Journal for Research| Volume 02 | Issue 02 | April 2016

ISSN: 2395-7549

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53

Sensor Based Automatic Drip Irrigation System

Mr. Rahul Ganpat Ghodake Mr. A.O. Mulani

PG Student Assistant Professor

Department of Electronics Engineering Department of Electronics Engineering

SKN Sinhgad College of Engineering, Korti SKN Sinhgad College of Engineering, Korti

Abstract

The developments in the agricultural field are the buzzword in the market. In the field of agriculture, use of proper method of

irrigation is important and it is well known that irrigation by drip is very economical and efficient. In the conventional drip

irrigation system, the farmer has to keep watch on irrigation timetable, which is different for different crops and it is very

difficult. This paper mainly focuses on designing of an accurate & cost effective Global System for Mobile (GSM) Based

Automatic Drip Irrigation System using micro-controller. In order to fulfill these objectives we have used relay and solenoid

valve along with a 16×2 Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) that can be connected to the microcontroller, which will displays the soil

moisture level and ambient temperature. The developed irrigation method removes the need for workmanship for flooding

irrigation. Efficient water management plays an important role in the irrigated agricultural cropping systems. Time based control

mechanism; volume based control mechanism and priority based mechanism can be designed in one system.

Keywords: GSM, Microcontroller, Soil Moisture Sensor, Temperature Sensor, Solenoid Valve

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I. INTRODUCTION

In India, where 60-70% economy depends on agriculture, there is a great need to modernize the conventional agricultural

practices for the better productivity. Due to unplanned use of water, the ground water level is decreasing day by day. Lack of rain

and scarcity of land water also results in decrement in volume of water on earth. In present drip irrigation system water is

provided to root zone of plants drop by drop which results in saving of huge amount of water.

Agriculture is the backbone of Indian Economy. Without agriculture living is impossible since agriculture produces the main

source of food for us. Today the availability of labor for carrying out agricultural activities is less; therefore the automation in

agricultural process is needed. In the present era, the farmers have been using irrigation technique in India through the manual

control in which the farmers irrigate the land at the regular intervals. This process sometimes consumes more water or sometimes

the water reaches late due to which the crops get dried. This problem can be perfectly rectified if we use GSM based automatic

drip irrigation system in which the irrigation will take place only when there will be intense requirement of water.

Types of Irrigation:

Surface irrigation:

Surface irrigation is defined as the group of application techniques where water is applied and distributed over the soil surface by

gravity. It is by far the most common form of irrigation throughout the world and has been practiced in many areas virtually

unchanged for thousands of years.

Sprinkler irrigation:

In sprinkler irrigation delivery of water is through a pressurized pipe network to the nozzles of sprinkler which spray the water

into the air. In other words we can say that, it is a type of artificial rain.

Drip irrigation:

Drip irrigation, also known as trickle irrigation or micro irrigation or localized irrigation, is an irrigation method which saves

water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root

zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitter. It is done with the help of narrow tubes which delivers water

directly to the base of the plant.

Need of the Project:

Automatic irrigation systems are convenient, especially for those who travel. If installed and programmed properly, automatic

irrigation systems can even save your money and help in water conservation. Dead lawn grass and plants need to be replaced,

and that can be expensive. But the savings from automatic irrigation systems can go beyond that. Automatic irrigation systems

can be programmed to discharge more precise amounts of water in a targeted area, which promotes water conservation.

Methodology: There are mainly three methods for Automation: Time-based system:

In this system, time is the basis for operation. The basic objective is to prepare a schedule based on crop water requirements. The

operation sequence will be set by user as desired.

Sensor Based Automatic Drip Irrigation System (J4R/ Volume 02 / Issue 02 / 009)

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Volume-based system:

In this type, every section will receive the preset volume of water. This is possible with the help of following two methods:

Electronic Control:

Water meter is an essential component in this method which gives the feedback to controller after the preset water volume, is

delivered. One after the other every section receives the preset water quantity.

Mechanical Control:

This is also called as sequential irrigation system. Here controller is not required. Automatic metering valves (AMV) are

interconnected in series. The required quantity has to be set on each AMV. One after the other, all AMVs will operate & deliver

the required water quantity. After the last AMV is closed, the pump also shuts off.

Sensor (Priority)-based system:

In this system, sensors give feedback to controller, depending on which the controller initiates various actions as required.

In this paper the above mentioned three methods (Time based, Volume based and Priority based) are combined in one system.

II. SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE PLATFORM USED

Hardware:

In this paper following hardware’s are used.

