2017 IEEE International Conference on Technological Innovations in ICT For Agriculture and Rural Development

(TIAR 2017)

Automated irrigation with advanced seed germination

and pest control
Arvind.G1,Athira.V.G2,Haripriya.H3,Akshaya Rani.R4,Aravind.S5
Student, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Easwari Engineering College
Chennai-600089
arvind1705.ags@gmail.com1,athiravg8196@gmail.com2,haripriya0596@gmail.com3,
akshayaram333@gmail.com4,aravindsathiyanaarayanan@gmail.com5

Abstract— Agriculture can be split into multiple phases like
sowing the seeds, germinating the seeds, irrigating, etc. Our
innovation deals with automating certain phases of agriculture,
such as irrigation and pest control, using artificial intelligence,
machine learning and Internet of things. This can be achieved
with the help of Ubiquitous computing (Nomadic computing)
and sensors working on the concept of IOT. Initially using data
analytics techniques, the data about the moisture level
maintained in various soils over the entire period to grow
various crops are recorded in an online database. In
automation the system uses this data to maintain the moisture
level in the soil to grow the desired crop. The moisture level in
the soil is monitored using multiple moisture sensors which are
located all around the field. When the system finds that the
moisture is less in the soil than the required amount, as per the
data in the database, the field is irrigated using an existing
system which uses mechanical valves to allow water to various
fields in the farm. But the existing system only works based on
the commands from user, in the form of messages from a
mobile computer, to control the valves. The proposed system
automates this system by integrating it, using the concept of
IOT, to its centralised computer system. The proposed system
also includes pest control. Currently we use chemicals to kill
the pests, whereas, the proposed system uses an ultrasonic
sound emitter to keep the rodents away from the farm. It is
scientifically proven that the ultrasonic sounds are capable of
keeping the rodents away. Also it is proven that certain
frequency sound waves boost the growth rate of crops. Thus
using all these technologies, low cost and efficient growth of
crops is achieved, helping in development of agriculture field.
Keywords— Ubiquitous computing, Data Analytics, Artificial
Intelligence, Internet of things (IOT), Sensors, Arduino,
Ultrasonic sound
I. INTRODUCTION
Humans occupy the major part of the living system in the
world, thus facing a major demand for all our basic needs.
Food and land are the two basic requirements for humans to
live. But with the increase in the consumption of land, there
is a decrease in the available land for the agricultural
purposes. Thus we have to start acting in a way to increase
the productivity of the crops in limited farm space and at the
same time to preserve the health of the crops without using
chemical pesticides and fertilizers. A system that can
enhance the entire process of agriculture can help in the
efficient use of land and increase grain production. Such a
system is the proposed system. In the proposed system the
entire field is monitored by sensors, primarily, moisture and
water level sensors. The micro-controller is basically the
Arduino board which controls the functioning of these
sensors. Zigbee technology is used for mobile computing.
Zigbee enables the transmission of data from the database to
the irrigation system and vice versa and in the case of
sensors it is between the irrigation system and sensors and
vice versa. Irrigation is monitored using the micro-controller
which commands the opening and closing of valves based
on the moisture data present in the database. The proposed
system also uses Ultrasonic sound emitters to control pests
such as rodents, ants and cockroaches in the field thus
preventing the crops from getting destroyed and also
ensuring that the grains grow completely.
II. PROCESS
A. Automated Irrigation
The proposed system uses artificial intelligence, machine
learning and Internet of things techniques to automate the
irrigation process. The proposed system consists of the
following sensors- moisture sensor, temperature sensor
and water level sensor. In the proposed irrigation system,
multiple moisture sensors are placed at multiple places
around the field to ensure proper collection of data on the
moisture levels maintained in the soil during the entire
lifecycle of a crop. A temperature sensor is used to
measure atmospheric temperature and this data is also
collected for the entire lifecycle of a crop and stored in the
database. The data from these sensors are collected using
an Arduino micro-controller and it is sent to the database
using ZigBee technology, and it is stored in the database.
These data are used to analyze the water requirements by a
crop planted in a field for its entire lifecycle. We can use
this technique to collect the moisture requirement for all
kinds of crops grown in different climatic conditions

