In Thailand, mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) production is essential for domestic consumption and export. Mangosteen without scars on their surface is considered high-quality fruit. Scars reduce their market demand. The common cause of scars is thrips infestation. Humidity is an important climatic factor that affects the thrips populations. Lower humidity inside the mangosteen canopy increases the thrips numbers. Thus, increasing humidity can control the thrips population. This study developed a smart watering system to increase the humidity inside the mangosteen canopy in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, southern Thailand. This system provided water automatically and increased humidity inside the mangosteen canopy.

Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) production is important in Thailand for domestic consumption and export in other countries. High-quality mangosteen is considered when there is no scar on the surface. Thrips infestation is a common cause of scars which reduces the market value of mangosteen. Thrips density is highly affected by humidity; higher humidity decreases thrips numbers. In this study, a smart watering system was designed, developed, and used to increase the humidity and reduce thrips numbers inside mangosteen canopy in Southern Thailand. The system successfully reduced the thrips numbers. This study also shows a negative correlation between humidity and thrips numbers.