Water Sap flow and Soil Moisture Measurements for an Automatic Irrigation Control System

Abstract

A sound water management requires accurate field data inquiry that can eventually allow for a proper control of the field’s irrigation. This work pro-poses an automatic irrigation control system that aims at optimizing the quantity of water needed for plants’ growth. The system consists of three key blocks: first, the continuous inquiry of the physical characteristics of the plant; second, the control unit to decide upon the actions to launch by the actuation unit; and third the actuation unit that sets parameters for pumps and valves. Conventional smart irrigation control systems use soil moister sensors which neglect the plant’s physiology as a monitoring factor, so this paper suggests the use of a sap flow sensor that accurately evaluates the plant’s condition; hence, decide upon the proper water distribution, illustrated with preliminary experimental results.