Automatic Control of Agricultural Pumps Based

on Soil Moisture Sensing

SEMINAR REPORT

Submitted by

ATHIL MUSTHAFA

In partial fulfilment for the award of the degree

Of

Bachelor of Technology

In

ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS ENGINEERING

Of

MAHATHMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS

ENGINEERING

KMEA ENGINEERING COLLEGE

EDATHALA
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the seminar report entitled
Automatic Control of Agricultural Pumps Based
on Soil Moisture Sensing

is a bonafide record of the work done by Mr/MS ATHIL MUSTHAFA ,Roll No. 13007316 under our
supervision, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Degree of Bachelor of Technology in
Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Mahatma Gandhi University ,Kottayam for the year 2016- 2017.

Designation, Dept of EEE Designation, Dept. of EEE

Seminar Co-ordinator Seminar Guide

Professor and Head

Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Date:

(Dept. Seal)
 Automatic Control of Agricultural Pumps Based
on Soil Moisture Sensing

ABSTRACT

The design and simulation of an electronic system for automatic controlling of

water pumps that are used for agricultural fields or plant watering based on the
level of soil moisture sensing. The detected signal from the soil moisture sensor is
processed by a conditional comparator circuit corresponding to different levels of
actual soil moisture content. A logic circuit follows the conditional circuit with its
output signals used to activate a system of relays that control the power circuit of
the motors used for water pumping. The speed of the motor is varied according to
the level of the soil moisture content; the motor is OFF during maximum wet and
is running with HIGH speed during dry soil conditions respectively. The duration
of water pumping is controlled by a timer circuit where the timer can be designed
according to the desired watering time. The different stages of the overall
electronic system are simulated and tested using NI MULTISIM simulation
software. The technique is useful to save human-power, enhances crop or plant
productivity, saves water and provides proper water management to ensure
efficient and viable farming industry especially in those places that receive less
rain or mostly dry areas.

Submitted by,

ATHIL MUSTHAFA

S7 EEE
 CONTENTS

 MOTIVATION
 INTRODUCTION
 IRRIGATION
 SYSTEM OVERVIEW
 SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR AND CONDITIONAL CIRCUIT
 BLOCK DIAGRAM AND CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
 RELAY CONTROLLED POWER CIRCUIT AND THE LOGIC
CONTROLLER
 RELAY SWITCHING STATES CORRESPONDING TO THE
COMPARATOR OUTPUTS FOR THE DIFFERENT SOIL MOISTURE
CONTENT CASES
 NI- MULTISIM
 MUTLISIM SIMULATION RESULTS FOR THE POWER CIRCUIT
 FUTURE EXTENSION
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCE
 MOTIVATION

The increasing demand of the food supplies requires a rapid improvement in food
production technology. In many countries where agriculture plays an important
part in shaping up the economy and the climatic conditions are isotropic, but still
we are not able to make full use of agricultural resources. One of the main reasons
is the lack of rains & scarcity of land reservoir water. Extraction of water at regular
intervals from earth is reducing the water level as a result of which the zones of un-
irrigated land are gradually increasing.
Also, the unplanned use of water inadvertently results in wastage of water. In an
Automated Irrigation System, the most significant advantage is that water is
supplied only when the moisture in soil goes below a pre-set threshold value. This
saves us a lot of water. In recent times, the farmers have been using irrigation
technique through the manual control in which the farmers irrigate the land at
regular intervals by turning the water-pump on/off when required. This process
sometimes consumes more water and sometimes the water supply to the land is
delayed due to which the crops dry out. Water deficiency deteriorates plants
growth before visible wilting occurs. In addition to this slowed growth rate, lighter
weight fruit follows water deficiency.
This problem can be perfectly rectified if we use Automated Irrigation System in
which the irrigation will take place only when there will be intense requirement of
water, as suggested by the moisture in the soil.
 INTRODUCTION

