Smart Phone Evapotranspiration-Based App for Optimal Irrigation Scheduling for Thai Crops

Abstract

Thailand is known as a top producer of many essential agricultural commodities including canary seeds, cassava, mango, mangosteen, guava, and chili pepper. Due to global warming and population growth, droughts are increasing and water is becoming scarce, which have a direct impact on agriculture. Farmers are therefore facing difficulties in supplying their crops with sufficient water due to water scarcity and the increasing irrigation cost. This situation calls for optimal use of irrigation water in agriculture, which is sufficient to avoid crop water stress and at the same time help to sustain water and reduce irrigation expenses. Methodolgy/approach: With the number of smartphone users in the world exceeding 3.5 billion, this app uses geospatial data and the Water Balance Approach to estimate the optimal irrigation cycle in the current month in Thailand using Java. Result: This app would result in significant water savings and a less costly irrigation process for both large farms and private gardens in subsistence agriculture. Conclusion: The proposed smartphone app captures the unique characteristics of the weather and soil conditions of any location in Thailand to determine the optimal average daily amount of water required to prevent crop water stress in the current month.