Optimal Sensor Network Solution Based Smart

Drip Irrigation System

Mallikarjun B C B.A.Pramod Reddy Parinitha Shivakumar
Member IEEE, Dept. of Electronics and Member IEEE, Dept. of Electronics and Member IEEE, Dept. of Electronics and
Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication
Siddaganga Institute of Technology Siddaganga Institute of Technology Siddaganga Institute of Technology
Tumkur,India Tumkur,India Tumkur,India
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
2023 International Conference on Smart Systems for applications in Electrical Sciences (ICSSES) | 979-8-3503-4729-6/23/$31.00 ©2023 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICSSES58299.2023.10199822

Varun Kumar Jain T V Rakshith M D Manoj K R

Dept. of Electronics and Dept. of Electronics and Dept. of Electronics and
Telecommunication Telecommunication Telecommunication
Siddaganga Institute of Technology Siddaganga Institute of Technology Siddaganga Institute of Technology
Tumkur,India Tumkur,India Tumkur,India
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract—Water is a precious and limited resource in quantity of sensors are determined by the size, shape, and type
agriculture, and its efficient management is becoming of crop being grown in the field. To collect data on soil
increasingly important. With factors such as population growth, moisture from various soil layers, soil moisture sensors should
urbanization, and climate change affecting water availability, it be positioned at various depths. For instance, soil moisture
is crucial to manage water resources effectively in agriculture. sensors for crops with shallow roots should be positioned
A monitoring and control system with an optimal networking closer to the surface, while sensors for crops with deep roots
solution for irrigation must be put in place in order to maximize should be positioned further down. Humidity sensors should
water usage. A smart drip irrigation system with an optimal be installed at a height that will allow them to precisely
sensor network solution, which uses sensors to keep track of soil
measure the air's relative humidity, while soil temperature
moisture, temperature, humidity, and other environmental
variables, is proposed and implemented in order to maximize
sensors can be installed at the same depths as moisture
water use and crop growth. The system realized combines the sensors. The size of the field and the required level of
Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, and optimization precision also affect how many sensors are needed.
tools that makes the sensor network system scalable and The proposed work utilizes drip irrigation, which
adaptable to different agricultural settings, promoting has a low water flow rate to water plants directly at their roots.
sustainable agriculture. The results justifies the effectiveness of Farmers must manually water their crops at the moment,
the solution
drawing water from soil excavation. This drip irrigation
Keywords—Internet of Things(IoT), ThingSpeak, NodeMCU,
system employs IoT-based technology to simplify the
Drip irrigation watering of farmers. (Internet of Things). IoT refers to two
devices communicating with one another and sharing data
I. INTRODUCTION over a network without a human being present to use the
device directly. The system gives you complete control over
Technologies are booming across all industries and
your plants, from real-time monitoring of their health to
growing quickly. Agriculture is one such industry where IOT
automatic watering [3].
devices, image processing, and cloud computing work
together to improve progress in an efficient and effective
manner. The components of this technology when combined
enable things to be done by anyone, anywhere in the world[1]. II. LITERATURE REVIEW
Smart drip irrigation systems are revolutionizing agriculture Using machine learning (ML) and Internet of Things
by maximizing water usage, enhancing crop growth, and (IoT) technologies, article [4] suggests a solution for
lowering costs and environmental impact. A sensor network predicting crop water requirements in automated drip
that keeps track of soil moisture, temperature, humidity, and irrigation systems. Based on weather and soil conditions, the
other environmental variables is a crucial part of a smart drip study employs ML algorithms to forecast crop water demand,
irrigation system to ensure the right amount of irrigation is
and then uses IoT to automate the water supply. The results
being applied. The type of crops being grown, the properties
demonstrate increased crop yields and decreased water use,
of the soil, the weather patterns, and other environmental
conditions would all affect the best sensor network solution suggesting the possibility of sustainable agriculture.
for such a system. Several factors must be taken into account
when designing an ideal sensor network for a smart drip Article [5] presents a creative approach to water
irrigation system. These involve deciding on the quantity and management in hydroponics. For effective plant growth, it
location of sensors, choosing appropriate sensor technologies, suggests an automated drip irrigation system that can detect
creating a reliable data communication system, and putting in the moisture content of plants and adjust the water supply
place a system for data analysis and decision- making. accordingly. It is a promising solution for sustainable
Drip irrigation uses about half as much water as surface agriculture because the study shows improved plant growth
irrigation or sprinkler irrigation [2]. The positioning and

