AUTOMATIC PLANT IRRIGATION SYSTEM

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

S.THILAGAVATHI (13UEEC0138)

AISHWARYA RAJENDRAN (13UEEC0605)

K.PRIYADHARSHINI (13UEEC0105)

in partial fulfilment for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Technology in Department of

ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND COMMUNICATION

VELTECH Dr. RR & Dr. SR UNIVERSITY

CHENNAI – 600 062

December 2016
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project entitled “AUTOMATIC PLANT

IRRIGATIONSYSTEM” submitted by S.THILAGAVATHI (13UEEC0138)
AISHWARYA RAJENDRAN (13UEEC0605) K.PRIYADHARSHINI
(13UEEC0105) in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the award of Bachelor
of Technology Degree in the department of Electronics and Communication
Engineering is an authentic work carried out by them under my supervision and
guidance.
To the best of my knowledge, the matter embodied in the project report has
not been submitted to any other University/Institute for the award of any Degree.

Signature of Internal Guide Signature of Head of the Department

Ms. JINCY FRANCIS M.E. Dr.G.VAIRAVEL, M.E., Ph.D

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

DEPT. OF ECE DEPT. OF ECE
SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND
COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION
VELTECH Dr. RR & Dr. SR VELTECH Dr. RR & Dr. SR
UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY

Submitted to Project and Viva Examination held on ________________

INTERNAL EXAMINER EXTERNAL EXAMINER

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my deepest gratitude to our respected Founder and President of

VEL TECH Dr. RR & Dr. SR UNIVERSITY Col. Prof. Dr. R. Rangarajan B.E.
(E.C.E), B.E. (MECH), M.S (AUTO), D.Sc. and Founder Chancellor Dr. R.
Sagunthala Rangarajan M.B.B.S., and Chair Person & Managing Trustee and
Vice President for encouraging students and providing us with an environment to
complete my project successfully.
I am very thankful to our beloved Vice Chancellor Prof. Beela
Satyanarayana, B.E. (MECH), M.E. (IE), M.Tech (CSE), Ph.D. (IIT, Delhi) and
Pro Chancellor Dr. U. Chandrasekar Ph.D., for providing us an environment to
complete our project successfully.
I am obliged to our beloved Registrar Dr. E. Kannan, M.E., Ph.D., for giving
this valuable guidance to complete our project successfully.
I am thankful to our beloved Director Academics Dr. Techn. Koteswara Rao
Anne for providing me wonderful environment to complete our project successfully.
It is a great pleasure for me to acknowledge the assistance and contribution of
our Head of the Department Dr.G.VAIRAVEL M.E. Ph.D., for his assistance and
useful suggestions, which helped us in completing the project work.
I would also thank our Project Coordinator Dr.P.Suresh M.E. Ph.D. for his
support during the entire course of this project work and also for providing necessary
facilities to carry out the work.
I am thankful to our Project Guide Ms.Jincy Francis M.E. for providing us with
her kind guidance and assistance to complete our project successfully.
I am thankful to Lab Instructor, CDIO, Mr.Senthil M.E. for helping us debug
and complete our project successfully.
I would also thank all the staffs in our department for their guidance to finish
this project successfully. We also like to thank all our friends for their willing
assistance. Words never fill what we owe to our beloved parents for everything they
have done for us.

i
 ABSTRACT

This project on "Automatic Plant Irrigation System" is intended to create an

automated irrigation mechanism which turns the pumping motor ON and OFF by
detecting the dampness/moisture content of the earth. In the domain of farming,
utilization of appropriate means of irrigation is significant. The benefit of employing
these techniques is to decrease human interference and still make certain appropriate
irrigation.

The proposed model consists of three stages: Firstly, sensing the land’s
moisture levels. Second stage is the determination of its status: dry or wet. The last
and third stage is Motor control.

This project proposes the development of Automatic Plant Irrigation System

(APIS) capable of detecting loss of moisture in soil using the soil moisture sensor.
Specifically, APIS utilizes the Soil Moisture Sensor to detect water content level in
soil and give appropriate responses to the system based on detected condition. Using
this response, APIS determines whether or not the land needs to be irrigated. In the
current version, APIS is capable of detecting and irrigating a small area that can be
considered to be under a single pump’s coverage. Implemented using Operational
Amplifier LM358, APIS uses live input data to determine the conditions. APIS
represents our most basic step towards automated farming to improve turnover and
reduce the impact of draught or loss due to irrigation issues.

