Design and Development of Precision

Agriculture System Using

scarcity of land reservoir water. The continuous
extraction of water from earth is reducing the water
Wireless Sensor Network
S. R. Nandurkar V. R. Thool R. C. Thool
Lecturer, Department of Associate Prof., Department of Prof., Department of Information
Instrumentation Engg., Instrumentation Engg., Technology Engg.,
SGGSIE&T, Nanded SGGSIE&T, Nanded SGGSIE&T, Nanded
Nanded,(MS) India-431606 Nanded ,(MS) India-431606 Nanded,(MS) India-431606
sweety.nandurkar11@gmail.com vrthool@gmail.com rcthool@gmail.com

Abstract - Crop farming in India is labour intensive and level due to which lot of land is coming slowly in the
obsolete. Farming is still dependent on techniques which zones of un-irrigated land. Another very important
were evolved hundreds of years ago and doesn't take care reason of this is due to unplanned use of water due to
of conservation of resources. The newer scenario of which a significant amount of water goes waste. In
decreasing water tables, drying up of rivers and tanks, the modern drip irrigation systems, the most
unpredictable environment present an urgent need of significant advantage is that water is supplied near
proper utilization of water. We have the technology to the root zone of the plants drip by drip due to which
bridge the gap between water usage and water wastage. a large quantity of water is saved. At the present era,
Technology used in some developed countries is too the farmers have been using irrigation technique in
expensive and complicated for a common farmer to
India through the manual control in which the
farmers irrigate the land at the regular intervals. This
understand. Our project is to give cheap, reliable, cost
process sometimes consumes more water or
efficient and easy to use technology which would help in
sometimes the water reaches late due to which the
conservation of resources such as water and also in
crops get dried. Water deficiency can be detrimental
automatizing farms. We proposed use of temperature and
to plants before visible wilting occurs. Slowed
moisture sensor at suitable locations for monitoring of
growth rate, lighter weight fruit follows slight water
crops. The sensing system is based on a feedback control deficiency. This problem can be perfectly rectified if
mechanism with a centralized control unit which we use automatic drip irrigation system in which the
regulates the flow of water on to the field in the real time irrigation will take place only when there will be
based on the instantaneous temperature and moisture intense requirement of water. Irrigation system uses
values. The sensor data would be collected in a central solenoid valves to turn irrigation ON and OFF. These
processing unit which would take further action. Thus by valves easily automated by using controllers.
providing right amount of water we would increase the Automating farm or nursery irrigation allows farmers
efficiency of the farm. The farmer can also look at the to apply the right amount of water at the right time,
sensory data and decide course of action himself. We regardless of the availability of labour to turn valves
have made the interface of our project keeping in view ON and OFF. In addition, farmers using automation
the educational and financial background of average equipment are able to reduce run off from over
Indian farmer. watering saturated soils, avoid irrigating at the wrong
In this paper we are proposed a low cost and efficient time of day, which will improve crop performance by
wireless sensor network technique to acquire the soil ensuring adequate water and nutrients when needed.
moisture and temperature from various locations of farm Automatic Drip Irrigation is a valuable tool for
and as per the need of crop controller take the decision to accurate soil moisture control in highly specialized
make irrigation ON or OFF. production and it is a simple, precise method for
irrigation. It also helps in time saving, removal of
Keywords: Soil moisture sensor, temperature sensor,
wireless sensor network, Microcontroller human error in adjusting available soil moisture
levels and to maximize their net profits. The entire
I. INTRODUCTION automation work can be divided in two sections, the
field station and central station.
Irrigation is one of the fundamental problems of Temperature sensors that are currently being used are
agriculture in developing countries. In a country like linear with temperature, 0.05 mV/0C scale factor,
India, where the economy is mainly based on with 0.5 0C accuracy guarantee able (at +25 0C). Low
agriculture and the climatic conditions are isotropic, cost is assured by trimming and calibration at the
still we are not able to make full use of agricultural wafer level. It works on the principal of conductance
resources. The main reason is the lack of rains and of electricity. When two electrodes A and B are
placed parallel to each other in a medium and electric
current is passed, the resistance to the flow of capability, the sensor self-heating causes less than
electricity is proportional to the moisture content in 0.1 0C temperature rise in still air.
the medium. As the moisture level increases,
conductivity decreases and the sensor is calibrated to
output the moisture level. Since the probes have
direct contact with the soil, there is no buffer against
salt and fertilizer affects on the measured
conductivity.
The current work aims to develop a Wireless Sensor
Network based low cost soil temperature and
moisture monitoring system that can track the soil
temperature and moisture of the field in real time and
thereby allow water to be Dripped on to the field if
the soil temperature goes above and/or the soil Fig.1: Photograph of a LM- 35 Temperature
moisture falls below a prescribed limit depending in Sensor
the nature of crop grown in the soil. The sensors take
the inputs like moisture, temperature and provide B. MOISTURE SENSOR
these inputs to the microcontroller. The
microcontroller converts these inputs into its desired 1. PROBES-
form with the program that is running on it and gives
A designed resistive sensor is used to sense the
outputs in the mode of regulation of water flow
moisture content in the soil. It works on the principal
according to the present input conditions.
of electrical conductivity. Resistance of the sensor is
The complete system is implementing for Smart
inversely proportional to moisture content in the soil.
Irrigation Application Using RF 433 MHz modules.
Moisture content of the soil is a major factor
The system is designed using a microcontroller and
determining plant growth. The present work
RF 433MHz module. The system can control several
Comprises of development of a soil moisture sensor.
valves for irrigation.
Figure 2 shows the Photograph of a Soil Moisture
Sensor.
II. HARDWARE DESIGN

