Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The world today is very different from a century ago. Humanity is now experiencing
extreme climate changes that have become a problem which has undoubtedly affected their daily
lives. One of these problems is Drought. Harvesting crops are one of the most basic things for a
man to do in order to survive, but due to the extreme heat of the sun, their progress is hindered.
The solution to the problem is to Irrigate. Irrigation is defined as the watering of land by artificial
means to foster plant growth.
Irrigation is important for feeding the world requires a lot of water. In the field of
agriculture, use of proper method of irrigation is important because the main reason is the lack of
rains & scarcity of land reservoir water. The continuous extraction of water from earth is
reducing the water level due to which lot of land is coming slowly in the zones of un-irrigated
land; this is due to unplanned use of water due to which a significant amount of water goes
waste.
In most countries more water is used for irrigating land than for any other purpose.
Globally 70% of all water taken from river, lake and groundwater systems supports irrigated
crops and the feeding and watering of animals. Irrigation allows farmers and gardeners to
efficiently use water to guarantee plant growth. For householders, its usually about keeping the
lawns green, growing healthy vegetables and creating a lush and vibrant garden.
Farmers, orchardists and winegrowers use irrigation to maximize plant potential and to
deliver sufficient quality crops and produce to market to meet consumer expectations. Stock
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farmers use irrigation to ensure they can grow enough feed for their animals and to maintain
paddock health and so many more! - not surprising given agriculture is the backbone of our
economy.
It is a fact that an Irrigated farmland generates at least three times as much production as
an equivalent area farmed under a dry-land system (a farm, orchard or market garden with no
irrigation).
This study was brought up with the idea of helping our fellow farmers in growing out
crops throughout the Philippines. The researchers proposed a system that will help monitor &
provide the farmers the water they need in encountering such problem using an automatic plant
irrigation system.
Objectives of the Study
The general objective of the study is to implement a Solar Powered Auto- Irrigation
System and Monitoring Through GSM to help farmers who are having a difficult time in the
agriculture field to control water pumps manually by making use of the abundant and
environmental friendly form of energy; Solar Energy.
Specifically, the research study aims to:
1. Design a complete circuit of Solar Powered Auto Irrigation System for farmers
that can perform the following:
a. Power 8051 microcontroller with a Solar Photo Voltaic Cell with regulated
5 volts output.
b. Detect the moisture level of the ground using a moisture sensor connected
a comparator circuit to the microcontroller.

c. Provide indication using Light Emitting Diodes and a Liquid Crystal

Display:
i. Red Light Indicator The motor is OFF and stopped pumping
water to the irrigation.
ii. Green Light Indicator The motor is ON and pumping water to the
irrigation.
iii. Yellow Light Indicator The ground moisture level is good and
stable.
2. Fabricate the prototype as designed:
3. Develop a program using 8051 microcontroller that will control the indicators and
the pumping motor.
4. Test and further improve the prototype in terms of sensitivity, accuracy and
reliability:
a. Output voltage of the Solar Photo Voltaic Cell
b. Accuracy of Moisture Sensor and GSM Module
c. Response time of the Relay Circuit
d. Effectivity of LED and LCD Indicators
e. Rigidness of the device
f. Resistance of the device from water and dirt
5. Evaluate the aesthetics, functionality, workability, economy, stability, durability,
reliability and safety of the system.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study covers the design, fabrication, testing and evaluation of the development of the
auto- irrigation system and monitoring through GSM on agricultural fields. It is designed to
provide all farmers a monitoring system for supervising an area of their choice that is in need of
irrigation.
The system is composed of a circuit which comprises of sensor parts built using op-amp
IC. Op-amps are configured here as a comparator. Two stiff copper wires are inserted in the soil
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to sense whether the soil is wet or dry. A microcontroller is used to control the whole system by
monitoring the sensors and when sensors sense dry condition of soil, then the microcontroller
will send command to relay driver IC the contacts of which are used to switch on the motor and
it will switch off the motor when the soil is in wet condition.
The microcontroller does the above job as it receives the signal from the sensors through
the output of the comparator, and these signals operate under the control of software which is
stored in ROM of the microcontroller. The condition of the pump i.e., ON/OFF is displayed on a
16X2 LCD which is interfaced to the microcontroller. Furthermore, the project can be enhanced
by interfacing it with a GSM modem to prompt over for the switching operation of the motor.
This project is only limited in farm irrigation systems which is abundant in Philippines
setting. The device will be installed in the area near a deep well, a water reservoir tanks or other
sources of water available for pumping into the irrigation fields. It will be positioned so that it is
strategically abundant with sunlight for the solar panels having a charging battery attached for
night operations of the device. The pumping time of water from the reservoirs will be variable in
dependent with the scope and wide of the irrigation fields.