Comparison of Munsell Soil Color Chart to Color Sensor for Soil Color Determination.

Field and rapid laboratory determination of soil color and other properties is often subjective due to environmental conditions and human error. The objective of this study was to compare soil color determination using the Nix Color Sensor to the Munsell soil color chart (MSCC) for different soil types. Munsell color codes were converted into cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK) color values, and the Nix Color Sensor’s scan results were tested against the predetermined Munsell color values using unpaired t-tests for all treatments. There were no significant differences between the color values for the Munsell system and the Nix sensor under indoor and outdoor lighting conditions for dry soil samples. There was a significant difference in color for wet and dry soil samples, however there was no significant difference between indoor and outdoor lighting conditions in both wet and dry samples. The data suggest that there are some differences between the two methods of color determination that will require further research.