Irrigation system based on Arduino uno microcontroller

Abstract

: In crop production, a healthy water balance is essential for high quality yields. Under-watered crops suffer from nutrient deficiencies while over-watered plants are more susceptible to diseases pressure and can in some cases lead to root death through suffocation. Also over-watered plants are not able to withstand dry spells during dry season. The aim of this paper is to use control engineering principles and concepts to provide a microcontroller based irrigation system. The system helps in saving money and water and at the same time increasing crops production. The automated irrigation system is controlled using ATmega328 microcontroller based on Arduino platform. The system is programmed via the microcontroller to give interrupt signal to the irrigation system (drip, sprinkler, ditch etc.) depending on the soil moisture levels. The soil moisture/humidity levels are checked using soil moisture sensor. Whenever there is a change in moisture/humidity in the soil, this sensor senses the change and gives an interrupt signal to the micro-controller and thus the watering system is activated or deactivated.