Measuring Water Content and Irrigation Patterns in a Conventional, Bottom-Irrigated, Water-Retaining
This study automates irrigation in bottom-irrigated cabbage beds using WIZnet WIZ550io for real-time moisture monitoring and control.
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Components
Hardware components
WIZnet - WIZ550io
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LAN module
Project description
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
