SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM

Chapter-1
INTRODUCTION
Indian agriculture is dependent on the monsoons which is not sufficient
sources of water. The automatic irrigation system can provide water to farms
according to their moisture and soil types. Suitable water supply is required
because of most of the farms are depends upon the monsoon. In conventional
system, the farmer has follow a schedule for watering, which is different for
different crops. Too much watering causes diseases to plants and even they
die out. To provides uniform and required level of water for both plain and
sloppy areas and avoids the water overflow at the sloppy areas and
considering the current labor shortage situation, the automated sensing
system will be most appropriate production in most parts of the world is
rainfall. The three main factor that characterize rainfall are amount,
frequency and intensity, the values of which vary spatially and temporally.
When the weather does not provide enough rainfall to feed agricultural
needs, farmers should supplement water available through rainfall by some
type of irrigation to manage the soil moisture and nutrient concentration to
create the optimum growing environment. With limited availability of
freshwater and increasing costs of energy and manpower, irrigation, which
can contribute substantially to crop production should be planned and
managed in such a way that no drop will be wasted. Due to complexities in
the precise knowledge of the rainfall's main characteristics, the irrigation
scheduling cannot be planned neither on the minimum values of the average
precipitation during the growing season nor on the maximum. The former
may lead to an over-irrigation causing crop diseases and waste of water,
fertilizer, and energy. Also, and besides running off and evaporating, the
excess water will percolate deep to soil layers below the root zone with all
nitrates and other pesticides it contains polluting the ground water.

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The latter on the other hand, leads to an under-irrigation causing a highly

reduction in both crops quantity and quality. Therefore, deciding when to
turn on the irrigation system and how much water to apply is a complex
decision-making process. With increasing population pressure throughout the
nation and need for increased agricultural production there is need for
management of nation agricultural resources. The real time values of soil
moisture, air humidity, temperature and water level in the soil are wirelessly
transmitted using wireless technology and protection from insect attack to the
crop for better production. The objective of this project is to save water and
reduce human intervention in the agriculture field. Continuously Monitoring
the status of sensors and provide signal for taking necessary action. To get
the output of soil water sensor & provide water to crop accordingly. To
observe other parameters for better yield.

IMPORTANCE OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM

The rainfall of in our country depends on monsoons. Rainfall
controls agriculture, but the agriculture is said to be “the gambling of the
monsoon” as the monsoon rainfall are uncertain, irregular and uneven or
unequal. So irrigation is essential for agriculture. In INDIA there are 80% of
the total annual rainfall occurs in four months, i.e. from mid June to mid
October. So it is very necessary to irrigation for farm field during the rest of
the eight months.

1.1 METHODS OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM

There are different types of method for irrigating farm field for different
type’s crop field. Basically Indian farmer use these three methods
channel system, sprinkler system, drip system. Channel system is a
traditional method of irrigation. But a smart irrigation system is a new
technology to irrigating farm field automatically.

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1.1.1 Channel System

This system is widely used in farming irrigation system. As this system
is a very low cost system for irrigating a large area farming field. In
this system pipes are connected with a water pump and while pump
started water flow through pipe a from lake, river, bore well to farming
field. And the farmer fully engaged for irrigating the crop field with
number of workers. Huge amount of water waste and large number of
workers are engaged during watering.

FIG.1.1 CHANNEL SYSTEM IRRIGATION

1.1.2 SPRINKLER SYSTEM

This system is more useful whether the water is available in smaller quantity.
When pump started then water flow through main pipe and also flow through
the perpendicular pipes. A nozzle on the top of perpendicular pipe is joined
and rotating automatically at regular intervals. This system is very useful
on the sandy soil. Less number of worker required water waste is less.

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1.1.2 SPRINKLER SYSTEM IRRIGATION

1.1.3. DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM

In this system waterfall drop by drop at the position of the roots. It is the best
technology for watering fruit plants, gardens and trees. Water flow through a
main pipe and divided into sub pipes. Special prepared nozzles are attached
to these sub pipes . In this system waste of water is very less and No worker
need for irrigating. When the farmer knows the status of the farm field then
start the motor and chose the direction from nozzles. Then automatically
watering the plants and after some time the farmer check the status of the
field and while the whole crop are irrigating then OFF the motor.

1.1.3 DRIP SYSTEM IRRIGATION

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1.1.4. SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM

Above three systems are generally operate by a user but a smart

irrigation tells that the total system is controlled by autonomous mean
automatically control the total irrigation system whether the farmer is not
present his farm field and send messages to the farmer about the information
of farm field and change in operation of the farm field. Which require
no worker for operating, and also less waste of water with compared to
previous three methods.

