Automated irrigation and fire alert system based on hargreaves equation using weather forecast and ZigBee protocol

This paper presents the automated irrigation system with enhanced water conservation, using weather forecast and concept of wireless sensor networks. Each node consisting of soil moisture, smoke and temperature sensors communicates with the coordinator, using ZigBee protocol, which then sends updates to the farmer via SMS using GSM protocol. Hargreaves equation for reference evapotranspiration has been used for the determination of water requirements of the crop. Based upon the calculated crop evapotranspiration from the equation and rainfall forecast obtained from the internet, irrigation cycle of the crop has been modified. An experimental test bed has been developed to implement the proposed idea which can be easily and effectively extended to actual crop fields. The proposed work is very useful for farmers due to the prevailing unpredictable weather conditions.