Agritech - IOT in Agritech

Quiz

IoT stands for Internet of Things, which refers to a network of interconnected device which communicate and exchange data over internet. In agriculture, IoT sensors are used for monitoring crop health, soil moisture content, temperature, and humidity. IoT is used in precision farming, livestock monitoring system, and pest detection and management.

Key Components of IoT in Agriculture

Sensors: Sensors are essential part of Iot which collects data of crop health, nutrition level, soil moisture content, temperature and humidity.
Connectivity: Connectivity refers to communication channels using which data transmission from IoT devices to centralized systems takes place. For e.g: Cellular network, Wifi and Satellite connections.
Software: It refers to softwares and tools to process and analyze data received from IoT devices for better decision making.
User Interface: It refers to any platform using which farmers access data. Such platforms can be mobile applications or dashboards.

Sensors

Sensors are the devices which is used to collect and access real-time data about various conditions of crop, soil, and temperature.

Types of Sensors

There are various types of IoT sensors used in the agriculture. Some of the IoT sensors are mentioned below:

Soil Moisture Sensors: These sensors measures moisture content of soil which helps in smart irrigation systems.
Temperature Sensors: These type of sensor measures soil and air temperature to monitor plant health or predict weather patterns so farmers can take preventive measures.
Nutrient Sensors: Nutrient sensors measures the nutritional value of soil.
Humidity Sensors: These sensors measures the humidity of air and soil.
pH sensors: It is used to record the pH value of soil.

Data Collection Methods

Wireless Sensor Networks: It consist of interconnected sensors placed in entire farm for monitoring soil moisture, temperature, humidity, and more and transmit these data wirelessly using Wi-Fi or cellular network to a central system, like cloud platform or local computer, to process and analyze the obtained data.
Wired sensors: In wired data collection method, wired sensors are connected directly to central system using cables providing reliability and security.
Remote Sensing Technologies: It makes use of satellites or drones to keep surveillance and collect data about farms. Remote sensing technologies are ideal for covering vast areas for large-scale operations.
Satellites capture multi-spectral images which provides insights of large-scale operations. It monitors vegetation health, soil conditions, and crop growth patterns over time.

Drones are used to monitor and get insights on crops health and soil analysis using its cameras and sensors. It can be also used for spraying insecticides and pesticides.
Mobile Applications: Farmers can use mobile applications to manually enter the date of fertilization, insecticide schedules, and planting dates. Based on these data, they get recommendations on when to water the crops or apply fertilizers. It can be also used for real-time monitoring by connecting through IoT devices.

Role of IoT in Farming

Enhancing Decision Making: IoT provide farmers with real time data using sensors and other IoT devices. These data helps them to optimize their inputs such as water, fertilizers and insecticides. With the insights from these data they can take efficient actions according to the requirement.
Improving Resource Efficiency: IoT helps farmers to monitor crops health, soil moisture content and nutritional level. By using these data they can efficiently use their resources. For example: irrigation based on data of soil moisture content will allow farmers to water the crops as per needs of soil and plants rather than flooding the whole field overwatering the crops.
Increasing Productivity: Farmers can use data from sensors and analytics to choose best practices for the specific types of crops. It helps them to choose methods best fit for the crops and use their resources accordingly. It helps to boost and increase the productivity of crops.

Applications of IoT in Agriculture

There are various applications of IoT in agriculture. Some of the applications are mentioned below:

Automated Irrigation Systems: IoT sensors monitors the soil moisture content of the field. When the moisture content of soil drops below a pre specified threshold value, system automatically activates water discharge to the fields for irrigation. This help in avoiding water wastage, reducing labor cost and crops receives water as per requirement.
Precision Farming: Precision farming makes use of IoT to efficiently use water, fertilizers, and pesticides. Key techniques of precision farming includes: Variable Rate Irrigation(VRI) which adjust water rates according to need of different irrigation zones and Targeted Fertilization monitors soil nutrients and crop health to apply fertilizers only when needed.
Smart Greenhouses: Smart Greenhouses make use of IoT sensors to monitor and control environmental conditions such as humidity, temperature and light. It automatically adjusts fans, heating, or ventilation systems depending on the humidity, temperature, and CO2 level inside greenhouse.
Livestock Monitoring System: Livestock monitoring system uses IoT to monitor health, behavior, and location of farm animals. Sensors monitor vital signs, activity levels, and feeding patterns which helps farmers to on getting useful data and insights about farm productivity. Sensors collects data of heart rate, body temperature, and activity levels. This data is used to detect illness in animals. GPS tracks animals movement pattern to detect any abnormal movement patterns.

Limitations of IoT in Agriculture

Data Security: There is concern of privacy and data security with various devices connected together. They should make sure that there data is protected from unauthorized access and breaches.
Cost: Initial Cost of buying all the IoT equipments can be high and not affordable by many small-scale farmers.
Connectivity and Power Supply: Reliable connectivity and power supply may not be available in rural areas.

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