Soil Moisture Tension

• Soil moisture tension is a negative pressure. When more pressure (energy) is needed for the plant to extract water from the soil, the value is represented by an increasing number.
• Saturated soil has a soil tension of about 0.001 bars, while soils around plants in the desert are roughly around 60 bars. Field capacity, which is used in agricultural practices is about 0.33 bars.
• Soil moisture tension is dependent on the type of soil, structure of the soil and any salts within the soil.

Source: How do you measure soil moisture? | MEA