Design And Construction Of An Arduino Based Automatic Irrigation System

This paper presents a novel approach towards effective irrigation system. The prepared system comprised of an Arduino, moisture sensors, submersible water pump, and relay mechanism. The two moisture sensors sense the condition of dryness of soil at two different places on the field feed the signal to Arduino system will take the inputs from both the sensors and based on that it will decide how much water should be supplied. This system will continue to take the inputs from the sensors until there is sufficient amount of moisture in the soil and then it will automatically turn the pump off. This irrigation system will reduce the hardship of farmers, save the time and enhance accuracy and effectiveness in relatively minimal cost.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

DEFINITION OF TERMS

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• AIM OF THE STUDY
• OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
• IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
• SCOPE OF THE STUDY
• METHODOLOGY
• PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• REVIEW OF THE RELATED STUDY
• HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
• REVIEW OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF IRRIGATION
• IMPACT OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM ON SOCIETY

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

• BLOCK DIAGRAM
• SYSTEM BLOCK DESCRIPTION
• SYSTEM WORKING
• FLOW CHART
• CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS ANALYSIS

• CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURE AND TESTING ANALYSIS
• CASING AND PACKAGING
• ASSEMBLING OF SECTIONS
• RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

CHAPTER FIVE

• CONCLUSION
• RECOMMENDATION
• REFERENCES

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

• Water Withdrawal– The volume of freshwater abstraction from surface or groundwater for an intended purpose. Withdrawal is directly measurable as the quantity of water withdrawn from the source for a particular activity over a specific period of time.
• Water Consumption– The volume of withdrawn water that is evaporated or transpired for an intended purpose.
• Drip Irrigation– Drip irrigation is sometimes called trickle irrigation and involves dripping water onto the soil at very low rates (2-20 litres/hour) from a system of small diameter plastic pipes fitted with
• outlets called emitters or drippers. Water is applied close to plants so that only part of the soil in which the roots grow is wetted (Figure 60), unlike surface and sprinkler irrigation, which involves wetting the whole soil profile. With drip irrigation water, applications are more frequent (usually every 1-3 days) than with other methods and this provides a very favourable high moisture level in the soil in which plants can flourish.[1]
• Flood Irrigation– A group of application techniques involving distribution of water in a field by the gravity flow of water over the soil surface. The soil acts as the medium in which the water is stored and the conveyance medium over which water flows as it spreads and infiltrates. Flood irrigation is characterized by uncontrolled distribution of water.
• Crop Yield– Weight of economically valuable crop that is harvested per unit of harvested area.
• Baseline Activity– Adoption of traditional irrigation practices that are relatively inefficient with water use. Traditional irrigation methods such as flood irrigation typically use gravity to disperse water across the field.
• Project Activity– Implementation of irrigation practices that promote higher irrigation efficiency, thereby reducing water withdrawal volume.
• Sprinkler Irrigation– A method of applying irrigation water which is similar to natural rainfall. Water is distributed through a system of pipes usually by pumping. It is then sprayed into the air through sprinklers so that it breaks up into small water drops before falling to the ground. The pump supply system, sprinklers and operating conditions are typically designed to enable a uniform application of water.[2]
• Basin Hydrological Flow– The characteristic behaviour and total quantity of water involved in a drainage basin. This is determined by measuring such quantities as rainfall, surface and subsurface storage and flow, and evapotranspiration and the impact of project interventions on these factors.
• Return Flow– Quantities of water that are returned to the sources from which they were withdrawn to be made available for other purposes or users (e.g. downstream farmers or wildlife). This could include unused water withdrawn for agricultural purposes that is returned to surface water sources or recharges groundwater aquifers.
• Blue water footprint– Volume of surface and groundwater consumed as a result of the production of a good or service. Consumption refers to the volume of freshwater used and then evaporated/transpired or incorporated into a product. It also includes water abstracted from surface or groundwater in a catchment and returned to another catchment or the sea. It is the amount of water abstracted from groundwater or surface water that does not return to the catchment from which it was withdrawn.[3]
• Green water footprint– Volume of rainwater consumed during the production process. This refers to the total rainwater evapotranspiration (from fields and plantations) plus the water incorporated into the harvested crop.[4]

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                                        INTRODUCTION

1.1                                           BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Irrigation is the application of controlled amounts of water to plants at needed intervals. Irrigation helps to grow agricultural crops, maintain landscapes, and revegetate disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of less than average rainfall. Irrigation also has other uses in crop production, including frost protection,[1] suppressing weed growth in grain fields[2] and preventing soil consolidation.[3] In contrast, agriculture that relies only on direct rainfall is referred to as rain-fed or dry land farming.

