Farming with the utilization of IoT

The use of IoT in farming has enabled plants to get precise amounts of water, nutrients, sunlight and heat. Historically planting has always been in soil but SiO2 is not consumed. Plants given mechanical support will grow with their roots in a container of nutritious water. Such hydroponics can achieve 30-50% faster growth, with less space/output, utilizing 1000% less water. Light can either be from the sun penetrating greenhouses or from LEDs. Such systems have enabled the tiny country of Netherlands to become the second largest exporter of food in the world. This must be the solution to supply food to an ever-increasing population of humans. In this research done in 2021, tomato plants were grown in coco pit mixed with perlite in four Dutch buckets with an automated irrigation system. The output plants were compared with control grown in the soil in clay pots. The temperature, moisture, pH and EC were monitored. Data from two sensors were exported to a laptop over Bluetooth. The usage of solar panels to power the system was also studied. The overall results indicate 34 - 67% better characteristics for the plants grown with this technique compared to the control grown in normal soil.