Testing/Monitoring of Soil Chemical Level Using Wireless Sensor Network Technology

ABSTRACT Demographically agriculture accounts for the broadest economic sector and plays a key role in the overall socioeconomic development of India. Despite attaining self-sufficiency in food staples, the productivity of Indian farms is below that of other nations. The low productivity is a result of inadequate use and adoption of modern agricultural practices and technologies, affected by negligence of such practices, high costs and impracticality in the case of small land holdings. The application of commercial N, P, and K fertilizers has contributed to a tremendous increase in yields of agricultural crops. However, excessive use of these fertilizers has been cited as a source of contamination of surface and groundwater. There are different stages in crop cultivation and each stage requires different nutrient levels. Therefore, a farmer has to spend a lot of time in monitoring the fields. With recent advancement in Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) technology, various techniques are available to measure soil nutrients. On the basis of knowledge of soil nutrients level, farmers can enhance the crop productivity because insufficient nutrient levels can adversely affect crop productivity while excess nutrient levels will either have a similar effect or simply be wasted.