Development of an Energy Efficient and Fully Autonomous Low-Cost IoT System for Irrigation Scheduling in Water-Scarce Areas Using Different Water Sources

Zisis Tsiropoulos, Evangelos Skoubris, Spyros Fountas, Ioannis Gravalos and Theofanis Gemtos
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Zisis Tsiropoulos: Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece
Evangelos Skoubris: Agricultural and Environmental Solutions (AGENSO), Markou Mpotsari 47, 11742 Athens, Greece
Spyros Fountas: Department of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Ioannis Gravalos: Department of Agrotechnology, School of Agricultural Sciences, University of Thessaly, Periferiaki odos Larissas—Trikalon, 41500 Larissa, Greece
Theofanis Gemtos: Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 7, 1-19

Abstract: Politicians and the general public are concerned about climate change, water scarcity, and the constant reduction in agricultural land. Water reserves are scarce in many regions in the world, negatively affecting agricultural productivity, which makes it a necessity to introduce sustainable water resource management. Nowadays, there is a number of commercial IoT systems for irrigation scheduling, helping farmers to manage and save water. However, these systems focus on using the available fresh water sources, without being able to manage alternative water sources. In this study, an Arduino-based low-cost IoT system for automated irrigation scheduling is developed and implemented, which can provide measurements of water parameters with high precision using low-cost sensors. The system used weather station data combined with the FAO56 model for computing the water requirements for various crops, and it was capable of handling and monitoring different water streams by supervising their quality and quantity. The developed IoT system was tested in several field trials, to evaluate its capabilities and functionalities, including the sensors’ accuracy, its autonomous controlling and operation, and its power consumption. The results of this study show that the system worked efficiently on the management and monitoring of different types of water sources (rainwater, groundwater, seawater, and wastewater) and on automating the irrigation scheduling. In addition, it was proved that the system is can be used for long periods of time without any power source, making it ideal for using it on annual crops.

Keywords: irrigation scheduling; alternative water sources; low cost; IoT system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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