Micro-controller, soil moisture sensor, temperature sensor, GSM, solenoid valve, diode, resistors and capacitors.

Software:

MicroC PRO for PIC, proteus 8 professional.

III. BLOCK DIAGRAM

The system block diagram is as shown in figure 1 which consists of various blocks. Each block will function as:

Power Supply

Microcontroller

Temperature Sensor

Soil Moisture Sensor

Switch

Relay

LCD

RS -232

Relay

Solenoid valve

GSM

Water Pump

Fig. 1: Block diagram of sensor based automatic drip irrigation system

1) Temperature sensor: Temperature Sensor has been used for sensing the temperature. The output of temperature sensor is

given to microcontroller.

2) Soil moisture sensor: The moisture sensor just senses the moisture of the soil. The change in moisture is proportional to the

amount of current flowing through the soil. The copper plate act as the sensor probes. They are immersed into the specimen

soil whose moisture content is under test. The output of sensor is given to microcontroller.

3) Switch: switch is used to select one of the methods from volume based method, time based method, and sensor based

method.

4) Solenoid Valve: The valve is controlled by an electric current through a solenoid. The solenoid converts electrical energy

into mechanical energy which, in turn, opens or closes the valve mechanically.

5) GSM: The Global System for Mobile Communications is a standard set developed by the European Telecommunications

Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe technologies (2G and 3G).

Sensor Based Automatic Drip Irrigation System (J4R/ Volume 02 / Issue 02 / 009)

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6) Microcontroller: Microcontroller is used to read the various parameters and do the A/D conversion and also holds the

monitoring program. It receives the analog voltage signal coming from the sensors and converts that to the corresponding

digital signal.

7) Power Supply: - Power supply unit converts input power to DC power required by various parts of project.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

All the results are taken for grapes field.

Time based control mechanism:

In time based system large amount of water is available since we can irrigate land depending up on crop condition.

Fig 2.Time based control mechanism Fig 3.Output screen 1

Fig 4.Output screen 2 Fig 5. Output screen 3

Priority based control mechanism:

Priority is assigned depending upon dry condition of field. Witch field requires intense water has given highest priority. Table - 4.1

Observation table of priority based system

System Dry Priority

1 40% 3

2 60% 2

3 80% 1

V. CONCLUSIONS

The Sensor based automatic drip irrigation system using time based, volume based and priority based technique proves to be a

real time feedback control system which monitors and controls all the activities of drip irrigation system efficiently. The present

proposal is a model to modernize the agriculture industries at a mass scale with optimum expenditure. Using this system, one can

save manpower, water to improve production and ultimately profit. The developed irrigation automation system can be proposed

to be used in several commercial agricultural productions since it was obtained in low cost and in reliable operation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my sincere gratitude towards Mr. A. B. Jagadale, Head, Electronics. I am deeply indebted to PG Coordinator Mrs. S. V.

Surwase and Project guide Mr. A.O. Mulani, for their valuable advice and guidance. I am also grateful to all other faculty

members of Electronics department for their cooperation.

REFERENCES

[1] Joaquín Gutiérrez, Juan Francisco Villa-Medina, Alejandra Nieto-Garibay, and Miguel Ángel Porta-Gándara, “Automated Irrigation System Using a

Wireless Sensor Network and GPRS Module”, IEEE,2013.

Sensor Based Automatic Drip Irrigation System (J4R/ Volume 02 / Issue 02 / 009)

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[2] B. Majone, F. Viani, E. Filippi, A. Bellin, A. Massa, G. Toller, F. Robol and M. Salucci “ Wireless Sensor Network deployment for monitoring soil

moisture dynamics at the field scale”,Elsevier, Procedia Environmental Sciences 19 ( 2013 ) 426 – 435. [3] Shiraz Pasha B.R., Dr. B Yogesha “Microcontroller Based Automated Irrigation System”, The International Journal Of Engineering And Science (IJES).

[4] D.Kotaiah Swamy, G.Rajesh, M.Jaya Krishna Pooja, A.Rama Krishna “Microcontroller Based Drip Irrigation System”, International Journal of Emerging

Science and Engineering (IJESE) ISSN: 2319–6378, Volume-1, Issue-6, April 2013. [5] N. Suresh, M. Naga Lakshmi, G. Yaswanth, G. sujatha “ Real-Time Atomization Of Agricultural Environment For Social Modernization Of Indian

Agricultural System”, International Journal of Science Engineering and Advance Technology , IJSEAT, Vol 3, Issue 3,March – 2015.