LOW-COST ADJUSTABLE AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEM BASED ON SOIL MOISTURE AND WATERING TIME USING A SINGLE ARDUINO MEGA2560 FOR DRY LAND CULTIVATION

Arief Sudarmaji; Agus Margiwiyatno; Siswantoro Siswantoro; Siswantoro Siswantoro; Masrukhi Masrukhi; Irawadi Irawadi; Krissandi Wijaya; Furqon Furqon; Pepita Haryanti; Mustaufik Mustaufik; Laksmi Putri Ayuningtyas

Arief Sudarmaji Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Agus Margiwiyatno Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Siswantoro Siswantoro Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Siswantoro Siswantoro Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Masrukhi Masrukhi Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Irawadi Irawadi Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Krissandi Wijaya Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Furqon Furqon Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Pepita Haryanti Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Mustaufik Mustaufik Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia
Laksmi Putri Ayuningtyas Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Purwokerto, Indonesia

Abstract

Accurate watering is an important aspect of optimum plant growth. It is necessary to continuously obtain the soil moisture status as the basis for watering time. Real-time monitoring can play an important role in monitoring the readily available moisture in the soil. This paper presents the adjustable automatic soil moisture control design for dry land cultivation based on soil moisture and watering time. We used a low-cost capacitive sensor and Real Time Clock 1307 as soil humidity and timer sensors. The automatic control employs a single Arduino Mega2560 microcontroller for a data acquisition system, including a real-time clock, memory card, keypad, display, and irrigation actuators. The calibration was based on the soil sensor voltage provided by the capacitive sensors and the measured soil moisture content using the Gravimetric method. Then, the calibration model is embedded in the Arduino. The range of desired points of soil moisture and watering time could be set and adjusted using the keypad. There are three default set points of soil moisture (i.e., 40% to 42%, 60% to 62%, and 80 to 82%) and watering time (08:00, 12:00, and 17:00).