Autogation: An Alternate Wetting and Drying-Based Automatic Irrigation and Paddy Water Level Control System through Internet of Things

Abstract

This paper aims to develop an automated irrigation system adopting the safe Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and an Internet-based irrigation monitoring.\xa0 A safe AWD is an irrigation method where the rice paddy is alternately submerged and subsided, with the maximum irrigation water level being 150mm above the ground and critical level of 100mm below the ground. The proposed system automates irrigation by considering the current and required field water level. It determines and manages the irrigation schedule depending on the sensor’s gathered data and acts upon it. It controls the irrigation delivery gate to open or close the counterweight-designed water gate valve considering the smart schedule set by it. The system saved about 20% of water usage within three weeks in a two-hectare area with four weirs compared to the traditional irrigation method. The results show that adopting the proposed system significantly increases land productivity and water use efficiency without affecting the quality and quantity of the rice crops produced.