Development and evaluation of wireless sensor network (WSN) based automated drip irrigation system under protected cultivation
Development and evaluation of WSN based automated drip irrigation system
Abstract
Agriculture has significantly contributed to the socio-economic development and wellbeing of India. The automation and monitoring of water application in agriculture have enhanced productivity, efficiency, and performance in agricultural fields. This study details the development, implementation, and field evaluation of a wireless sensor network-based automated drip irrigation system (DIS) for protected farming. The system has three nodes namely supervisory node, sensor node, and actuator node. The supervisory node serves as the primary controller of the system, determining the precise timing and quantity of water for crops. Sensor nodes collect data from various areas of the field and transmit it to the supervisory node. The actuator node consists of a solenoid valve that activates or deactivates based on the directives sent by the supervisory node. The efficacy of the developed WSN-based automatic DIS was assessed for tomato cultivation during two seasons in 2022. The system facilitated the administration of an ideal irrigation volume across the greenhouse, yielding higher emission uniformity, water distribution, and application efficiency rates of 91.55%, 94.91%, and 94.96%, respectively. The automated WSN based drip irrigation system applied weekly water ranging from 2.78 to 6.96 litres per tomato plant, achieving 21% reduction in water usage and 34.59% enhancement in tomato output compared to the manual DIS. The performance of the WSN-based automatic DIS surpassed to that of the manual DIS significantly in terms crop growth metrics and yield. Developed WSN-based DIS found efficient and suitable for organic vegetable cultivation with less human intervention.