The continuous increasing demand of food requires the

rapid improvement in food production technology. In a
country like India, where the economy is mainly based on
agriculture and the climatic conditions are isotropic, still
we are not able to make full use of agricultural resources.
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. Another
very important reason of this is due to unplanned use of
water due to which a significant amount of water goes to
waste.
In modern drip irrigation systems, the most significant
advantage is that water is supplied near the root zone of
the plants drip by drip due to which a large quantity of
water is saved. At the present era, the farmers have been
using irrigation techniques in India through manual control
in which farmers irrigate the land at the regular intervals.
This process sometimes consumes more water or
sometimes the water reaches late due to which crops
Get dried. Water deficiency can be detrimental to plants
before visible wilting occurs. Slowed growth rate, lighter
weight fruit follows slight water deficiency. This problem
can be perfectly rectified if we use automatic micro
controller based drip irrigation system in which the
irrigation will take place only when there will be acute
requirement of water.
 IRRIGATION

Irrigation system uses valves to turn irrigation ON and

OFF. These valves may be easily automated by using
controllers and solenoids. Automating farm or nursery
irrigation allows farmers to apply the right amount of
water at the right time, regardless of the availability of
labor to turn valves on and off. In addition, farmers using
automation equipment are able to reduce runoff from over
watering saturated soils, avoid irrigating at the wrong time
of day, which will improve crop performance by ensuring
adequate water and nutrients when needed. Automatic
control in highly specialized greenhouse vegetable
production and it is a simple, precise method for
irrigation. It also helps in time saving, removal of human
error in adjusting available soil moisture levels and to
maximize their net profits.
Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil
usually for assisting in growing crops. In crop production
it is mainly used in dry areas and in periods of rainfall
shortfalls, but also to protect plants against frost.
Types of Irrigation
Surface irrigation
Localized irrigation
Drip Irrigation
Sprinkler irrigation
The conventional irrigation methods like overhead
sprinklers, flood type feeding systems usually wet the
lower leaves and stem of the plants. The entire soil
surface is saturated and often stays wet long after irrigation
is completed. Such condition promotes infections by leaf
mold fungi. On the contrary the drip or trickle irrigation is
a type of modern irrigation technique that slowly applies
small amounts of water to part of plant root zone. Water is
supplied frequently, often daily to maintain favorable soil
moisture condition and prevent moisture stress in the plant
with proper use of water resources. Drip irrigation saves
water because only the plant’s root zone receives moisture.
Little water is lost to deep percolation if the proper amount
is applied. Drip irrigation is popular because it can
increase yields and decrease both water requirements and
labor.
Drip irrigation requires about half of the water needed by
sprinkler or surface irrigation. Lower operating pressures
and flow rates result in reduced energy costs. A higher
degree of water control is attainable.
Plants can be supplied with more precise amounts of
water. Disease and insect damage is reduced because plant
foliage stays dry. Operating cost is usually reduced.
Federations may continue during the irrigation process because rows between may
dry.
 SYSTEM OVERVIEW

The proposed system comprises a resistive soil moisture

sensor (with voltage output readings), a conditional circuit,
which modifies the sensor voltage outputs to a suitable level
for comparison purposes, a digital logic circuit, a timer
circuit, a TRIAC based power circuit controlled by a system
of relays used for adjusting the required level of input voltage
for the motor pumps. The digital logic controller generates a
suitable logic command for controlling the switching states of
the relays and the timer circuit controls the working duration
of the motor pumps.
 SOIL MOISTURE SENSOR AND CONDITIONAL CIRCUIT

