Scientists of the Indira Gandhi Agriculture University (IGKV) have developed a smart sensor-based automated drip irrigation system.
The system works automatically when the soil-humidity decreases, thus saving water.
Agriculture scientists Dr Dheeraj Xalxo, Dr M. P. Tripathi and engineer Prafulla Katare jointly developed the system.
Vice Chancellor IGKV Dr S. K. Patil appreciated the success of the system and termed it beneficial to farmers, as it will help to reduce the quantity of water for irrigation.
The inventors said based on the soil water content, the smart sensor has been developed. It has been tested successfully for the last two years.
On its working, one of the scientists said, “The sensor system works on the principle of electricity flow. In millisecond, the electricity to the range of four milliampere (mA) to 20 milliampere is passed through the soil. By analysing the data generated by electricity flow, accurate status of soil humidity is identified.â€
They further explained that when the soil humidity is less than the required degree, the drip irrigation system starts automatically. This helps to maintain the required humidity of the soil.
“The system has been tested on different variant of vegetable crops successfully. It has helped to provide better yield. IGKV students were also involved in the project to develop the system,†one of the inventors said. Vice Chancellor Patil directed the scientists to extend such system to other crops also. As per reports, the cost of system is bare minimum.
