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Agricultural Sensors
NBL-S-SC Soil Salinity & EC Sensor measures soil salinity and electrical conductivity with RS485, 4–20mA or 0–5V output for irrigation and saline soil monitoring.
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Email:Arvin@niubol.com +Nearly 100 partner companies in more than 75 countries. We are committed to providing high-quality, practical products to meet your needs and help you solve problems. Our products comply with international standards and are certified with ISO, CE and RoHS.Product Details
The NiuBoL NBL-S-SC Soil Salinity & EC Sensor is designed to simultaneously monitor soil salinity and electrical conductivity (EC). It is suitable for agricultural irrigation, saline-soil monitoring, greenhouse cultivation, soil research and other applications where changes in soil salt conditions need to be tracked.
The sensor uses a ceramic sensing element and can be installed directly in soil for continuous monitoring. Three output options are available: RS485 Modbus, 4–20 mA and 0–5 V, allowing integration with PLCs, data loggers, agricultural controllers and IoT gateways.
Soil EC and salinity are closely related because dissolved salts contain ions that conduct electricity. However, EC does not identify individual salts or nutrients, so the measurements are best used for monitoring overall salt conditions and changes over time.
| Model | NBL-S-SC |
| Product Name | Soil Salinity & EC Sensor |
| Measured Parameters | Soil Salinity + Electrical Conductivity (EC) |
| Salinity Range | 0–8000 mg/L |
| Salinity Resolution | 1 mg/L |
| Salinity Accuracy | ±5% |
| EC Range | 0–15 mS/cm |
| EC Resolution | 0.01 mS/cm |
| EC Accuracy | ±5% |
| Power Supply | DC 12–24 V |
| Output Options | RS485 / 4–20 mA / 0–5 V |
| Operating Temperature | -10 to 60°C |
| Operating Humidity | 0–95%RH |
| Housing Material | Waterproof plastic housing |
| Transmitter Size | 80 × 60 × 33 mm |
| 2-in-1 Measurement | Measures soil salinity and electrical conductivity from one sensing point. |
| Ceramic Sensing Element | Designed for direct installation in soil and continuous monitoring of salt-related conditions. |
| Multiple Output Options | RS485, 4–20 mA and 0–5 V versions are available for different acquisition systems. |
| Buried Installation | Suitable for long-term soil monitoring when installed with good contact between the ceramic sensing element and surrounding soil. |
| System Integration | Can connect to agricultural weather stations, PLCs, RTUs, data loggers and IoT gateways. |
| Secondary Development | RS485 Modbus version supports integration into third-party monitoring systems. |
| Parameter | Unit | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical Conductivity | mS/cm | Indicates the ability of the soil solution to conduct electricity through dissolved ions. |
| Salinity | mg/L | Provides a concentration value related to the overall salt condition of the measured soil. |
In general, increasing concentrations of soluble ions increase electrical conductivity. This makes EC useful for monitoring changes in soil salt conditions, but the relationship is influenced by soil moisture, temperature, soil composition and the types of ions present.
EC should therefore not be interpreted as a direct measurement of a specific nutrient such as nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium.
| Monitoring Purpose | What the Data Can Show |
|---|---|
| Salt Accumulation | Identify increasing salt conditions in the root zone over time. |
| Irrigation Management | Compare changes in soil salt conditions before and after irrigation or leaching. |
| Fertilizer Monitoring | Observe changes in overall dissolved-ion concentration following fertilizer application. |
| Saline Soil Research | Record spatial or temporal variation in conductivity and salt concentration. |
| Greenhouse Cultivation | Monitor gradual salt accumulation caused by repeated irrigation and fertilization. |
| Land Improvement | Compare salt conditions before and after drainage, flushing or soil-improvement measures. |
Electrical conductivity is commonly expressed as mS/cm, dS/m or μS/cm. The following conversions are useful when comparing sensor data with agronomic references:
| 1 dS/m | = 1 mS/cm |
| 1 mS/cm | = 1000 μS/cm |
| 1 S/m | = 10 dS/m = 10 mS/cm |
There is no single EC value that is ideal for every crop or soil. Salt tolerance varies by crop species, growth stage, soil type, irrigation water and measurement method. Project thresholds should therefore be based on the crop and local agronomic conditions rather than one universal EC range.
