To address the current situation of outdated,inefficient and non universal automatic measuring instruments for measuring crop water demand in agricultural pits,a high-precision automatic measuring instrument for measuring crop water demand(evapotranspiration)in pits has been designed and developed.The instrument operates on the principle of automatically measuring water levels using a needle at hourly intervals,featuring a separate structure for the host and sensor,and an innovatively designed water inlet detection circuit.This design resolves measurement errors caused by needle polarization and changes in water conductivity.The applyment of a wedge-designed,maintenance-free clearance screw provided guarantee for long-term stable operation of sensors.Testing results indict that the instrument has a measurement resolution of 0.01 mm,the measurement error within a range of 100 mm is under 0.01 mm,and a travel time accuracy error under 1 minute/month.The instrument has been applied in a large-scale comprehensive measurement pit at the Irrigation test station,stable and reliable for a long time,and has good promotion and application value.