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CHAPTER NO TITLE PAGE NO
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES

1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 OVERVIEW 1
1.2 AIM 3
1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT 4

2 BACKGROUND 5
2.1 EXISTING SYSTEM 5
2.2 PROPOSED SYSTEM 5

3 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT 7
COMPONENTS USED IN DESIGNING 7
3.1 HARDWARE REQUIREMENT 7
3.1.1 LM358 7
3.1.2 SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR 11
3.1.3 RELAY 12
3.1.4 DC MOTOR PUMP 14

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CHAPTER NO TITLE PAGE NO
4 DESIGN 1

4.1 FLOW CHART 16

4.2 FLOW DIAGRAM 17
4.3 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM 17
4.4 ADVANTAGES OF AUTOMATIC
PLANT IRRIGATION SYSTEM 18
4.5 APPLICATIONS OF AUTOMATIC
PLANT IRRIGATION SYSTEM 18
4.6 FUTURE DEVELOPMENT 18
4.7 LIMITATIONS OF AUTOMATIC
PLANT IRRIGATION SYSTEM 19

5 RESULT ANALYSIS 20
5.1 METHODOLOGY
5.2 PROJECT PLAN 20
5.2.1 INITIAL INVESTIGATION
OF DESIGN
5.3 WORKING

6 CONCLUSION 24

REFERENCE 25

iv
 LIST OF FIGURES

S.No. Figure Page number

3.1. LM 358 PIN diagram 9

3.1.1. LM358 CHIP diagram 10

3.1.2. Soil Moisture sensor board and probe 11

3.1.2.1. Soil Moisture detector probe 12

3.1.3. Relay Internal Structure 13

3.1.3.1 Relay External Structure 13

3.1.4.2 Operational diagram 14

3.1.4 Dc motor pump structure 15

4.1 Flow chart 16

4.2 Flow diagram 17

4.3 Circuit diagram 18

5.3.1 Working model 21

LIST OF TABULATIONS

S.no. Tabulation Page number

1. Production in 1998-2001 3
3.1 List of components 7

v
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW

The greatest crisis in modern day and age is a great disparity in the agricultural
sector turnover. The great losses incurred in agriculture: material losses or financial losses
– most of them are attributed to crop health and quality. If the crops are determined to be
not up to par, this may result in a loss. In order to prevent this, we need to maintain the
quality of crops and keep them at maximum health. On a practical basis, this is nearly
impossible for a farmer who has large lands to observe and maintain. However, this is
currently being managed manually. There is a danger in this; many of the labourers are
preferring to work at white collar jobs, and as a result, there is a large deficiency in
manpower. This makes automated farming a necessary part of the future. The greatest
cause for the crops being not on par is improper irrigation (other than natural calamities).
If the irrigation issues are resolved, most of the problem is solved. Hence this is the
pinnacle point that needs to be renovated with technology. Automating this part of the
process will be extremely beneficial to farmers. The automated plant irrigation system will
help to reduce the work load on farmers, and help to keep the farmlands well irrigated at
all times. Most of the farmers all over the world suffer to maintain their crops with proper
watering methods, but find themselves helpless. This system will help farmers irrigate
their lands even single-handedly, without the need of additional manpower. Its user
friendly simple circuitry will make the user feel comfortable in using this system. The user
only needs to install the circuit and sensors and connect the pump to the circuit and its
complete. The system will start functioning upon power-up, and will need no trigger to
keep it running.

1.1.1 WHAT IS DROUGHT? DANGERS OF AN ARTIFICIAL DROUGHT

BROUGHT ABOUT BY MAN

A drought is a period of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in

prolonged shortages in its water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground
water. A drought can last for months or years, or may be declared after as few as 15 days.
It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region

1
and harm to the local economy. Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase
the chances of a drought developing and subsequent bush fires. Periods of heat can
significantly worsen drought conditions by hastening evaporation of water vapour.