Irrigation systems are also used for cooling livestock, dust suppression, disposal of sewage, and in mining. Irrigation is often studied together with drainage, which is the removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area.

Irrigation has been a central feature of agriculture for over 5,000 years and is the product of many cultures. Historically, it was the basis for economies and societies across the globe.

irrigation control system is a device to operate automatic irrigation systems such as lawn sprinklers and drip irrigation systems. Most controllers have a means of setting the frequency of irrigation, the start time, and the duration of watering. Some controllers have additional features such as multiple programs to allow different watering frequencies for different types of plants, rain delay settings, input terminals for sensors such as rain and freeze sensors, soil moisture sensors, weather data, remote operation, etc.

There are two basic types of controllers, electric and hydraulic. Most automatic irrigation valves are diaphragm valves in which the water above the diaphragm must be discharged for the valve to open. In a hydraulic system, the controller and valves are connected via small plastic tubes approximately 4 mm (¼ in) in diameter. The controller opens the tube connected to the valve, allowing that valve to open.

In developing countries the economy is highly based on agriculture but we lack in proper utilization of resources available to us. This is mainly because of the unplanned use of water for irrigation. Although there are many modern irrigation techniques like drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation farmers have to visit the farms in person regularly in order to water their crops. i.e. it is manually controlled. All these problems results in wastage of human and agricultural resources as well as time. Hence, there is a need for making an automatic irrigation system which the main aim of this work.

1.2                                                  PROBLEM STATEMENT

In the last decade, irrigation is carried out manually by farmers morning or evening according to when the need arise, and this consumes time, involves labour and sometimes farmers forget to carry out the duty. To overcome this problem an automatic irrigation system was designed to automatically apply water to crops thereby reducing labour and time consumption involved in manual irrigation system.

1.2                                     AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Aim

The main aim of this work is to build an automatic irrigation system. The automatic irrigation system shows a well established combination of Arduino Uno, Soil Moisture Sensor, Water Pump and their interconnection.

Objectives

This system has been designed to achieve the following objective:

1. To increase the production by using better irrigation
2. To manage the water supply for proper cultivation of
3. To reduce man
4. To take proper action regarding the condition of the soil through the proposed

1.3                                                 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

In this project of automatic water irrigation system, we have used two moisture sensors which will read the moisture value of the soil by taking its resistance value. We have used the sensors in analogue mode so it will read the values from 0-1024. Then we have taken mean of the values read by both the sensors, which will be then compared to the threshold value. The threshold values are decided by testing the sensors several times which are shown in table no.1. if the value read by the sensors satisfies the condition for dryness, the relay will turn on water pump. If the value read by the sensor satisfies the condition for wetness, the relay will turn off the water pump.

1.4                                                  PUPOSE OF THE STUDY

The main aim of the study is to develop irrigation system to provide an automatic irrigation system for the plants which help in saving water, money and human labour.

1.5                                           SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1. An automatic Irrigation control system makes it possible to grow cash crops which give good returns to the cultivators. Examples of cash crops are; sugarcane, potato, tobacco etc.
2. An automatic Irrigation control system improves the groundwater storage as water lost due to seepage adds to groundwater storage.
3. An automatic Irrigation control system improves the yields of crops which mean more income for the farmer people prosperous.
4. We use it to help the growth of crops during the period of inadequate rainfall.

1.6                                            IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

1. Irrigation system maintains moisture in the soil. Moisture is necessary for the germination of seeds.
2. Water supplies two essential elements, hydrogen and oxygen to the crop.
3. Irrigation is necessary for the absorption of mineral nutrients by the plants from the soil.
4. It is essential for the growth of the roots of the crop plants.

1.7                                                        METHODOLOGY

To achieve the aim and objectives of this work, the following are the steps involved:

1. Study of the previous work on the project so as to improve it efficiency.
2. Draw a block diagram.

• Test for continuity of components and devices,

1. Design and calculation for the device was carried out.
2. Studying of various component used in circuit.
3. Construction of the circuit was carried out.

• Finally, the whole device was cased and final test was carried out.

1.8                                                         PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work, chapter two presents the literature review of the study, chapter three describes the methods applied, chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.