A. TEMPERATURE SENSOR
The current work uses temperature sensors for
monitoring the soil temperature. For temperature
measurement, LM-35DZ sensors have been used.
The soil temperature is one of the important
environmental factor with a change of climate,
topography, vegetation, soil type, planting form and
other factors. The soil temperature is closely related
with some processes, such as crop planting time,
tillering Growth and wintering safety etc. Above
Figure 1 Shows Photograph of a LM-35 Temperature Fig. 2: Photograph of a Soil Moisture Sensor
Sensor. The change of soil temperature directly
The soil moisture sensor have been developed using
impact on soil nutrient absorption and soil moisture
the basic property that the resistance of the soil
keep and sport. The soil temperature plays a certain
between two points decreases with the increase of
role on many of the physical processes of soil. The
water content in it. We know that water is a good
soil water and heat migration is an important
conductor of electricity in the presence of ions. So,
research problem. Therefore, the observation of soil
greater the amount of electrolytes in the soil, greater
temperature real time and Understanding of variation
will be the conductivity of the soil. This means that
of soil temperature has vital significance to
the resistance of the soil decreases. The basic
agricultural production and scientific research. The
objective of irrigation scheduling is to minimize
temperature sensor LM-35DZ has an output voltage
water stress of the plant, that of over irrigation and
that is proportional to the temperature being
under irrigation. Good irrigation water management
measured. The scale factor is 0.01 V/ 0C. The LM-
will increase yields, improve crop quality, conserve
35DZ does not require any external calibration or
water, save energy and decrease fertilizer
trimming and maintains an accuracy of 0.4 0C at
requirements. The probes are made using two metal
room temperature and ± 0.8 0C over a range of 0 0C
rods tied together using a block. The two probes are
to +100 0C. Another important characteristic of the
separated using smaller foam block which keeps the
LM-35DZ is that it draws only 60 μA of current from
two probes apart. The developed sensor has two
its supply and possesses a low self-heating
probes that are inserted into the soil. The distance
between these two probes is kept fixed. A resistance
is connected in series with the probe and current to minimum. A summing amplifier is used for this
passed through it. purpose using op-amp 741. The output of signal
conditioning circuit and other input is fixed at 5 V is
2. SIGNAL CONDITIONING CIRCUIT OF applied to inverting input to the amplifier. The output
MOISTURE SENSOR- of this circuit varies from 5V to 0 V, which is fed to
ADC of microcontroller Atmega -16 for further
The circuit consists of an oscillator that gives a processing.
sine wave with frequency of 1 KHz. This sine wave
is given to the one end of the probe. At the other end C. MICROCONTROLLER
of the probe there is a series resistance and the output
between these two is given to a half wave rectifier Here the basic task is to automate the irrigation
followed by a low pass filter. This setup gives the process. For this here is the need to have information
DC values depending on the resistance due to soil about the present water content in the soil. This
between the probes. The output of the sensor is information is gathered using soil moisture sensors.
change in resistance as per the moisture contents in The moisture sensor that is made here gives an
the soil. The change of resistance is from 1 K to 15 K analog voltage value ranging from 0 to 5V for
depending upon moisture. This change in resistance different moisture levels. The microcontroller has a
is required to be converted into corresponding program running on it, which acts as a small
voltage change and for this purpose signal operating System. It has a user interface, and takes
conditioning circuit is used. The signal conditioning inputs from the user and accordingly takes actions.
card gives a voltage change from 5 V to 0 V which is The microcontroller takes the analog sensor values
compatible with further circuitry. The Electrical and converts them into a digital value ranging from 0
resistance blocks measure soil moisture tension with to 1023using its Analog to Digital Converter (ADC).
two electrodes embedded in a porous material such It uses these values to compare them to an already
as foam block. The block allows moisture to move in known reference value. If the digital value calculated
and out of it as the soil dries or becomes moist. The for a sensor is less than its reference value. It means
electrodes measure the resistance to electric current that there is less soil moisture present than the
when electrical energy is applied. The Signal required in that area. Microcontroller must turn on
Conditioning Circuit of Soil Moisture is shown in water supply for that area. This is achieved by
Figure 3.The output of the sensor is depends on the turning on a relay, which in turn opens a water valve,
peak to peak excitation voltage which is applied from and water is given to only that area of the field.
wein bridge oscillator. Frequency is fed to the one Atmega 16 is used as controller for the system in
end of the sensor and the other end is as input to field station. It reads the actual data from the ADC
inverting amplifier which is designed to give the and compares it with the values of witting points,
voltage output as- which are already, stored in it, for different crops.
Depending upon this comparison it makes decision
1. When the sensor is dry (0 % moisture), the whether to initiate irrigation or not. And also it sends
resistance of the sensor is around 15 K, the the Current data to central station for data
amplifier is set to 5 V for 0 % moisture. acquisition.
2. As the moisture increases, resistance of the This transmission of data from field to central station
block decreases. The voltages of the is done through RF module 433 MHz it is used to
amplifier is set to 0 V for 100 % moisture control the overall action. The features and other
design consideration are discussed in central station.
The ADC is inbuilt in this controller so no need to
use external analog to digital converter. The port A is
used for converting Analog data into Digital (ADC)
i.e. P 1.0 is connecting to LM 35 Temperature Sensor
and P 1.1 is connecting to Soil Moisture Sensor. Port
C is used to connect the LCD Display for displaying
purpose and the Port D is used to connect RF
Transmitter 433 MHz for transmitting the data
coming from field to the central station.