Researchers for the study, published in the journal Nature, found that drought and
extreme heat reduced crop yields by as much as 10% between 1964 and 2007. Extreme
cold and floods did not result in a significant reduction in crop production, according to
the study.

The research provides key insight on the effects of climate on agriculture as

policymakers prepare for the number of extreme weather events to spike in the coming
decades due to global warming. The study, which evaluated the effect of 2,800 weather
disasters on cereal crops like corn, rice and wheat, suggests that the effects of drought
worsened after 1985 and are expected to continue to deteriorate in the coming decades.
The study speculates that’s because of more intense droughts driven by climate change,
increased vulnerability to drought and changed reporting methods, but couldn’t confirm
any individual factor with certainty.

Developed countries experienced some of the most severe crop loss due to drought
and heat, according to the research. Crop production in North America, Europe and
Australia faced nearly a 20% decline thanks to drought and extreme heat, compared to less
than 10% in Africa and Latin America. Researchers attributed the disparity to a difference
between the agricultural methods employed in the different areas. Farmers in developed
countries tend to grow crops uniformly across large areas. Water shortage affects those
crops uniformly. Growing a wide variety of crops in a given region in the developing
world mitigates the risk that all crops will be wiped out thanks to a given weather event.

The impact of water shortage and extreme heat on food production has been a hot
button topic in development circles as the scientific understanding of climate change has
grown. One recent study found that climate change could drive an 11% decrease in crop
yields and a 20% increase in price by 2050 if countries do not stem their greenhouse gas
emissions.

And while developed countries have the resources to adapt, their poor counterparts
are often left hard hit when they cannot produce adequate food during extreme weather
events. This year’s El Niño, for instance, has left millions in need of food assistance in
places like Ethiopia where the majority of the population depends on agriculture to make
ends meet. Funding for efforts to adapt to climate change, including by preparing farmers,
has been a key focus of groups focused on the issue. [7]

2
It can be observed that the turnover is only half the amount planted. This loss was due to
inefficient irrigation.[6]

1.2 AIM OF THE PROJECT

The motivation for this project came from the countries where economy is based on
agriculture and the climatic conditions lead to lack of rains & scarcity of water. Our
country mostly depends on agriculture. The farmers working in the farm lands are solely
dependent on the rains and bore wells for irrigation of the land. Even if the farm land has
a water-pump, manual intervention by farmers is required to turn the pump on/off
whenever needed.

The project aim is to detect the dryness in soil using sensors and provide water to the
plants appropriately. This project helps to maintain the plants quite easily. In this project
we are detecting soil moisture and need for Irrigation.

The Aim of our project is to minimize this manual intervention by the farmer. Automated
Irrigation system will serve the following purposes:

1) As there is no un-planned usage of water, a lot of water is saved from being wasted.

3
 2) The irrigation is done only when there is not enough moisture in the soil and the
sensors decide when the pump should be turned on/off. This saves a lot time for the
farmers. This also gives much needed rest to the farmers, as they don’t have to go and
turn the pump on/off manually.

This Project is for the academic year 2016-2017 in partial fulfilment of the requirement
for the VIIth semester mini-project in ECE.

1.3 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Nowadays, despite being an agricultural country, the number of people who die of
hunger is still quite high. Access to food seems to be difficult, as price and quantity of
food is still beyond the capability of the lower middle class and lower class. Irrigation
induced Crop failure is a major cause of crop loss every year, and in the age of water
crises, this has been elevated to great levels. In order to keep up with increasing demand,
farmers are required to increase crop efficiency, by rapidly advancing technologies. In
order to handle Irrigation issues, this system has been devised and implemented. Usually,
farmers need large scale manpower to irrigate large lands simultaneously. However
Automatic Plant Irrigation System (APIS) is an automatic system that facilitates
automated irrigation of lands simultaneously, upon need.

4
 CHAPTER 2

BACKGROUND

2.1 EXISTING SYSTEM

The continuous increasing demand of food requires the rapid improvement in food
production technology. In a country like India, where the economy is mainly based on
agriculture and the climatic conditions are isotropic, still we are not able to make full use
of agricultural resources.

The main reason is the lack of rains & scarcity of land reservoir water. The continuous
extraction of water from earth is reducing the water level due to which lot of land is
coming slowly in the zones of un-irrigated land. Another very important reason of this is
due to unplanned use of water due to which a significant amount of water goes to waste.