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 2017 IEEE International Conference on Technological Innovations in ICT For Agriculture and Rural Development
(TIAR 2017)
.These data are stored in the database. Collectively over a
period of time the system will get to know the moisture
requirements of various kinds of crops in their entire
lifetime. This part forms the need for Machine learning.
From all thee data the machine learns to understand the
water requirements of the crops under various climatic and
soil conditions. After a period of time the system starts to
irrigate the field on its own based on the data collected.
The moisture sensor in the soil measures the moisture
level in the soil every now and then, this data is compared
with the data collected in the database, if there is any
water requirement the computer system commands the
micro-controller to open the valves of the water system
which irrigates that part of the field. A water level sensor
is fitted at the valves, these sensors calculate the amount
of water let in to the field and this data is again collected
by the micro-controller. After the required amount of
water is sent into the field the irrigation is stopped. Also
the system is integrated with weather forecast details. This
helps the system to decide on whether to open or close the
water valve and also to decide the quantity of water to be
supplied to the crops in-case of rain. The weather forecast
details helps us to calculate the amount of rain to be
showered in an area, thus we can stop the automated
irrigation system to avoid over watering in case of rain.
This decision includes the data on forthcoming rain. Some
of the moisture sensors are also placed on the top of the
soil to ensure that it detects rain. In case of rain the system
identifies and pauses the working of the automated
irrigation system and resumes after the rain stops. The
water is sprinkled into the field using sprinklers to avoid
the wastage of water (This is possible only for certain
crops). Mostly the computer ensures that the irrigation is
done at the dawn and dusk to avoid water loss due to
evaporation. This entire system including the micro-
controllers and databases are connected to a centralized
cloud computer. This computer runs a process which takes
the decisions related to the irrigation system.
B. Pest Control
Pests are a major threat to the field of agriculture. Thus it
confusion and irritation to the pests keeping them away
from the field. In this way our ultrasonic sound emitter
helps to keep the pests away from the field boundary
thereby, preventing the damage of crops without the use of
any chemical pesticides. According to a study in the year
2002 sponsored by the Genesis Laboratory, electronic
repellents keep rodents, cockroaches and mosquitoes away.
Currently the ultrasonic sound emitting mosquito repellents
are used as a commercial product to get rid of mosquitoes.
The ultrasonic sound waves from these emitters are of high
frequency and short wavelength since they are to be
confined within the field limits. It is also learnt from certain
studies that certain pests get used to a certain low frequency
ultrasonic sound waves on constant exposure to it. But in
the proposed system uses a range of varying frequencies
between 50,000Hz to 240,000Hz to control pests and it does
not stick to using a particular frequency value for a long
period of time. Thus by varying the frequency of the
ultrasonic sound waves over a selected range would prevent
the pests from acquiring immunity against a particular low
frequency ultrasonic sound wave. On the other hand,
chemical pesticides are costly and these need to be manually
sprayed across the field thus increasing the dependency on
man-labor. The chemicals also affect the health conditions
of the farmers using them and also they require to be
sprayed in the right amount. Excess spraying of the
chemicals can be dangerous and may even lead to severe
damage of the crops. Thus the use of ultrasonic sound
emitters across the field is not only cost effective but also
helps in the healthy growth of the crops and also serves to
be very beneficial for the farmers working in the field.
C. Seed Germination and plant growth:
We have known from the recent scientific research
plants show an increase in their growth rate when they are
exposed to musical sounds. Thus the proposed system also
uses an audible frequency sound emitter which emits
musical sound waves that increases the plant’s growth rate.
These sound waves also ensures a healthy seed germination.
The effect of audible sound on germination and growth of
mung bean (Vigna radiate) was studied under laboratory
condition. Audible sound ranging 1000±ௗ+] ±
becomes an important issue to control them. Normally ௗ+] DQG ±ௗ+] DQG LQWHQVLWLHV >ௗG% $
chemicals are being used as pesticides. In the proposed
system the pests are controlled by the use of ultrasonic
sound emitters. The ultrasonic sound emitters will be placed
at various locations around the field. They operate by
emitting short wavelength, high frequency sound waves that
are too high in pitch to be heard by the human ear (generally
accepted to be frequencies greater than 20,000 Hz). Humans
are usually unable to hear sounds higher than 20 kHz due to
physiological limitations of the cochlea and they are
insensitive to ultrasonic waves. Some animals, such as bats,
dogs, and rodents, can hear well into the ultrasonic range.
Insects such as grasshoppers and locusts, can detect
frequencies from 50,000 Hz to 100,000 Hz, and
lacewings and moths can detect ultrasonic sound as high as
240,000 Hz. The ultrasonic sound waves ranging from
50,000Hz to 240,000 Hz are scientifically proven to get rid
of these pests from the field. The ultrasonic sounds confuse
the pests and it affects their brain and nervous system. The
Ultrasonic sound waves also help in reducing the mating of
pests and their reproduction and are known to cause
978-1-5090-4437-5/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
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for 72 hours. The growth of mung bean was evaluated in
terms of mean germination time, total length, and total fresh
weight. Experimental results indicated that the sound wave
can reduce the germination period of mung bean and the
mung bean under treatments of sound with intensity around
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increase in growth. Audible sound treatment can promote
the growth of mung bean differently for distinct frequency
and intensity. The study provides us with a way to
understand the effects and rules of sound field on plant
growth and a new way to improve the production of mung
bean. Researches are conducted around the world to find the
audible sound frequency that enhances the growth rate of
various crops. Thus we can use this system for various crops
by simply modifying the frequency emitted. After the
germination of seeds we can use musical sounds to enhance
the growth rate of the crops. These sound waves increase
the transpiration of water from the leaves and this is what