1.1.4 SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM

1.2 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF SMART IRRIGATION SYSTEM

This prototype monitors the amount of soil moisture and temperature. A
predefined range of soil moisture and temperature is set, and can be varied
with soil type or crop type. In case the moisture or temperature of the soil
deviates from the specified range, the watering system is turned on/off. In
case of dry soil and high soil temperature, it will activate the irrigation
system, pumping water for watering the plants.

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The block diagram of smart irrigation system is represented in Fig1. It

consists of a microcontroller (ATmega328) which is the brain of the system.
Both the moisture and temperature sensors are connected to the input pins of
the controller. The water pump and the servo motor are coupled with the
output pins. If the sensors depart from the predefined range, the controller
turns on the pump. The servo motor is used to control the angular position of
the pipe, which ensures equal distribution of water to the soil. An LED
indicator indicates the status of the pump.

This system can be implemented on a large scale for farming purposes,

which can further prove to be more advantageous. Owing to prevailing
conditions and water shortages, the optimum irrigation schedules should be
determined especially in farms to conserve water.

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2. OBJECTIVE OF SYSTEM
• To save water and reduce human intervention in the agriculture field
• Continuously monitoring the status of sensors and provide signal for
taking necessary action
• To get the output of soil water sensor and provide water to crop
• To observe other parameters for better yield

3. SYSTEM HARDWARE DESIGN

The block diagram of the system consists of two sections: transmitter
and receiver section which effectively measures parameters by using
different sensors like temperature sensor, humidity sensor, soil
moisture sensor and the system also consist of microcontroller
328P,GSM module, LCD, and zigbee module.

RELATED WORK

There are many works on the application Of WSN for monitoring system
such as in, where Zigbee is used to monitor the condition of long span bridge
after considering disadvantages of the currently used wire and cable for data
communications such as high installation cost of communication and power
supply for the sensors, difficulty in the installation of steel pipeline for
protecting the cables, sensor data distortions due to temperature changes on
cables, noise affecting cables and sensors etc. The Zigbee is used for the
short distance communication whereas CDMA (Code Division
Multiple Access) infrastructure was used for long distance communication
between sensors and the server system. Recent advances in microelectronics
and wireless technologies created low-cost and lowpower components, which
are important issues especially for such systems such as WSN. Power

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management has been addressed in both hardware and software with new
electronic designs and operation techniques. The selection of microprocessor
becomes important in power aware design.

3.1 TRANSMITTER SECTION

3.2 RECEIVER SECTION

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4. SENSORS USED IN SMART IRRIGATION SYSTTEM

Three sensors used in the smart irrigation system which are mainly as
follows;

1. Temperature sensor
2. Soil moisture sensor
3. Humidity sensor
4. Wireless network sensor

4.1 TEMPERATURE SENSOR

A Resistance Temperature Detector(RTD) is used to measure
temperature as a function of resistance. As the temperature of the soil
increases, the resistance of the soil also increases. RTDs readings are
more accurate and more repeatable.
The temperature sensor used to measure the temperature at the field is
LM 35. The LM35 series are precision integrated-circuit temperature
sensors, whose output voltage is linearly proportional to the Celsius
(Centigrade).

Fig.4.1 a) temperature sensor

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Fig.4.1 b) RTD connected to the input of the microcontroller

4.2 SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR

soil moisture sensors estimates the soil volumetric water content based
on the dielectric constant (soil bulk permittivity) of the soil. The
dielectric constant can be thought of as the soil's ability to transmit
electricity. The dielectric constant of soil increases as the water
content of the soil increases. This response is due to the fact that the
dielectric constant of water is much larger than the other soil
components, including air. Thus, measurement of the dielectric
constant gives a predictable estimation of water content. It consists of
a pair of electrodes to measure the resistance of the soil. Greater the
resistance, lower the moisture content of the soil.

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Fig.4.2 a) Soil moisture sensor

Fig 4.2 b) Moisture sensor connected to the input pin of the

microcontroller

4.3 HUMIDITY SENSOR

• The humidity sensor measure both air temperature and moisture.

• A humidity sensor senses relative humidity, and expressed as percent.
• HS1100 is used for sensing humidity.
• The output in terms of frequency range 5khz to 10khz.