The existing system of manual irrigation is very inefficient in regard to solving these
issues. In modern drip irrigation systems, the most significant advantage is that water is
supplied near the root zone of the plants drip by drip due to which a large quantity of water
is saved. At the present era, the farmers have been using irrigation techniques in India
through manual control in which farmers irrigate the land at the regular intervals. This
process sometimes consumes more water or sometimes the water reaches late due to which
crops get dried. Water deficiency can be detrimental to plants before visible wilting
occurs. Slowed growth rate, lighter weight fruit follows slight water deficiency. This
problem can be perfectly rectified if we use automatic irrigation system in which the
irrigation will take place only when there will be acute requirement of water.

2.2 PROPOSED SYSTEM

All the lands to be irrigated manually are automatically irrigated by this system.
When compared to the previous system where farmers need to frequently and constantly
keep monitoring the field for signs of dryness, this system will reduce the time needed to
be spent on monitoring the field. It greatly diminishes the need for manpower by a great
value. This system will be able to function even when the owner is unavailable for a small
period of time, hence ensuring proper irrigation even in the absence of people. Also water
will not be wasted during traversal.

5
 In recent times, the farmers have been using irrigation technique through the
manual control in which the farmers irrigate the land at regular intervals by turning the
water-pump on/off when required. This process sometimes consumes more water and
sometimes the water supply to the land is delayed due to which the crops dry out. Water
deficiency deteriorates plants growth before visible wilting occurs. In addition to this
slowed growth rate, lighter weight fruit follows water deficiency. This problem can be
perfectly rectified if we use Automated Irrigation System in which the irrigation will take
place only when there will be intense requirement of water, as suggested by the moisture
in the soil.

6
 CHAPTER 3

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

3.1 HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

The hardware components required for the project are listed as follows:

--

S.NO. COMPONENT TYPE COMPONENT DESCRIPTION

1. IC LM358 Operational amplifier

2. Sensor Soil moisture -

sensor

3. Switch Relay board 12V supply

4. Motor DC motor pump 5V supply

5. Potentiometer Trim pot Range Of

Table 3.1. list of components

3.1.1. OPERATIONAL AMPLIFIER - LM358

 It can handle a supply of 3-32VDC and source up to 20mA per channel. This
Operational amplifier is great if you need to operate two individual Operational
amplifiers from a single power supply. Comes in an 8-pin DIP package.
 The LM358 is a great, easy-to-use dual-channel Operational amplifier.
 LM358 applications include transducer amplifiers, DC gain blocks and all the
conventional Operational amplifier circuits.

3.1.1.1. FEATURES

 Wide Supply Ranges

o Single Supply: 3 V to 32 V
(26 V for LM2904)

7
 o Dual Supplies: ±1.5 V to ±16 V
(±13 V for LM2904)

 Low Supply-Current Drain, Independent of Supply Voltage: 0.7 mA Typical

 Wide Unity Gain Bandwidth: 0.7 MHz

 Common-Mode Input Voltage Range Includes Ground, Allowing Direct Sensing

Near Ground

 Low Input Bias and Offset Parameters

o Input Offset Voltage: 3 mV Typical

A Versions: 2 mV Typical

o Input Offset Current: 2 nA Typical

o Input Bias Current: 20 nA Typical

A Versions: 15 nA Typical

 Differential Input Voltage Range Equal to Maximum-Rated Supply Voltage: 32

V
(26 V for LM2904)

 Open-Loop Differential Voltage Gain:

100 dB Typical

 Internal Frequency Compensation

 On Products Compliant to MIL-PRF-38535,

All Parameters are Tested Unless Otherwise Noted. On All Other Products,
Production Processing Does Not Necessarily Include Testing of All Parameters.

8
3.1 PIN DIAGRAM:

fig.3.1 pin diagram of LM358

9
3.1.1. CHIP DIAGRAM:

fig.3.1.1. LM358 IC

10
3.1.2. SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR

Soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content in soil.[1] Since the direct
gravimetric measurement of free soil moisture requires removing, drying, and weighting
of a sample, soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content indirectly by
using some other property of the soil, such as electrical resistance, dielectric constant, or
interaction with neutrons, as a proxy for the moisture content. The relation between the
measured property and soil moisture must be calibrated and may vary depending on
environmental factors such as soil type, temperature, or electric conductivity. Reflected
microwave radiation is affected by the soil moisture and is used for remote sensing in
hydrology and agriculture. Portable probe instruments can be used by farmers or
gardeners.

