Design and Implementation of a Multi-Field Irrigation Monitoring System Using LabVIEW and Remote Control via Arduino

Abstract

Irrigation consumes most of the agricultural water, and it is the process of supplying land with water. Traditional methods, such as manual pumps and irrigation channels, relied on inaccurate techniques for estimating crop needs of water, leading to problems such as over-irrigation and the resulting waste of water, leaching of nutrients, loss of soil fertility, and degradation of its quality. With the increasing demands for food and water scarcity, there is a need to find solutions to rationalize water consumption in agriculture and enhance irrigation efficiency. This research aims to design and implement an automated irrigation system in two fields (A and B) and control it remotely, ensuring effective management of water resources in agriculture. The system uses a set of sensors to measure various environmental factors such as soil moisture, temperature, light intensity, and water level in the irrigation tank. The data is collected from the sensors is wirelessly transmitted via two communication units (nRF24L01-E) to the main control unit (Arduino UNO), which processes it to determine the amount of water needed for each field. A graphical user interface is designed using LabVIEW to display the data visually, allowing farmers to monitor the system's performance and make appropriate decisions. Consequently, water pumps are remotely controlled to provide the appropriate amount of water at the right time and maintain the required water level in the irrigation tank. The system demonstrated its ability to improve water use efficiency that would increase crop productivity, and reduce the negative effects of traditional irrigation.