One of the fundamental deficiencies in high value crops is the lack of detailed, up-to-date and pertinent geo-referenced soil information for site-specific crop management to improve productivity. This experiment was designed to estimate and map soil properties rapidly and reliably using an electromagnetic induction (EMI) method. Two wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait) fields were selected in central Nova Scotia. A grid pattern of sampling points (20 x 20 m) was established (n=50) at each experimental site. Soil samples were collected from established grid points at 0 to 15, 15 to 45, 45 to 75 cm depth intervals below the soil surface and analyzed for soil texture, gravel (coarse aggregate), organic matter content (SOM), volumetric moisture content (Өv), pH and electrical conductivity (EC). The ECa was measured and recorded with DualEM-2 at the same selected grid points to calibrate the Dual EM-2 for developing relationships and predicting soil properties. Comprehensive surveys were conducted in those fields to measure the ground conductivity for estimation of soil properties in real-time using DualEM and a differential global positioning system (DGPS). Regression analysis showed that ECa was significantly correlated (p < 0.01) with clay, SOM, EC and Өv. The maps were developed for predicted soil parameters from ground conductivity survey data using kriging interpolation in ArcGIS 10 (ESRI, Redlands, CA) software. The maps showed substantial variation in selected soil properties within both fields. This information could be helpful to develop variable rate technologies to increase crop productivity and mitigate environmental risks.