3.1.2. SENSOR BOARD AND PROBE:

fig.3.1.2soil moisture sensor

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3.1.2.1. COMPONENT :

fig.3.1.2.1 sensor

3.1.3. RELAY BOARD

A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to

mechanically operate a switch, but other operating principles are also used, such as solid-
state relays. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a separate low-
power signal, or where several circuits must be controlled by one signal. The first relays
were used in long distance telegraph circuits as amplifiers: they repeated the signal coming
in from one circuit and re-transmitted it on another circuit. Relays were used extensively
in telephone exchanges and early computers to perform logical operations.

Electromagnetic relays are those relays which are operated by electromagnetic action.
Modern electrical protection relays are mainly micro-processor based, but still
electromagnetic relay holds its place. It will take much longer time to be replaced the all
electromagnetic relays by micro-processor based static relays.

12
3.1.3 COMPONENT INTERNAL STRUCTURE:

fig.3.1.3. Relay internal structure

3.1.3.1.COMPONENT EXTERNAL STRUCTURE:

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3.1.3.2. OPERATIONAL DIAGRAM:

fig.3.1.4. Relay operational diagram

3.1.4. DC MOTOR PUMP

A DC motor is any of a class of rotary electrical machines that converts direct current
electrical power into mechanical power. The most common types rely on the forces produced
by magnetic fields. Nearly all types of DC motors have some internal mechanism, either
electromechanical or electronic, to periodically change the direction of current flow in part
of the motor.

DC motors were the first type widely used, since they could be powered from existing direct-
current lighting power distribution systems. A DC motor's speed can be controlled over a

14
wide range, using either a variable supply voltage or by changing the strength of current in
its field windings.

A DC motor pump is essentially a DC Motor that is used to circulate water. The internal
structure is the same. The DC motor is encased in a waterproof plastic casing and the shaft
is used to drive an external arm that pumps water.

The Pump requires a 5V supply, which can be easily provided by batteries or AC supply.

3.1.4. COMPONENT STRUCTURE:

fig.3.1.4. DC MOTOR PUMP

15
 CHAPTER 4

SYSTEM DESIGN

4.1 FLOW CHART

fig.4.1. flow chart of the circuit

where m – detected moisture level.

x – threshold moisture level.

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4.2. FLOW DIAGRAM

Inputs Operational
Sensor
amplifier

Run Motor Relay control Dryness Detection

fig.4.2. Flow diagram of the circuit

4.3 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

fig.4.3. circuit diagram

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4.4 ADVANTAGES

 The main advantage of this project is that it has faster execution when compared to
manual execution of the process.

 It is simple, portable and provides high performance.

 It consumes less power

 Dryness can be easily detected in soil.

 Permits a non- expert to do the work of an expert.

 Improves productivity by increasing work output and improving efficiency.

 Saves time in accomplishing specific objective.

 This system ensures that the plants do not endure from the strain or stress of less
and over watering.

 This system saves labour cost and water up to 70%. The working of this irrigation
system covers over 40 crops spanning across 500 acres.
.
4.5 APPLICATIONS OF PROJECT
We propose an application to detect water deficiency state in soil based
exclusively on sensor-provided data.
In an Automated Irrigation System, the most significant advantage is that water is
supplied only when the moisture in soil goes below a pre-set threshold value.

 This system can be used in roof gardens in highly populated areas where
land is expensive and gardening on rooftops seems like the only viable
option left.
 The lawns of houses and public buildings can be maintained by these
systems, thereby reducing the need for human monitoring.

