Application of sensor networks in agriculture

Sensor networks offer a powerful combination of distributed sensing, computing and communication. The distinguishing traits of sensor networks have a direct impact on the hardware design of the nodes at various levels: power source, processor, communication hardware, sensor nodes and actuation components. Sensor networks are also widely applied in habitat monitoring and agriculture research. An integrated network of sensors combining on the ground sensors monitoring soil moisture levels, humidity, temperature, plant growth, ground water level, disease identification together with Global positioning system facilities and long term field monitoring to absorb the variations in the agricultural field will enable the determination of risk levels in targeted regions as well as valuable information on agricultural development. The overall goal of the research and development effort described in this work is to devise an integrated system in the form of plant growth monitoring and control system comprising a distributed network of sensors for sensing the plant growth activity, drip water irrigation, temperature sensing, ground water monitoring and environmental conditions to improve the productivity in agriculture.