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 and less water usage when compared to conventional III. PROPOSED SYSTEM
irrigation methods.
The design and implementation of a smart drip irrigation To reduce water use in agriculture, this system drips water
system using IoT are presented in article [6]. To automate the slowly onto plant roots. Interest-relevant variables like soil
irrigation process, the system combines soil moisture sensors, moisture, pH, soil type, temperature, humidity, and weather
weather sensors, and an IoT platform. The study shows conditions are sensed using low-cost sensors. For monitoring
increased crop yield and water efficiency, along with cost and data storage, the information is kept in the Think Speak
savings, suggesting the potential for sustainable agriculture. cloud service. Using a Wi-Fi modem, field data is sent to the
Farmers and small-scale agricultural operations in water- cloud. In order to forecast how much water will be required
for daily irrigation, the relevant variables are stored in the
scarce areas might find the proposed system useful.
cloud and made available to farmers as a service.
IoT-based self-propelled center pivot irrigation system is This forecast is based on the information provided by
proposed in article [7]. In order to automate irrigation based various sensor devices. Farmers can access the predicted data
on crop water needs, the system combines GPS, sensors, and to keep track of how their agricultural fields are doing right
IoT technologies. The potential for sustainable agriculture is now. The functional flow diagram of the model is shown in
shown by the study's improved crop yields and water Fig 1.
efficiency when compared to conventional irrigation
methods. For large-scale agricultural operations, the
proposed system might be useful.
A. Abbreviations and Acronyms
An automated irrigation system using the Internet of
Define abbreviations and acronyms the first time they are
Things (IoT) for smart agriculture is presented in article [8]. used in the text, even after they have been defined in the
Based on crop water requirements, the system integrates abstract. Abbreviations such as IEEE, SI, MKS, CGS, sc, dc,
sensors, actuators, and an IoT platform to monitor and control and rms do not have to be defined. Do not use abbreviations
irrigation. In comparison to conventional irrigation in the title or heads unless they are unavoidable.
techniques, the study's results show increased crop yields and
water efficiency, suggesting the possibility of sustainable B. Units
agriculture. Small-scale agricultural operations might benefit  Use either SI (MKS) or CGS as primary units. (SI units
from the proposed system. are encouraged.) English units may be used as
secondary units (in parentheses). An exception would
A low-cost and intelligent module for a smart irrigation be the use of English units as identifiers in trade, such
system using IoT is proposed in article [9]. To automate the as “3.5-inch disk drive”.
irrigation process, the module combines soil moisture  Avoid combining SI and CGS units, such as current in
sensors, weather sensors, and IoT technologies. In amperes and magnetic field in oersteds. This often
comparison to conventional irrigation techniques, the study's leads to confusion because equations do not balance
results show increased crop yields and water efficiency, dimensionally. If you must use mixed units, clearly
suggesting the possibility of sustainable agriculture. In areas state the units for each quantity that you use in an
with limited resources, the proposed module might be helpful equation.
for small-scale agricultural operations.
 Do not mix complete spellings and abbreviations of
A common framework for offering common network units: “Wb/m2” or “webers per square meter”, not
“webers/m2”. Spell out units when they appear in text:
services over the MQTT protocol is put forward in article
“. . . a few henries”, not “. . . a few H”.
[10]. The goal of the study is to make IoT platforms and
devices interoperable, which will make it easier to create IoT-  Use a zero before decimal points: “0.25”, not “.25”.
based applications. With the proposed framework, Use “cm3”, not “cc”. (bullet list)
communication between sensors and irrigation systems can
C. Equations
be facilitated for a variety of IoT applications, including
smart agriculture. The equations are an exception to the prescribed

A wireless sensor network-based apple orchard monitoring

system is presented in article [11]. To monitor the orchard
environment and improve irrigation and fertilization
procedures, the system integrates a number of sensors,
including temperature, humidity, and light sensors.
According to the study, apple yields have increased while
using less water and fertilizer, pointing to the possibility of Fig 1. Functional Flow Diagram
sustainable agriculture. The proposed system might be
helpful for managing orchards in the agricultural sector.
It is mainly divided into two sections one is transmitter circuit
part using NodeMCU and sensor technology and receiver
circuit part using NodeMCU and water management
technology specifications of this template.

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 individual soil moisture values and dividing them by the total
number of soil moisture sensors. This calculated average is
then transmitted to the cloud.
If the average soil moisture value of any row is found to
be less than the threshold value of 50, then a signal is sent to
a receiver indicating that there is dryness present in the soil.
The receiver then switches on a relay, which in turn activates
the water pump motor. Water is then supplied to the particular
row until the soil moisture level reaches a sufficient level of
wetness. As the water flows into the row, the moisture content
value will be updated by the sensors. The motor pump will
remain on until the moisture level reaches the desired level.
Once the sufficient moisture level is reached, the relay will be
switched off, and the motor pump will be turned off until the
soil moisture level becomes dry again.
This process of monitoring and irrigating each row
continues until the user decides to automate the process. With
automation, the irrigation system can be programmed to
operate automatically based on the moisture content values of
each row. This system ensures that the crops receive the
appropriate amount of water at the right time, which can help
in optimizing the crop yield and improving the overall farm
productivity.
Fig 2. Transmitter block diagram
V. IMPLEMENTATION ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Fig 4. Sensor’s deployment