18
  The greatest application is in agricultural lands, where farmers are assisted
greatly by this. There is no need for the farmer to actually be present during
operation.
 Gardens that need to be monitored in the absence of home owners require
systems like APIS. Home gardens that are maintained with large effort by
home owners require proper observation and maintenance. It can be
provided by APIS.
 This system can be used in the field of pisciculture. Fish farming or
pisciculture involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures,
usually for food. It is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods
may fall under mariculture. The fishes need to be in a depth of 1m in the
aquarium and this depth is maintained with the help of APIS. The
appropriate threshold value is assigned and the circuit is operated.
 Irrigation in parks needs to be done even when people are not there to
maintain the grass or trees.
 Detection in this manner is cheap, non-invasive and can be applied on a
population-wide scale.
 The presence of technology in all aspects of life has enabled solutions to real
life problem that were either difficult or unfeasible.

4.6 FUTURE ENHANCEMENT

The application certainly is much more advantageous than the manual system. There
will be no bias in the regions being covered and the delay is kept as minimal as it can be.

 The operator does not require any previous training because of its user friendliness.

 The operator is free from any technical issues. Extremely simple design makes the
circuit easy to implement and maintain.

 Alterations in the system can be done easily if the process of the working changes in
future.

 In future according to the user’s requirement it can be updated to meet the user
requirements.
 Smart Wifi Irrigation Controllers are next generation controllers that adjust your
irrigation system automatically using real-time weather information. Moreover, you
can control it from anywhere, anytime.

19
4.7 LIMITATIONS

 The system requires two different power supplies. While implementing in large
fields, industrial supply can be used to run the motor. In small gardens this may
seem like a large wastage.
 Needs a large amount of sensing equipment for very large irrigation areas.
 The system is not 100% reliable. Unexpected factors can cause errors, and it may
in some cases cause loss. Despite being good, it needs to be manually checked and
maintained once every few weeks..

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 CHAPTER 5

SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

5.1 METHODOLOGY
Implementation of the project required the design of the system developed in the
design phase of the project to be carefully implemented.

The extensive implementation of automated systems in agriculture has proven to

successfully reduce cost. The operation of automated agricultural system could potentially
revolutionize the irrigation process and the way it has impacted the commercial &
industrial sectors. Thus, this project has been an expert or non-expert-system-based
method of field monitoring for detecting dryness & treatment of the field. The prototype
system food and beverage industry has the potential to be useful for the industry, seeking
ways to make agriculture cost effective. Furthermore, the ultimate beneficiaries of the
project are the farmers who are the backbone of an agricultural economy.

5.2 PROJECT PLAN

The Objective of the project planning is to provide a framework that enables an owner to
make reasonable estimate of the resources, cost and schedule. The project leader is
responsible for designing the system precisely according to the requirement specified by
the owner/ customer. He is also responsible for maintenance of the system for certain
period of time, since in most cases, cost of maintenance is much higher than cost of
developing the system. Thus to reduce development and maintenance cost and to provide
the system within planned time, proper planning of system is necessary.

5.2.1. Initial Investigation of design:

The most crucial phase of managing system projects is planning to launch a system
investigation, we need a master plan detailing the steps to be taken, the people to be
questioned, and outcome expected. The initial investigation has the objective of
determining whether the user’s request has potential merits the major steps are defining
user requirements, studying the present system and defining the performance expected by
candidate system to meet user requirements. The first step in the system development life
cycle is the identification of need. There may be a user request to change, improve or
enhance an existing system. The initial investigation is one way of handling these needs.
The objective is to determine whether the request is valid and feasible before a

21
recommendation is reached to do nothing, improve or modify the existing system, are to
build a new one.

Thus for an effective test and written paper follow-up data resulting from different
circumstances, it is vital to design the APIS.

5.3 WORKING
This project consists of two sections: the external sensor unit, and the inbuilt
processing unit. In the external sensor unit, the basic requirement of sensing the moistness
of the sand or soil through capacitive reactance is performed, the arms of the sensor are
able to detect resistance and provide input to the IC.

When the soil becomes dry, it produces large voltage drop due to high resistance,
and this is sensed by the soil moisture sensor, and this resistance causes the operational
amplifier to produce an output that is above the threshold value required. This causes the
relay to change from normally open to closed condition – The relay becomes on.

When the relay is turned on, the valve opens and water through the pipes rushes to
the crops. When the water content in the soil increases, the soil resistance gets decreases
and the transmission of the probes gets starts to make the operational amplifier stop the
triggering of the relay. Finally the valve which is connected to the relay is stopped.