The soil moisture sensor is an electrical resistance sensing

device like WATERMARK soil moisture sensor and it
provides different voltage reading outputs corresponding to the
amount of soil water tension. In the proposed design, we
assumed sensor resistance of Rs =2kΩ (voltage output reading
= 100 mV) to Rs = 22kΩ (voltage output reading = 1 V)
corresponding to soil maximum wet and soil dry threshold
conditions respectively [7], [9], [16], [17]. The water pump is
not working during the maximum wet condition as the soil is
assumed to contain enough water for the farm land, on the other
hand, the water pump will be working at high speed during the
soil dry conditions in order to provide sufficient water for the
farm land. Between maximum wet and dry conditions, we have three other
intermediate levels showing the degree of soil moisture
content condition. All the levels in sequence of decrease
moisture content are: maximum wet, over-mid wet, medium
wet, minimum wet and dry conditions. Therefore, we have four
different water pump speeds in an increasing order
corresponding to the over-mid wet, medium wet, minimum wet
and dry conditions. We assumed that water pumping is
necessary for the four conditions as the soil water isn’t enough
to support the healthy growth of the plants or crops in the farm
land. However, the speed of water pumping is minimum for the
minimum wet condition and highest for the dry conditions in
order to discharge minimum and the highest quantity of water
respectively to the farm land. The sensor output voltage is often low level
amplitude and hence the signal is amplified by th econditional circuit in order to
make suitable decision voltage intervals between the different soil moisture
conditions. A feedback operational amplifier of gain, G =10 is used to bring the
minimum and maximum sensor voltage thresholds to 1 volt and 10 Volts
respectively [15]. The rest of the conditional
circuit consists of four comparators suitable for the decision
making between the four different soil conditions that require
water-pumping as shown in Fig. 2. A buffer follows at the
output of the comparator circuits to obtain a clear HIGH and
LOW voltage levels. The buffer high output voltage (+15 V) is
logical 1 and the buffer low output voltage (0 V) is logic 0.
Table I shows the different soil moisture content cases and their
corresponding output voltages. The corresponding speeds of the
motor for the different soil moisture conditions are also given in
the Table I. The motor is expected to be in the OFF conditions
when in maximum wet condition and hence all the comparator
outputs are zero volts in effect de-activating all the relays and
the relays disconnect the motor from the power supply making
it OFF. The other extreme condition is the dry condition where
all the relays are working so that the motor is getting the
maximum rms supply voltage and hence the motor running at
the maximum speed to provide highest quantity of water to the
farm land.
BLOCK DIAGRAM AND CIRCUIT DIAGRAM
RELAY CONTROLLED POWER CIRCUIT AND
THE LOGIC CONTROLLER

