IoT-Based Systems for Soil Nutrients Assessment in Horticulture

Development and laboratory evaluation of a novel IoT-based electric-driven metering system for high precision garlic planter

In order to address many issues, such as the inconsistent and unreliable seeding process in traditional mechanical garlic seed metering systems (SMS), as well as the lack of ability to monitor the effectiveness of the seeding, a highly accurate electric-driven metering system (EDMS) was developed and created specifically for garlic seed planters. This study provided a description of the overall structure and functioning principle, as well as an analysis of the mechanism for smooth transit and delivery. A combination of an infrared (IR) sensor, Arduino Mega board, stepper motor, speed sensor, and a Wi-Fi module was employed to operate the EDMS, as well as monitor and count the quantity of garlic seeds during the planting process and determine the qualified rate (QR) and missing rate (MR). A monitoring system of the planting quality of garlic seeds was created based on the IoT concept. Then, the performance of the EDMS was validated in a laboratory setting utilizing a bench test at six operating velocities of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 rpm of the EDMS. The obtained results showed that the correlation coefficient between the actual and detected garlic seed using the garlic seed monitoring and counting system (GSMCS) was 0.9723. Additionally, the EDMS observed a maximum QR of 96.23% at an operating velocity of 20 rpm, with a standard division and standard error of 1.61030 and 0.72015, respectively. Additionally, the EDMS minimized the MR up to 3.77% at the same operating velocity, with standard division and standard error of 1.65325 and 0.73936, respectively. Furthermore, the results indicated a progressive increase in the QR and MQ standard errors as the EDMS's operating velocity increased. Additionally, the sensor's monitoring accuracy gradually declined with an increase in the operating speed of the EDMS. Finally, this study introduced a novel EDMS to garlic seed planters that was not used before. The developed EDMS and GSMCS are technical manuals for developing and designing monitoring systems capable of precisely measuring and identifying the rates of qualifying and missing garlic seed measurements.

A technical survey on practical applications and guidelines for IoT sensors in precision agriculture and viticulture

Climate change pose significant challenges to modern agriculture management systems, threatening food production and security. Therefore, tackling its effects has never been so imperative to attain sustainable food access and nutrition worldwide. In the case of viticulture, besides jeopardizing grape production, climate change has severe impact in quality, which has becoming more challenging to manage, due to the increasingly frequent fungal contamination, with consequences for relevant quality parameters such as the aromatic profiles of grapes and wines and their phenolic compounds. This has been leading to a reconfiguration of the wine industry geostrategic landscape and economy dynamics, particularly in Southern Europe. To address these and other emerging challenges, in-field deployable proximity-based precision technologies have been enabling real-time monitoring of crops ecosystems, including climate, soil and plants, by performing relevant data gathering and storage, paving the way for advanced decision support under the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. This paper explores the integration of agronomic and technological knowledge, emphasizing the proper selection of IoT-capable sensors for viticulture, while considering more general ones from agriculture to fill gaps when specialized options are unavailable. Moreover, advisable practices for sensor installation are provided, according to respective types, data acquisition capabilities and applicability.

Flexible Multimodal Sensors Enhanced by Electrospun Lead-Free Perovskite and PVDF-HFP Composite Form-Stable Mesh Membranes for In Situ Plant Monitoring

The pH and humidity of the crop environment are essential indicators for monitoring crop growth status. This study reports a lead-free perovskite/polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene composite (LPPC) to enhance the stability and reliability of in situ plant pH and humidity monitoring. The mesh composite membrane of LPPC illustrates a hydrophobic contact angle of 101.982°, a tensile strain of 800%, and an opposing surface potential of less than -184.9 mV, which ensures fast response, high sensitivity, and stability of the sensor during long-term plant monitoring. The LPPC-coated pH electrode possesses a sensitivity of -63.90 mV/pH, which provides a fast response within 5 s and is inert to environmental temperature interference. The LPPC-coated humidity sensor obtains a sensitivity of -145.7 Ω/% RH, responds in 28 s, and works well under varying light conditions. The flexible multimodal sensor coated with an LPPC membrane completed real-time in situ monitoring of soilless strawberries for 17 consecutive days. Satisfactory consistency and accuracy performance are observed. The study provides a simple solution for developing reliable, flexible wearable multiparameter sensors for in situ monitoring of multiple parameters of crop environments.

Designing and modeling an IoT-based software system for land suitability assessment use case

Assessing the quality of land is a very important step that precedes the planning of land use and taking management decisions; for example, in the agricultural field, it can be used to evaluate the suitability of the land for planting crops, determine the suitable irrigation system type, or adjust the agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides according to the requirements of each zone in the land. The spatial-temporal dynamic nature of land characteristics entails also updated evaluation process and updated management plan. The present paper tries to exploit the advances in information and communication technologies to develop a conceptual design of a dynamic system that accommodates the spatial-temporal dynamics of the agricultural soil characteristics to realize a land suitability assessment (LSA) based on a factor analysis method. The proposed design combines IoT technologies, web development, database, and digital mapping and tries to consolidate the system with other functionalities useful for decision support and suitable for different cases. The paper conducted a survey and made comparisons to select the best technologies that fit the current use case implementation and presents its reproducible conceptual modeling by developing the static and dynamic views through schemas, diagrams, message sequence charts, IoT messaging topic tree, pseudocode, etc. The functionality of the design was validated with a simple implementation of the system model. To our knowledge, there is no previous significant contribution that has addressed a LSA IoT use case. The proposed design automates the LSA process for more accurate decision-making, saving cost, time, and effort consumed in repeated field trips. It is characterized by flexibility and centralization in its offered services of spatial analysis, detection, visualizations, and status monitoring. The design also allows for remote control of field machinery.

Wireless Sensor Networks for Precision Agriculture: A Review of NPK Sensor Implementations

The integration of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) into agricultural areas has had a significant impact and has provided new, more complex, efficient, and structured solutions for enhancing crop production. This study reviews the role of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in monitoring the macronutrient content of plants. This review study focuses on identifying the types of sensors used to measure macronutrients, determining sensor placement within agricultural areas, implementing wireless technology for sensor communication, and selecting device transmission intervals and ratings. The study of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) monitoring using sensor technology in precision agriculture is of high significance in efforts to improve agricultural productivity and efficiency. Incorporating Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) into the ongoing progress of proposed sensor node placement design has been a significant facet of this study. Meanwhile, the assessment based on soil samples analyzed for macronutrient content, conducted directly in relation to the comparison between the NPK sensors deployed in this research and the laboratory control sensors, reveals an error rate of 8.47% and can be deemed as a relatively satisfactory outcome. In addition to fostering technological innovations and precision farming solutions, in future this research aims to increase agricultural yields, particularly by enabling the cultivation of certain crops in locations different from their original ones.

A Brief Review on Flexible Electronics for IoT: Solutions for Sustainability and New Perspectives for Designers

The Internet of Things (IoT) is gaining more and more popularity and it is establishing itself in all areas, from industry to everyday life. Given its pervasiveness and considering the problems that afflict today's world, that must be carefully monitored and addressed to guarantee a future for the new generations, the sustainability of technological solutions must be a focal point in the activities of researchers in the field. Many of these solutions are based on flexible, printed or wearable electronics. The choice of materials therefore becomes fundamental, just as it is crucial to provide the necessary power supply in a green way. In this paper we want to analyze the state of the art of flexible electronics for the IoT, paying particular attention to the issue of sustainability. Furthermore, considerations will be made on how the skills required for the designers of such flexible circuits, the features required to the new design tools and the characterization of electronic circuits are changing.