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Fig 4.3 Humidity sensor

4.4 WIRELESS NETWORK SENSOR

A WSU is comprised of a RF transceiver, different sensors, a micro-

controller, ZigBee and power sources. Several WSUs can be deployed in-
field to configure a distributed sensor network for the automated irrigation
system. Each unit is based on the micro-controller that controls the radio
modem ZigBee and processes information from the soil-moisture sensor,
temperature sensor and water level sensor.
In this wireless sensor unit or transmission unit the sensor data from
different sensors (Soil moisture, temperature, humidity and water level)
are collected in the main controller. This data is displayed on transmission
section LCD. ARM controller is programmed to some threshold values of
temperature and soil moisture. Sensed values are compared with the
threshold values and according to comparison automation is takes place.

Wireless sensor unit is nothing but transmission section which Transmit

the sensor data to the wireless information unit. Wireless information unit
is nothing but section which receives sensor data from wireless sensor
unit.
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Fig 4.4 Wireless Sensor Unit

5. MICROCONTROLLER

Microcontroller ATMEL 89S52 is the heart of the system. It is a single

chip Microcomputer with I/O ports, timer, clock generator, data
memory, program memory, serial ports, and external hardware
interrupts. It can be used for many control applications like motor speed
control, waveform generation etc.
The software can be implemented in assembly level language or high
level language and entered into the program memory (flash memory)
using programmer. 8052 is an 8-bit processor, meaning that the CPU
can work on only 8 bits of data at a time. Data larger than 8 bits has to
be broken into 8-bit pieces to be processed by the CPU. 8052 is
available in different memory types such as UV-EPROM, Flash and
NV-RAM.

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5.1 ATmega328P MICROCONTROLLER

The ATmega328P is low-power CMOS circuit with 8-bit
microcontroller, and is depended on the AVR with enhanced
risk architecture.
ATmega328P gets a result of throughputs approaching
1 MIPS per MHz which allows the system designer to find
optimize power consumption versus processing speed.

Fig 5.1 ATmega328P Microcontroller

5.2 PIC MICROCONTROLLER

PIC is a family of modified Harvard architecture microcontrollers
made by Microchip Technology, derived from the PIC1650 originally
developed by General Instrument's Microelectronics Division. The
name PIC initially referred to "Peripheral Interface Controller"
Peripheral interface controller is the most powerful microcontroller
which is a 40pin device which is used as RISC architecture. One
advantage of reduced instruction set computers is that they can

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execute their instructions very fast because the instructions are so

simple. Another, perhaps more important advantage, is that RISC
chips require fewer transistors, which makes them cheaper to design
and produce.

6. DATA TRANSMISSION
6.1 GSM module

The SIM900 can be used embedded in many of the applications as it is

complete Quad-band GSM/GPRS solution in a SMT module. Feature
for an industry-standard interface, the SIM900has the capability of
delivering GSM/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900MHz performance for voice,
Data, SMS, and small form factor Fax and requires low power
consumption. GSM900 has an small configuration of 24mm x 24mm x 3
mm, and can be fit in nearly all the space requirement in M2M
application, as there is slim and compact demand of design.

SIM900 is designed with a highly powerful with single-chip processor

and integrated AMR926EJ-S core, Quad - band GSM/GPRS module
having a size of 24mmx24mmx3mm, SMT type suit for many
application, An embedded of highly Powerful TCP/IP protocol stack,
depends on mature and field-proven platform, and is backed support
service provided, from definition to production and design.

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Fig 6.1 GSM module

6.2 Zigbee module

Zigbee 802.15.4 RF modules are of XBee family, looking for excellent
wireless performance, it is the premiere choice for OEMs and a small
form factor solution and also cost-effective. Every XBee module
comes in a two range that can be regular or long-range. Pin-for-pin
compatibility is found in all XBee modules with the exception of a
few varying I/O features, a standard footprint for OEMs is provided to
different applicatiion XBee Series 1 is depended on Zigbee 802.15.4
silicon from free scale. It is ideal for the topologies such as point-to-
multipoint, point-topoint and peer-to-peer because of 802.15.4 firmware
feature. The XBee Series 1 gives the user maximum control over minimum
latency and network nodes. XBee Series 2 is referred from Zigbee/802.15.4
silicon which is from Ember. For creating ad-hoc mesh networks is
based from features of Zigbee firmware. Automatic route discoveries are
performed by the XBee Series 2 which can create a self-healing
Network for the routers which are fully function and also for low-power end
devices.