 2017 IEEE International Conference on Technological Innovations in ICT For Agriculture and Rural Development
(TIAR 2017)
enables the increased growth rate of plants. Each plant
requires a particular frequency for transpiration. Since our
system uses varying range of frequencies, plants can benefit
from it.
III. ARCHITECTURE DIAGRAM
IV. COMPONENTS
a. Moisture sensor:
This sensor is used to measure the water level in the
soil and also it is capable of recognizing rain water falling
on it. The moisture sensors detects if water is there in the
soil and it prompts the micro-controller very often.
b. Water Level Sensor:
This sensor is used to measure the amount of water
which is let out of the sprinkler. This data is sent to
the micro-controller. The micro-controller uses this
data to check if it has allowed the required amount
of water to the field.
c. Sound Emitter:
The sound emitter is a device which is used to
increase the growth rate of the plants in the field.
d. Ultrasonic sound emitter:
The ultrasonic sound emitter is used to emit
ultrasonic sound waves. These ultrasonic sound
waves cannot be recognized by human ear. This is
because the human ear drums are insensitive to the
sound frequencies which are in the ultrasonic
sound range. The reason is that our eardrum cannot
vibrate that fast in sync with the high frequency
waves.
978-1-5090-4437-5/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE
e. Thermistor:
This is used to measure the temperature and using this
value the micro-controller decides whether the heat in
the atmosphere is optimal for irrigation because if the
temperature is very high, it leads to evaporation of
water. Thus we can prevent the loss of water.
f. Micro-controller:
The micro-controllers are nothing but processors.
These micro-controllers have the capability to process
instructions. These micro-controllers are responsible
for controlling the functions of the various sensors and
integrating their functioning with the Central
computing system.
g. Centralized computer system:
This is a computer which is located in a remote
location and it is used to make decision. The computer
learns from all the data which is in the database about
irrigation. The computer performs data analytics and
makes decision.
h. Zigbee:
In-order to send and receive values from various
sensors in a wireless medium, the Zigbee technology is
incorporated in the system. Once the sensors records
values, they are transmitted to the database in the
centralized system using this technology.
i. Valves:
The valves are solenoid valves which are
controlled by the micro-controller. The micro-
controller sends electric pulses to close and open the
valve based on two port switches.
j. Sprinklers
A sprinkler is a device which is used to sprinkle
water. The use of sprinkler is to reduce the wastage
of water. This is achieved by sprinkling the water in
a particular direction. This method of irrigation uses
less amount of water compared to the regular system
in which a lot of water is let into the field of which
most part evaporates. Sprinkling increases the direct
water supply to the plants.
k. Database:
The database is used to store data about the water
requirements of a crop during various growth phases of
its entire life cycle. Also the database stores the weather
report of the locality. Now all these data are used by the
centralized computer to process into facts.
V. ADVANTAGES
[1] The irrigation process is completely controlled by the
computer based on artificial intelligence with the help of
sensors and micro-controllers.
[2] The system analyses weather reports before taking
decisions on irrigation.