D. TRANSMITTER / RECEIVER
Fig.3: Soil Moisture Signal Conditioning Circuit.
1. TRANSMITTER CIRCUIT-
The Figure 3 shows Soil Moisture Signal
Conditioning Circuit, the circuit is built using OP- Electrical energy moves from place to place in
AMP 741.The output from amplifier is in the range one of two ways. It either flows as current along a
of 5 V to 0 V as the resistance drops from maximum conductor (A bunch of electrons moving down a
metal wire), or it travels in the air as invisible waves.
In a typical wireless system, the electrical energy
starts out as current owing along a conductor, gets
changed into waves travelling in the air, and then
gets changed back into current owing along
conductor again. Now travelling at the speed of light,
the airborne signal reaches to the "Receiver". Here it
converts the airborne waves into an electrical signal
as a current owing along a conductor. Here, we use
the RF module 433 MHz for transmission and
reception of soil moisture data. RF 433 MHz is a
microcontroller compatible IC. Only three pins are
used for interfacing in transmission and receiving Fig. 4: (b) Overview of a Receiver Circuit
mode. When attaching an external antenna to an RF
Module, superior performance can be achieved by to connect the LCD Display for displaying
selecting an antenna length related to the wavelength purpose and Port D is used to connect RF
of the carrier frequency. For a RF 433 MHz, 18 cm Receiver 433 MHz for receiving the data
antenna is use. coming from transmitter (field station) to the
central station. This data is then sending to
microcontroller ATMEGA 16 the program
is store in the flash memory of
microcontroller. The LCD Display is
connected to Port C of Controller for
displaying the data coming from
microcontroller and knows the present
condition of a field in a control room or at a
central station.

