural difference from Maharashtra state. Soils were first sieved by standard sieve. The sieved out soil are then oven dried to a temperature around 180 o C for half hour in order to completely remove any trace of moisture. Soil samples of 4% gravimetric moisture contents are pre- pare by adding an accurate amount of distilled water to the known mass of the oven dry soil. The soil samples are then prepared by mixing different concentration of ammonium sulphate in 4% distilled water and this mixture is then added to soil. These mixtures are kept in air tight sealing bags and allowed for few hours to facilitate internal drainage, ho- mogenous mixing and proper settlement. These soil samples are then inserted into the solid dielectric cell for measuring their dielectric properties. The concentrations of chemical are varied over a range from 0 to 12 %. Physical and chemi- cal analyses have been done in government agriculture of- fice shahnoorwadi Aurangabad and institute of science Au- rangabad. III. MEASUREMENT OF DIELECTRICPROPER- TIES The infinite sample method is used to determine the dielec- tric properties of the soil samples. An X-band and J-band microwave set-up in the TE 10 mode with klystron source operating at frequency 9.86 GHz and 6GHz respectively. Experiments were performed at room temperatures. The signal generated from the klystron is incident on the soil sample. The soil reflects part of the incident signal from its front surface. The reflected wave combined with incident wave results in a voltage standing wave pattern. These standing wave patterns are then used in determining the val- ues of shift in minima resulted due to before and after inser- tion the sample.