 2017 IEEE International Conference on Technological Innovations in ICT For Agriculture and Rural Development
(TIAR 2017)

[3] The proposed system keeps the pests away from the NETWORK’, 2015 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
PERVASIVE COMPUTING (ICPC), PP 1 – 5
crops with the help of ultrasonic sound emitters. The use of
ultrasonic sounds as an alternative to the chemical pesticides [4] PONNIAH.S,’ON THE EFFECT OF MUSICAL SOUNDS OF
helps us to maintain the freshness of the crop and human STRINGED INSTRUMENTS ON THE GROWTH OF PLANTS,1955
health is not affected while taking such kind of chemical PROC.INDIAN SCI CONG.,VOL.42,NO.3,P.255
free crops.
[5]A.SATHYA,B.ARTHI,S.GIRIDHARAN,
[4] The proposed system helps in faster growth of plants and M.KARVENDAN,J.KISHORE(2016)’AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF
thus results in more crop production. IRRIGATION USING WSN’, IEEE TIAR 2016
[5] The micro controllers that are used to control the system
[6] Electronic pest control-Wikipedia
are of low cost.
[6] The ZigBee technology which is used by the system to [7] Effect of Ultrasonic Waves on Seed Germination of Lycopersicon
communicate with the database is the safest encryption Esculentum and Anethum Graveolens -A. A. RAMTEKE , U. P.
based technology. MESHRAM AND A. R. YAUL.
[7] The system is power efficient because the irrigation
system is paused in case of rain.
[8] The sensors used are highly accurate in the data they
generate and the technologies used in our system are cost
effective.
[9] The ultrasonic sound waves are of short wavelength,
thus they do not affect human health.
[10] Scientifically, birds are not affected by ultrasonic
sounds.

Thus these help in completely developing and taking

farming and agriculture to an advanced level by monitoring
even the basic issues.

VI. CONCLUSION
Development in the field of agriculture, being an important
occupation, is very important for a country like India, where
more than half the population chooses the primary
occupation as agriculture. The use of Internet of Things
(IOT) in agriculture takes it to a fully advanced level which
is the need of the hour. The climate conditions keep
changing so vastly that monitoring of different changes is
necessary for proper irrigation. Sensors for monitoring
water level and moisture level in the soil is essential to keep
the crop water sufficient as required. The sound emitters
help in increasing the growth rate of plants in the field. The
ultrasonic sound emitters keep the pests away by emitting
ultrasonic frequencies which irritate them and interrupt their
signals of communication, thus chasing them away. Thus
the proposed system automates the irrigation process,
controls the pests and increases the rate of seed germination
of various crops, by incorporating various technologies such
ass Artificial intelligence, Machine learning and Internet of
things. In future, this system can see improvements even to
predict and tackle drought situations to prevent loss of
crops.

VII. REFERENCES
[1] K. S. V. Grace, S. Kharim, P. Sivasakthi (2015) ‘Wireless sensor based
control system in agriculture field’, 2015 global conference on
communication technologies (GCCT), PP 823 – 828

[2] MARGARET E.COLLINS, JOHN E.K.FOREMAN(2001) ‘THE

EFFECT OF SOUND ON THE GROWTH OF PLANTS’, RESEARCH
ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN
ONTARIO,CANADA,PP 3-5

[3] B. CHIKANKAR, D. MEHETRE, S. DAS (2015) ‘AN AUTOMATIC

IRRIGATION SYSTEM USING ZIGBEE IN WIRELESS SENSOR

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