Wiznet makers

The need for automation in agriculture has become increasingly apparent, particularly in managing water content in seedling beds. This study investigates the automation of irrigation in conventional, bottom-irrigated cabbage seedling beds, aiming to maintain optimal moisture levels to ensure healthy plant growth while minimizing labor.

Key components of the system included:

• Volumetric Water Content Sensors: Placed on water-absorbing mats to monitor soil moisture levels in real-time.
• WIZnet WIZ550io Ethernet Module: Enabled real-time data communication, ensuring timely and accurate irrigation based on soil moisture readings.
• Arduino MEGA2560: Served as the central controller, interfacing with sensors and the WIZ550io module to manage irrigation based on pre-set moisture thresholds.

The study recorded irrigation patterns during two summer crops. In the first crop, maintaining moisture content above 20% during germination resulted in a healthy seedling establishment rate of 91.3%. However, in the second crop, the moisture content dropped to 0% at night due to insufficient irrigation, leading to a lower establishment rate of 88.6%.

Results showed that standard irrigation practices, which involve watering from sunrise to 10:00 AM to reach about 35% moisture and allowing the soil to dry in the afternoon, were insufficient during high evaporation periods. The automated system adjusted irrigation frequency based on real-time data, mitigating the effects of temperature, humidity, and humidity deficit.

The findings emphasize the importance of dynamic irrigation schedules that adapt to environmental changes, using real-time monitoring and control systems like those enabled by WIZnet's Ethernet modules.

Hashtags: #Irrigation #Agriculture #Automation #Cabbage #SmartFarming #WIZnet #WIZ550io #Arduino #MoistureMonitoring Categories: Agriculture, Irrigation Systems, Smart Farming, Automation, Environmental Monitoring

Publish Date: December 19, 2023