III. SOFTWARE DESIGN

Fig.4: (a) Overview of Transmitter Circuit A. SOFTWARE AT FIELD STATION-

The Figure 4(a) shows Overview of Transmitter As RF 433 MHz is compatible with microcontroller,
Circuit. RF module is a single chip transmitter the control action is taken in the field station only by
module. It is used very low power and very low microcontroller, in which the set points of the present
voltage wireless applications. This is mainly intended conditions are given.
for frequency bands at 315, 433, 868 and 915 MHz,
but can easily be programmed for operation at other
frequencies in the 300-1000 MHz range. The main
operating parameters of RF 433 MHz can be
programmed via a serial bus, thus making RF 433
MHz a very flexible and easy to use transmitter. In a
typical system RF 433 MHz will be used together
with a microcontroller and a few external passive
components.

2. RECEIVER CIRCUIT-

The Figure 4(b) shows Overview of Receiver

Circuit RF module is a single-chip receiver module.
It is used very low power and very low voltage
wireless applications. The main operating parameters
of RF 433 MHz can be programmed via a serial bus,
thus making RF 433 MHz a very flexible and easy to
Few external passive components. Here in central
station the data is receive and display on LCD which
is coming from transmitter for displaying the present
condition of field in the central Station. Port C is Fig.5: Transmitter Flowchart
Here the data coming from field is given to the network robustness. Another advantage of wireless
microcontroller and this controller sends the data to sensors is their mobility as they can be placed in
the transmitter and displays this on LCD at a field transporting vehicles to monitor the on-the-go
station. The Figure 5 shows Transmitter Flowchart. environment. Furthermore, wireless technology
Here the electrical waves are converted into airborne reduces maintenance complexity and costs. Most
waves and transmit that data to the receiver in the wireless sensors have signal conditioning and
central station and again this is display on the LCD. processing units installed at the location of the
In this if the data coming from field is less than 40 % sensors and transmit signals in the digital form. As a
then the irrigation is start and the display shows the result, noise pick-up becomes a less significant
present moisture contents and the "I.ON "(Irrigation problem. Therefore, wireless sensors have been used
ON).If the moisture contents in the soil is 80 above in agriculture to assist in spatial data collection,
80% then the irrigation is OFF and display shows precision irrigation and variable-rate technology.
"I.OFF" (Irrigation OFF) on the screen. In the
decision routine current soil moisture of signal is V. RESULT
continuously compared with selected set points. If
this signed is less than wilting point valve get open In drip irrigation control system hardware and
or valve gets closed when signal is greater than software is designed for uniform application of water
maximum set point. directly to the plant root zone to maintain soil
moisture within the range for good plant growth
B. SOFTWARE AT CENTRAL STATION- without excessive water loss, erosion, reduction in
water quality, or salt accumulation. Controller
As RF 433 MHz is compatible to microcontroller, continuously acquires data from RF 433 MHz Soil
the data is received by the RF 433 MHz receiver and moisture sensor senses the soil moisture and
then this data is display on LCD using ATMEGA 16 accordingly solenoid valve gets open or close when
Microcontroller. The Figure 6 shows the Receiver needed. The controllers proved to be effective in
Flowchart. This receiver converts airborne waves maintaining the soil water content in the plant as per
into electrical signal. The flowchart for this control the set points of the plant. The drip irrigation system
action is shown below and it consists of-

Fig. 7: Relation between Voltage and Time

Fig. 6: Receiver Flowchart has been satisfactorily tested under ideal conditions
of controlled irrigation of plant to maintain soil
moisture in the range of a model-based system. The
IV. WHY WIRELESS SENSOR? system is working fine and the water requirement of
the soil is kept well above the wilting point. When
An obvious advantage of wireless transmission is the soil moisture drops the minimum value then
a significant reduction and simplification in wiring irrigation starts and the soil moisture is continuously
and harness as well as saving the cost of the wires. sense and displayed on the LCD. The moisture
Wireless sensors allow otherwise impossible sensor sensor being developed give an analog value ranging
applications, such as monitoring dangerous, from 5 V to 0 V for different moisture levels. For soil
hazardous, unwired or remote areas and locations. moisture sensor a special sensor is developed which
This technology provides nearly unlimited has variable resistance with respect to variation in
installation flexibility for sensors and increased soil moisture. The sensing units were placed at
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