This project of automation of farms can transform the agricultural domain from manual checking to automatic monitoring using a simple IoT system leading to higher production with lesser human effort. For example, if you are out of the city for some reason you can check up on your plants by just opening the app on your smartphone. This smart irrigation system monitors the moisture level in the soil and then maintains the moisture level by automatic watering. The soil moisture sensors measure the exact value which then enables the system to use the appropriate quantity of water to avoid over or under irrigation. Information from the sensors is regularly updated on the app so that farmers can control all the operations.
Agriculture is undoubtedly the biggest livelihood supplier in Pakistan. With the rising population, there is a requirement for expanded farming production. To help more prominent creation in farms, the prerequisite of the measure of freshwater utilized in the irrigation system likewise rises. As of now, farming records 83% of total water utilization in Pakistan. Excessive utilization of water incidentally brings about wastage of water. This proposes that there is a vital need to develop systems that stop water wastage without forcing pressure on farmers. In the course of recent years, farmers began utilizing PCs and programming frameworks to put together their monetary information and monitor their field requirements, and furthermore screen their yields all the time more adequately. In the Internet period, where data assumes a vital part in individuals' lives, horticulture is quickly turning into a very modern industry where farmers need to gather and access a monitor the data from a various number of gadgets (sensors, farming hardware, apps, and so on). With the approach of open-source Arduino sheets alongside simpler soil moisture sensors, it is reasonable to make an app that displays the value of the moisture level in our fields and appropriately takes actions so that the fields get the required amount of water. The proposed framework utilizes Arduino mega and IOT which empower farmers to distantly screen the status of moisture level introduced on the homestead by realizing the sensor esteems along these lines, making the farmer's work a lot simpler as they can focus on another ranch works.
The major advantage of a smart irrigation system framework is its capacity to save water. Because while using traditional ways of watering the field can cause wastage of water up to 50% due to excessive evaporation and overheating. So by using a drip irrigation system, we can save water and nutrient by watering the fields through drips directly into the roots and this way evaporation process minimizes. The second significant reason for picking this project is that we are utilizing natural resources to provide water, for example, a solar panel and a dam to decrease cost as much as could be expected. To help our country by preventing excessive loss of water using a cost-effective system, we are making an “IoT Based Smart Drip Irrigation System (ISDI)”.
The smart irrigation system is helpful for the farmers by detecting the moisture level in the particular area of the field and according to the reading; the farmer will take considerable steps to prevent water wastage. In this project, we are using NODMCU (which works as a microcontroller and wireless module) to get the reading from the sensor and then displayed it on the android application. Watering control is achieved by setting a specific value at which irrigation should begin. When the sensors detect moisture content lower than the set value, the solenoid valves are switched on till the soil is completely moist. The hardware device comprises moisture sensors, Arduino mega, Wi-Fi module, NODMCU, solenoid valve. The information from sensors is transmitted to an android application. The app displays the moisture content in the soil which has been divided into two categories: Low and High. The pump is to be switched on when the moisture content is low. The specific values depend on the type of soil used.
