IoT-based soil monitoring system

IoT-based soil monitoring system

    Even arable land is losing its ability to grow healthy crops because poor farmers are unable to monitor and maintain their crops. To reverse this situation, researchers have introduced the concept of soil monitoring using the Internet of Things to address the problems faced by farmers.

The challenges facing agriculture

    In addition to weather factors, soil fertility, temperature and moisture content also play a critical role in the health of crops. However, most farmers with small plots of land do not have the ability to monitor the quality of the soil. They have no way to know if the soil has the right pH, if there is enough water content in the soil, and if the temperature of the soil allows the water content to be maintained until the next irrigation cycle. Since they could not monitor these characteristics on the land, it was difficult for them to keep these values at the desired level.

    The lack of monitoring also leads to wasted resources and even damage to crops through over-irrigation or over-fertilization. In the long run, this hurts not only the economic prospects of farmers, but also the health of consumers.

Benefits of using IoT for soil monitoring

    By embedding IoT soil sensors in agricultural soils, farmers can monitor the soil's water content and understand its chemical composition in real time, 24/7. These devices can automatically notify farmers when the water content of the soil or the levels of elements such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus and sulfur reach undesirable values. By monitoring this data, they can restore these levels to the necessary values by using the appropriate chemicals. In addition, farmers can know when to water their crops and how much to prevent water wastage. As a result, they can ensure that their crops, from seeding to harvest, are growing in perfect soil conditions. To make these soil attributes easier to monitor, soil health monitoring and recommendation systems can be synchronized with smartphones.

    Thus, soil monitoring using IoT can be profitable for farmers.