Project Abstract

Abstract
Soil moisture plays a crucial role in agriculture and environmental monitoring. Monitoring soil moisture levels can help in optimizing irrigation strategies, preventing water wastage, and enhancing crop productivity. In this project, a soil moisture detector with an automatic SMS notification system is designed and implemented to provide real-time information about soil moisture levels. The system consists of soil moisture sensors placed at different depths in the soil to measure the moisture content accurately. These sensors are connected to a microcontroller unit that processes the sensor data and triggers the SMS notification system when the moisture levels fall below or exceed the set thresholds. The SMS notification system is integrated with a GSM module that enables the system to send text messages to the user's mobile phone. The design also includes a user-friendly interface that allows the user to set the desired moisture thresholds and phone numbers for receiving notifications. The system is powered by a rechargeable battery, making it suitable for remote and off-grid locations where continuous power supply may not be available. The implementation of the system involved developing the hardware components, including the sensor nodes, microcontroller unit, GSM module, and power supply unit. The software development included programming the microcontroller to read sensor data, compare it with the set thresholds, and trigger the SMS notification system accordingly. The user interface was designed to be intuitive and easy to use, allowing users to configure the system parameters and receive real-time notifications. The soil moisture detector with automatic SMS notification system provides a cost-effective and efficient solution for monitoring soil moisture levels in agricultural fields, gardens, and other applications. By providing real-time information about soil moisture, the system helps farmers and gardeners make informed decisions about irrigation scheduling, leading to water conservation and improved crop yields. Overall, the designed system offers a practical and user-friendly solution for monitoring soil moisture levels and receiving timely notifications, thereby contributing to sustainable agriculture practices and environmental conservation efforts.

Project Overview

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Through the ages agriculture production systems have benefited from the incorporation of technological advances primarily developed for other industries. The industrial age brought mechanization and synthesized fertilizers, the technological age offered genetic engineering and now the information age brings the potential for Precision Agriculture (Rasher, 2001). Precision agriculture (PA) , satellite farming or Site Specific Crop Management (SSCM) can be defined as a set of technologies that have helped propel agriculture into the computerized information-based world, and is designed to help farmers get greater control over the management of farm operations (Gandonou, 2005). One of the key technologies of precision agriculture is the control and accurate measurement of the soil moisture. For decades, the subject of soil moisture has been of great interest in agricultural system. Prior to advancement in agriculture, farmer has picked up and felt a handful of soil to determine the best time to plow his fields and equally to manually determine the amount of moisture content of the soil. Soil moisture measurement ranges from the method of feeling the soil to the use of complicated electronic equipment using radioactive substances. Such method includes the use of soil sensor. Since the inception of precision agriculture, soil sensors have been used to measure the soil moisture level. The soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content of the soil by using electrical resistance, dielectric constant, etc. The farmer uses the information obtained from the soil moisture sensor to make
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