An IoT-Based Soil Properties Monitoring System for Crop Growth and Production

Introduction

The agriculture sector is an imperative part of the economic growth of any nation. If we talk about the role of agriculture in the development of an economy then we can say that it contributes to national income, is a source of food supply, improves the supply of raw material, employment, helps in the creation of infrastructure, is a source of foreign exchange for the nation and helps in tackling economic depression. In India, the agriculture sector contributes about 17% of the country’s total GDP with a production of 284.95 million tonnes of major crops in 2018-19. In FY2019 agriculture exports were US$ 38.54 billion (Ibef, n.d.). Developmental activities towards better crop production meeting the requirements and standards at a global level are the need of the hour.

The growth and quality of any crop depend a lot on the quality of the soil. Soil is a blend of organic mineral particles and natural matter of differing size and arrangement. It is composed of five ingredients – minerals, soil organic matter, living organisms, gas and water. These ingredients play a huge role in the growth and quality of any crop. Out of the many factors affecting the growth and quality of the crop, one main factor discussed here is – pH (power of hydrogen) level of the soil and crop. Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of soil. pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the activity of hydronium (H+ or H3O+aq.) in a solution. In soils, it is measured in a slurry of soil mixed with water. The pH of the soil (ranging between 0 and 14, where 0 to 6 is acidic, 7 is neutral and 8 to 14 is alkaline) affects the availability of nutrients. The effect of soil pH is great on the solubility of minerals or nutrients. Before a nutrient can be used by plants it must be dissolved properly in the soil solution. Most minerals and nutrients are more soluble or available in acid soils as compared to neutral or slightly alkaline soils. The soil may contain adequate nutrients, yet plant health may be limited by an unfavourable pH level and vice-versa. Although the best range for a crop to grow properly is 5.5 to 7 but some crops grow in more acidic soil and some in a more alkaline one. More acidic soil causes a reduction in the level of macronutrients and also increases aluminium, iron and manganese toxicity. While more alkaline soil leads to a decrease in the level of micronutrients in the soil. To monitor the status of properties associated with crop production, the significance of ICT seen worldwide. In this regard, IoT can play a very important role in agriculture (Sharma & Kumar, 2020; Jirapond et al., 2019). The quality of the crops can also be increased with the combination of wireless sensor networks and the internet of things (Kumar & Sharma, 2020). Meanwhile, there exists, several challenges in the field of smart technologies.

Figure 1.

pH levels of soil