Automated fertigation system for efficient utilization of fertilizer and water

Abstract

Fertigation is the process of delivering plants nutrients along with water to produce a quality crop with higher yields. Employing an automated fertigation system can help farmers by significantly improving water and nutrient usage. The objective is to automatically maintain the moisture level in the soil and to mix different nutrients to obtain the required NPK ratio and give it to plants along with irrigation. This work is carried out in two parts. One is maintaining the optimum level of moisture in the soil. A soil moisture sensor which senses the moisture content in the soil is used. The sensor output is given to the controller, which decides if more water needs to be pumped or not. Then a control system for the fertilizer mixing and delivery part is designed. The user will give the input in terms of how much amount of N, P and K is needed in Kg. The user will also input the concentrations of NPK fertilizer solutions used. Taking all these parameters into account, the system will prepare a fertilizer mixture that contains the required amount of nutrients needed by the plant. It will then deliver the mixture along with irrigation water. The preparation of fertilizer mixture will be done with specific intervals of time which will be decided by the user. The system is connected to internet by using Wi-Fi and the user can enter the parameters in a mobile application which will transmit the data to the system over internet.