Dielectric constants of rubber and oil palm leaf samples at X-band

The paper reports on the measured dielectric constants of leaves of two tropical crops, namely rubber and oil palm, as a function of moisture content at X-band. Using a microcomputer-based automated system consisting of a Wiltron scalar network analyzer and a slotted waveguide, the measurements are done based on the waveguide thin sheet technique. Theoretical values from the dual-dispersion model by Ulaby and El-Rayes [1987] and from the simple dielectric theory of Fung and Fung [1977] are compared with the experimental data. The model from Ulaby and El-Rayes is found to be able to give good estimates of the dielectric constants for the two types of leaf samples at X-band