A BJT Based Soil Moisture Sensor for Irrigation Monitoring
Sanyam Agarwal1,*, Arvind Gautam2, Pankaj Singh3 and Rohit Sharma3
1,*Bansal Institute of Engineering &Technology, Meerut
2SDCollege of Engineering &Technology Muzaffarnagar,
3SRM University, Ghaziabad
A soil moisture sensor is an integral aspect of the various precise irrigation techniques. This paper focuses on a BJT based soil moisture sensor which can be implemented in a large array spreading throughout an irrigated field. Soil conductivity depends on the moisture content around the probes. This is particularly useful for monitoring moisture levels around roots of crops planted in an organized manner. The network architecture allows real time monitoring. A microcontroller is used to scan the array of sensors for output values by operating a switch IC, to calculate the moisture percentage value corresponding to the voltage output of each sensor, to display the percentage moisture value or to operate the valves in drip irrigation or sprinkler systems. The whole architecture is easy to implement and cost-effective. The paper also shows the results of the experiments conducted using this sensor to highlight the effect of the potash and urea fertilizers on the soil properties.
