Univerzitet u Beogradu Poljoprivredni fakultet Institut za poljoprivrednu tehniku Naučni časopis POLJOPRIVREDNA TEHNIKA Godina XLIX Broj 4, 2024. Strane: 1 – 15 University of Belgrade Faculty of Agriculture Institute of Agricultural Engineering Scientific Journal AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING Year XLIX No. 4, 2024. pp. 1 – 15 Original Scientific paper Originalni naučni rad DOI:10.5937/PoljTeh2404001A DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATED DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM USING SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR Ifechukwude I. Ahuchaogu 1 , Enoch E. Okwong 1 , Unwana I. Udoumoh 1 , Precious O. Ehiomogue 2 , Udeme Wilson 1 1 Department of Agricultural and Food Engineering, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria 2 Department of Agricultural and Bio-Resources Engineering, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike,, Nigeria Abstract: Irrigation has been a major boost to agricultural practices but significant amount of water is still wasted due to poor irrigation application and scheduling. To optimize the use of available water, there is a need to improve irrigation systems using internet of things (IoT) approach. In this study, an Arduino board, microcontroller, soil moisture sensors, battery, relay module, soil, and 12V solenoid valve were used and connected together through a wireless communication network (NRF24L01 wireless transceiver module) and a cloud platform (Blynk) for storing data. The system was tested for a period of four weeks. During the period of testing, the system observed eighteen automatically scheduled irrigation events. Simple descriptive statistical analysis of soil moisture data revealed mean values; 37.09, 35.68, 37.05, and 39.26 in weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4 respectively, and mean average of 37.27. Weeks 3 & 4 displayed higher average soil moisture content (38.15) compared to weeks 1 & 2 (36.39), this is due to recorded rainfall in the study area in weeks 3 and 4. Soil moisture content ranged between 66.30m 3 m -3 ̶ 16.00m 3 m -3 with standard deviation of ±8.25. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test confirmed this difference to be statistically significant (p-value=0.001), suggesting potential factors (soil type, sensor type, depth of insertion, etc.) influencing soil moisture over time. The system achieved 55.25% water saving when compared to manual method of irrigation. More study should be done in integrating stable network connections (Wi-Fi) and solar systems to power the system without fail. *Corresponding Author. E-mail: unwanaobong12@gmail.com ORCID: 0000-0002-4873-7883