Fig 3. Receiver block diagram

IV. WORKING PRINCIPLE

The system begins with the farmer selecting the land to
cultivate the crops. The entire farm land is then separated into
a number of rows. Capacitive moisture sensors are placed in
each row along with temperature and humidity sensors with
an approximate distance of 50cm. These sensors will collect
data on the moisture content, temperature, and humidity levels
of the soil as seen in Fig 2. The collected data is then read by
the sensors and transmitted to a microcontroller (NodeMCU)
as shown in Fig 3, which then uploads the data to the cloud-
based platform, ThingSpeak. The average value of the
Fig 5. Wet condition
moisture content is then calculated for each row by adding the

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 The motor will continue to run until the soil moisture
level reaches the desired wetness, which is indicated by the
average soil moisture value going above the threshold value.
At this point, the relay is switched off, and the motor is turned
off until the soil moisture level becomes dry again.

All the sensor readings and average values are being

continuously updated in the Think speak cloud platform. This
allows for easy monitoring and tracking of the soil moisture
levels in real-time. It also enables the farmer to analyze the
data and make informed decisions about the irrigation
schedule and water usage.

Overall, the observations suggest that the system is

effective in detecting and maintaining the optimal soil
Fig 6. Dry condition moisture level for the crops as seen in Fig 4. The automation
of the irrigation process through the use of sensors and a
Based on the observations, it can be seen that the soil microcontroller can help to reduce water usage and improve
moisture sensors are able to accurately detect the moisture crop yield.
level of the soil. First we have taken a soil moisture sensor
and given the power supply then tested in different stages By continuously monitoring the soil moisture levels, the
system can determine when irrigation is necessary and how
Table 1. Soil state table much water is required. This helps to avoid over- or under-
watering, which can both be detrimental to crop growth and
yield. Additionally, the automation of the irrigation process
Placement Soil Sensor readings
reduces the need for manual labour and monitoring, allowing
of SM condition farmers to focus on other tasks. This can save time and
sensor increase efficiency, ultimately leading to higher crop yields.
Air - 1020-1023
Soil Dry 700-1000 Moreover, by transmitting the sensor data to the cloud,
farmers can access the information remotely and make
Soil Wet 300-500 informed decisions about their irrigation practices. They can
water - Below 300 also analyze the data over time to identify patterns and make
adjustments to optimize their irrigation practices. Overall, the
The readings from the sensors are mapped between 0- use of sensor technology and automation in irrigation can
100 for ease of understanding. From the table, we can see that lead to more efficient and effective use of water resources,
for each row, the average soil moisture level is calculated by higher crop yields, and reduced labor costs for farmers. This
adding the individual sensor readings and dividing by the has the potential to benefit both the environment and the
total number of sensors in the row. A threshold value has been economy.
set for each row based on the soil condition, i.e., dry or wet.
(shown in Fig 5 and Fig 6)If the average soil moisture value
goes below the threshold value, it indicates that the soil is dry,
and a signal is sent to the receiver. The receiver, in turn,
switches on the relay and turns on the water pump motor.

Table 2. Test case results and Soil condition

Sensor Sensor Sensor total soil

1 2 3

75 30 25 43.3 Wet

55 60 45 53.3 Dry

22 27 34 27.6 Wet
77 89 93 86.3 Dry

Fig 7. Sensor reading from transmitter serial monitor

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 for remote monitoring of soil moisture levels over time and
enables the user to track trends and make data-driven
decisions about irrigation schedules. The data can be accessed
from anywhere with an internet connection, making it a
convenient and powerful tool for farmers and gardeners.
Additionally, the data can be visualized and analyzed using
various tools available in Thing Speak, such as graphs and
charts, allowing for deeper insights into soil moisture trends
and patterns
CONCLUSION
Implementing the best sensor network solution for
intelligent drip irrigation system, is a successful strategy for
increasing crop productivity and resource effectiveness.
Farmers can optimize irrigation scheduling and water usage
by using sensors and IoT devices to monitor soil moisture,
temperature, and other environmental factors in real-time.
The use of most efficient sensor network solutions
increase crop yields, decrease water use, and gives improved
resource efficiency, according to research studies.
Additionally, better decision-making abilities and lower
Fig 8. Sensor reading from receiver serial monitor
operational costs would be made possible by the integration
of machine learning algorithms and cloud-based platforms in
irrigation scheduling. Farmers can now monitor and manage
their irrigation systems remotely with greater ease and
convenience with mobile applications and user-friendly
interfaces. Hence, the use of the best sensor network solutions
for intelligent drip irrigation systems has a significant
potential for the development of sustainable agriculture, as it
will allow farmers to increase crop yields, use water more
efficiently, and with low impact on the environment. Further
investigation is required to examine the possibility of
combining these systems with other precision agriculture
technologies to boost productivity and resource efficiency.
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