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Whereas XBee Series 1 and Series 2 modules do not communicate with each
other. It is basically known for ease of use, the XBee modules are
ready in form and can be operated out of the box and an API for advanced,
user-settable configurations, it also offer simple AT commands. For effective
wireless data communication without a license, 2.4 GHz ISM band, XBee
Modules are known worldwide. XBee modules are basically a part of Dig’s
full line of Drop-in Networking products. With the connection of
Port X gateways and XBee device adapters, extenders and modules, this
provides end-to-end wireless connection to commercial-grade electronic
devices which is in locations where proper infrastructure exists or where
customer needs are satisfied.

Fig.6.2 Zigbee module

7.0 PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC

The smart irrigation system uses temperature, soil moisture and
humidity Sensor to measure the relative parameter in order to give the water
crops. Since the outputs of the sensors measure are analog in nature and
microcontroller will handle solely digital signals, the system makes
Use of ADC which is inbuilt in microcontroller.

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The outputs of sensors are directly given to ADC, which converts the analog
signals into the
corresponding digital signals. These digital signals at microcontroller 328P
then uses Zigbee module for communication that is to send data at the
receiver and GSM module at the receiver side interfaced with microcontroller
328P for communication at a particular level. Microcontroller sends the
measured values to wireless communication zigbee module and further uses
GSM module to send message to the farmer. Since it's a real time system thus
microcontroller sends the measured values of different parameter and
according that water is given to the crops. Microcontroller also displays
the values of the parameter on the LCD. The power supply is given by the
charging the battery by the solar panels and the appropriate voltage is
given to all the components.

Fig. 7.1 block diagram of programmable logic

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7.1 Hardware design

In our model, we are demonstrating watering of only one pot, so a single
moisture sensor and temperature sensor is used. Depending on the number of
pots, the number of moisture sensor and temperature sensor to be interfaced
with the board will vary. When the soil moisture sensor is interfaced with the
board , the sensor reports values of resistances of the soil in which it is
immersed into. As soil moisture sensor is analog, an inbuilt ADC in Arduino
is used to convert into its digital form (0-1023), which represents resistance.
Dry soil will have the maximum resistance and wet soil will have least
resistance. Similarly, The temperature sensor (RTD) reports values of
temperature in terms of resistance. If the temperature of the soil is high, then
the sensor reports high value of resistance and vice versa. The servo motor is
programmed to rotate from 0 to 180 degree. It is a 3.3V motor and does not
require any driver. The rotating platform is attached on the motor to provide
a base for the movement of the pipe. If the soil is dry, temperature sensor and
moisture sensor values will be high, so the pump is turned on using a relay
and switched off when the values reach a threshold .The vice versa is
applicable for moist soil.

7.2 Software design

The software used in our project is Arduino. It provides a number of
libraries to make programming simple. In our prototype, the controller
AtMega328 is programmed in Arduino. The program in Arduino designates a
preset range of resistance value in digital format (ranging from 0 to 1023) for
both the moisture and the temperature sensor. Any aberration from the set
range switches on/off the pump, to water the plants.

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8. ADVANTAGES OF SYSTEM
This technology is recommended for efficient automated irrigation
systems and it may provide a valuable tool for conserving water
planning and irrigation scheduling which is extendable to other similar
agricultural crops. Maximum absorption of the water by the plant is
ensured by spreading the water uniformly using a servo motor. So
there is minimal wastage of water. This system also allows controlling
the amount of water delivered to the plants when it is needed based on
types of plants by monitoring soil moisture and temperature.This
project can be used in large agricultural area where human effort needs
to be minimized. Many aspects of the system can be customized and
fine tuned through software for a plant requirement.
Also the main advantages are listed below;

1. This makes increase in productivity

2. reduces water consumption.

3. This is safest and no manpower is required.

4. Reduce soil erosion and nutrient leaching.

5. Require smaller water sources.

9. CONCLUSION

The smart irrigation system implemented is feasible and cost effective

for optimizing water resources for agricultural production. This
irrigation system allows cultivation in places with water scarcity
thereby improving sustainability. The smart irrigation system
developed proves that the use of water can be diminished for a given

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amount of fresh biomass production. The use of solar power in this

irrigation system is pertinent and significantly important for organic
crops and other agricultural products that are geographically isolated,
where the investment in electric power supply would be expensive.
Real time system for irrigation is based on GSM and zigbee module.
The system is incredibly versatile and economical. It doesn't need
individuals on duty it is so easy and reliable.

10.REFERENCES

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