I-Corps: Internet of Things (IoT)-based Irrigation Sensor Monitoring System

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the potential development of an irrigation management technology. Irrigated farms comprise only 6% of the U.S. total land under cultivation but irrigated farm product sales make up 39% of total U.S. farm sales, worth over $152 billion in 2016. Irrigation can reduce the effects of erratic precipitation, prolonged dryness, and resulting plant moisture stress. Because of this benefit, irrigation has been used to grow a wide variety of crops such as corn, soybean, vegetables, forage, orchards, cotton, wheat, sorghum, rice, and oats. Many areas in the U.S. experience droughts, more erratic precipitation, and concerns with food security. This proposed project could help farmers make better water and disease management decisions to maximize their crop production and quality. This I-Corps project is based on the development of an IoT (Internet of Things)-based irrigation management package (hardware and software (website and smartphone app)). The proposed technology continuously measures soil moisture levels, leaf wetness duration, temperature, and humidity. The data is sent to an IoT cloud webserver using an embedded cellular modem. This allows farmers to access the data anywhere using their computers or smartphone. The collected sensor data is processed using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to determine irrigation timing and amount, as well as fungicide spray timing. There is growing interest in improving irrigation water use efficiency and disease management by potato farmers. Potatoes benefit from irrigation management because of the significant effect of irrigation on both yield and quality including yield loss, misshapen tubers, vascular necrosis, or hollow heart defects. Improper irrigation schedules or unnecessary irrigation can waste resources and can possibly increase the potential risk of plant diseases which can reduce yield and quality of product, including during storage, which negatively affects the sustainability and economics of production. Proper water management is critical to minimize the potential disease risk in potato production and to potentially improve potato quality and yield.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.