| Installation Method | Procedure | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Soil Profile Installation | Dig a soil profile, prepare a horizontal hole at the required depth, insert the sensing element and carefully backfill to maintain close soil contact. | Long-term monitoring at a defined soil depth. |
| Ground Drilling | Drill vertically to the required depth, position the sensor in the hole and backfill or compact the surrounding soil carefully. | Installation where excavation of a full soil profile is not practical. |
| Representative Location | Select a location representative of the monitored crop, irrigation zone and soil type. |
| Sensor Contact | Ensure the ceramic sensing element remains in close contact with the surrounding soil. |
| Avoid Water Channels | Do not create a direct pathway along the cable that allows rain or irrigation water to flow toward the sensor. |
| Restore Soil Layers | For profile installation, backfill soil in approximately its original layer sequence and compaction condition. |
| Stabilization | Allow time after installation for moisture and dissolved salts around the sensing element to reach a stable condition before using the data for comparison. |
| Interface | RS485 |
| Protocol | Modbus RTU |
| Default Baud Rate | 9600 bps |
| Data Bits | 8 bits |
| Parity | None |
| Stop Bits | 1 or 2 |
| Device Address | 0–255 configurable |
| Read Function | Function Code 03 |
| Recommended Communication Interval | 1000 ms or longer |
| Wire Color | 0–5 V | 4–20 mA | RS485 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red | Power + | Power + | Power + |
| Black / Green | Power - | Power - | Power - |
| Yellow | Voltage Signal | Current Signal | RS485 A |
| Blue | — | — | RS485 B |
Wiring note: Confirm the actual output version and wire identification supplied with the sensor before installation.
| Output | Salinity | EC |
|---|---|---|
| 0–5 V | Y = V / 5 × 8000 mg/L | Y = V / 5 × 15 mS/cm |
| 4–20 mA | Y = (I − 4) / 16 × 8000 mg/L | Y = (I − 4) / 16 × 15 mS/cm |
In the formulas above, V is the measured voltage in volts, I is the measured current in milliamps and Y is the converted sensor value.
| Agricultural Irrigation | Saline Soil Monitoring | Greenhouses |
| Flower & Vegetable Production | Grassland & Pasture | Plant Cultivation |
| Soil Research | Land Reclamation | Agricultural IoT |
| Factor | Possible Influence |
|---|---|
| Soil Moisture | Dissolved ions require water to form conductive pathways, so very dry soil can affect conductivity measurements. |
| Soil Temperature | Electrical conductivity changes with temperature, so measurements taken under very different temperature conditions may not be directly comparable. |
| Fertilizer Application | Dissolved fertilizer ions can increase EC and salinity readings. |
| Irrigation Water | Salt contained in irrigation water can contribute to root-zone salt accumulation. |
| Drainage | Poor drainage can increase the risk of salt accumulation. |
| Measurement Depth | Salt concentration can vary significantly between different soil layers. |
A1. It measures soil salinity in mg/L and electrical conductivity in mS/cm.
A2. The EC measurement range is 0–15 mS/cm with a resolution of 0.01 mS/cm.
A3. The salinity range is 0–8000 mg/L with a resolution of 1 mg/L.
A4. No. EC measures overall electrical conductivity caused by dissolved ions. It does not identify individual nitrogen, phosphorus or potassium concentrations.
A5. No. Suitable EC levels depend on crop type, soil, growth stage and irrigation conditions. Excessive salinity can restrict plant water uptake, while very low EC alone does not prove nutrient deficiency.
A6. Yes. It is designed for buried soil installation when the sensing element is installed correctly with good contact to the surrounding soil.
A7. RS485 Modbus, 4–20 mA and 0–5 V versions are available.
A8. Yes. The RS485 version can connect to compatible data loggers, PLCs or IoT gateways, which can then transmit data to a cloud platform or private server depending on the system configuration.
NBL-S-SC-Soil-salinity-conductivity-integrated-sensor-manual.pdf
The NBL-S-SC Soil Salinity & EC Sensor provides a practical solution for monitoring conductivity and salt-condition changes in agricultural soil. Multiple output options allow it to be integrated with both industrial control systems and agricultural IoT monitoring platforms.
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