Op-amp is configured here as a comparator. The comparator monitors the sensors

and when sensors sense the dry condition then the project will switch on the motor and it
will switch off the motor when the sensors are in wet. The comparator does the above job
it receives the signals from the sensors.

A transistor is used to drive the relay during the soil wet condition. 5V double pole
– double through relay is used to control the water pump. LED indication is provided for
visual identification of the relay / load status. A switching diode is connected across the
relay to neutralize the reverse EMF.

This project works with 5V regulated power supply for the internal blocks and uses
regulated 12V power supply for the relay board. Power on LED is connected for visual
identification of power status.

First, the sensor probes are inserted in the soil at specific locations in the field, at a
depth of 5cm from the soil surface at regular intervals in the field. The wiring is made with

22
protective covering so that it is not harmed by any unexpected factors like rocks in the
field.

Since wet soil is more conductive than dry soil, the soil moisture sensor module has
a comparator in it. The voltage from the prongs and the predefined voltage are compared
and the output of the comparator is high only when the soil condition is dry.

When the moisture in the soil is above the threshold, the relay will be turned on.
The relay coil gets energized and turns on the motor. The LED is also turned on as an
indicator. The soil begins to get supplied with water, and the water content of the soil
increases.

When the moisture content of the soil increases and reaches the threshold value, the
output of the soil moisture sensor is low and the motor is turned off. This prevents a case
of over-watering.

5.3.1. WORKING MODEL STRUCTURE

fig.5.3.1. Working model

23
 CHAPTER 6

CONCLUSION

Irrigation becomes easy, accurate and practical with the idea above shared and can
be implemented in agricultural fields in future to promote agriculture to next level. The
output from moisture sensor and level system plays major role in producing the output.

Thus the “AUTOMATIC PLANT IRRIGATION SYSTEM” (APIS) has been

designed and tested successfully. It has been developed by integrating all the features of
all the hardware components used. Presence of every module has been reasoned above
and placed carefully in order to contribute to the best working of the unit. The system has
been tested to function automatically, and to the best of its ability. The moisture sensors
measure the moisture level (water content) of the different plants. If the moisture level is
found to be below the desired level, the moisture sensor sends the signal to the operational
amplifier which triggers the DC Motor pump to turn ON and supply the water to respective
field area. When the desired moisture level is reached, the system halts on its own and the
DC Motor pump is turned OFF. Thus, the functionality of the entire system has been tested
thoroughly and it is said to function successfully.

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 REFERENCE

[1] Klute, A. (ed.), 1986: Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 1: Physical a nd Mineralogical
Methods. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 1188 pp.

[2] Knight, J.H., 1992: Sensitivity of time domain reflectometry measurements to lateral
variations in soil water content. Water Resources Research, 28, pp. 2345–2352.

[3] Magagi, R.D., Kerr, Y.H., 1997. Retrieval of soil moisture and vegetation
characteristics by use of ERS-1 wind scatterometer over arid and semi-arid areas. Journal
of Hydrology 188-189, 361–384.

[4] Marthaler, H.P., W. Vogelsanger, F. Richard and J.P. Wierenga,1983: A pressure

transducer for field tensiometers. SoilScience Society of America Journal, 47, pp. 624–
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[5] Attema, Evert, Pierre Bargellini, Peter Edwards, Guido Levrini, SveinLokas, Ludwig
Moeller, BetlemRosich-Tell, et al 2007. Sentinel-1 - the radar mission for GMES
operational land and sea services. ESA Bulletin 131: 10-17.

[6] Bircher, S., Skou, N., Jensen, K.H., Walker, J.P., & Rasmussen, L.(2011). A soil
moisture and temperature network forSMOS validation in Western Denmark. Hydrol.
Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss.,8, 9961-10006.

[6] ADVERSE IMPACTS OF DROUGHT ON CROPS AND CROP PRODUCERS IN

THE WEST James Johnson and Vince Smith Montana State University Department of
Agricultural Economics and Economics

http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/27974/1/02010009.pdf

[7] How Drought and Extreme Heat Are Killing the World’s Crops - Justin Worlan

http://time.com/4170029/crop-production-extreme-heat-climate-change/

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