Srivilliputhur (TN): A device that can aid farmers in conserving and planning water by monitoring if the crop needs it and automatically switching on a motor to draw water from a nearby source has been developed by students at nearby Kalasalingam University.
"The microprocessor controlled system is a combination of various sensors that will study the soil moisture and find out if the land is dry and automatically switches on the DC motor and draws water to the soil from the nearby water source," Pallikona Rajasekaran, Head of Department of Electronics, said.
He said the scheme would feed water to the field only when required and play a major role in irrigation, water management, especially in the context of saving water, which was now becoming precious.
Rajasekaran said various sensors like Thermistor, soil moisture sensor, Co2 sensor, humidity sensor and air velocity sensor are connected to Analog pins of the 'Arudino Uno Microcontroller Board' and the required automation code is written and uploaded in it. The DC, CPU (Central Processing Union fan) and Buzzer is connected to the Digital pin. The system would work in such a way that when the land is dry, the DC motor automatically draws water from a nearby source. It also has a passive infrared sensor which detects if animals that can damage crops are nearby and sounds an alarm, frightening them, he said.
"The total cost of the system is Rs 8,000 and it will be very advantageous to farmers who need not be in the field to know whether the soil is dry or wet. They can sit elsewhere and monitor the condition," he said.
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