The output signals from the comparator circuit are used to

activate a system of relays that in turn control the level of
power supplied to the motor water pump by connecting and
disconnecting different resistance values to the power circuit.
The relay switching contacts are connected to a TRIAC based
power circuit and the relays are used to control the resistances
that will be connected and disconnected to the power circuit,
where the level of the power supplied to the load motor is
controlled by varying the charging time constant (RC) of a
capacitor connected to the gate terminal of the TRIAC. In this
design, we consider three relay switches to provide the five
speed options shown in Table I. Fig. 3 shows the TRIAC
based power circuit with the three relay switch contacts. The
diodes D4, D5, D6, and D7 function as bridge full wave
rectifier circuit as we are assuming that the pumps are working
with a DC motor load.
For the power circuit shown in Fig. 3, Vin is the input AC
source voltage; RL is the load resistance which simulates the
motor pump. The switches Relay 1, Relay 2, and Relay 3 are
the three relay switch contacts that are controlled by the
comparator voltage outputs discussed in section III after
passing through a certain combinational logic circuit. The
control command from digital logic circuit can be “logic 1”
(HIGH Voltage) that closes on the relay switch contacts or
“logic 0” (LOW or ideally zero voltage) that deactivates the
relays and makes the relay contacts open. In this way, the
resistances R1, R2, and R3 can be either connected or
disconnected from the power circuit according to the soil
moisture conditions. We consider five soil moisture content
cases discussed above Case 0 (maximum wet), case 1 (overmid
wet), case 2 (medium wet), case 3 (minimum wet) and
case 4(dry). Let the open and closed states of relay contacts
are logic 0 and logic 1 respectively and let the total resistance
controlled by the relays at a given state is R, which can for
example be R1+R2+R3=503.3kΩ when the relay 1 is closed and
the two other relays are open. Table II shows the relay states
and the total resistance values for the five cases. In case of maximum wet (case 0),
we have motor switched OFF state since the power supply is cutoff. During the
switched ON condition of the TRIAC, we have four different cases of motor speed
conditions. When soil moisture state is case 1, we have high total resistance (high
RC time constant); the capacitor takes longest charging time to switch on the
TRIAC. Hence the load gets minimum power or the
motor is running in its minimum speed supplying minimum
water to the farm land. During case 2, we have the contacts for
Relay1 (Ry1) and Relay3 (Ry3) in the closed state and Relay 2
(Ry2) in the open state, R= R1+R2=336.3kΩ and the power
circuit provides medium power to the motor and hence the
motor is running at medium speed. During case 3; Ry1 and
Ry2 are in the ON state and Ry3 in the OFF state, R=
R1+R3=170.3 kΩ, the circuit provides the third level of power
(over medium) and lastly when case 4; all relays are in the ON
state, which means R= R1=3.3kΩ (lowest time constant) and
the circuit provides the maximum power to the motor and
hence maximum motor speed during this soil dry condition.
The firing angle or equivalently the time the TRIAC starts to
be in a conducting state within one period of the AC voltage is
highest during case 1 and lowest during case 4. The switched ON and switched
OFF state of the relays
shown in Fig. 3 is achieved by combinational digital logic
circuit and a transistor relay switching circuit that is a follow
up of the conditional circuit. Table III shows the truth table for
the output condition of the three relays for the different soil
moisture content cases. Consider the logical states of the four
comparators & buffer outputs for VA, VB, VC, and VD are simply
denoted by A, B, C, D, respectively. Using Table III and after
logic analysis and simplification, the inputs to the three relays
are given as:
Ry = D 1 (1)
Ry = B 2 (2)
Ry A B'C 3 = + (3)
Where B’ denotes the complement of B. Fig. 4 shows the
switching transistor circuit diagram that drives relay 1 and
used in our MULTISIM simulation. When only relay 1 is in
the ON state, the motor is working at minimum speed. The
duration of the working time of the motor pump can be
controlled by the 555-timer circuit. The output of the 555 timer
circuit can be combined with the output of logic circuits as given in relations (1)-
(3) with AND gate to control the overall
switching states of the relay 1, relay 2, and relay 3. Therefore
the digital control signal for relay 1 is modified as:
1 1 3 3 Ry R Tm DTm T y = = , (4)
Where Ry1T output of AND gate, Tm3 is the output signal of
the 555 timer at pin 3, Ry1 is as given in relation (1). The
transistor, T1, will be switched ON when the output of the
AND gate as given in (4) is 1, Ry1T =1 (+15 V) and in this case,
relay 1 will get activated and its switching contact in the power
circuit be in a CLOSED condition. When Ry1T =0 (0 V), the
transistor T1 will be in a switched OFF state and the relay1
will be de-activated and the relay switching contact in the
power circuit be in an OPEN condition. Therefore, the relay 1
(EDR201A12) shown in Fig 4 represents the relay switch that
controls the power circuit in Fig 3. The indicating lamps are
placed for the purpose of indicating the ON and OFF status of
the relays during the MULTISIM simulation. We have a
similar circuit like Fig.4 for relay 2 and relay 3 based on the
inputs as given in (2) and (3).
 RELAY SWITCHING STATES CORRESPONDING TO THE
COMPARATOR OUTPUTS FOR THE DIFFERENT SOIL
MOISTURE CONTENT CASES

The 555 timer circuit working in astable state is shown in

Fig. 5 with the related components connected to it. It has
automatic built in triggering that switches it continuously
between its two unstable states both set (HIGH) and reset
(LOW) states. It is also called a free-running multivibrator as it
doesn’t require any additional inputs or external assistance to
oscillate producing a continuous square wave from its output
[12]. In this design, we modified the usual design of the
astable operation so that the time duration for motor OFF
condition can be suitably selected to be higher or lower than
the motor working (ON) condition. The durations THIGH and
TLOW, which are the duration of times when the output of the
555 timer are HIGH (supply voltage, VCC) or Low (0 V) respectively are related
to the external connected resistors and the capacitor as:
T HIGH 1 2 LOW 4 0.693( ). 0.693 (5)
The overall period of the oscillator, T, is
T HIGH LOW 0.693( ) 1 2 4 (6)
The motor will be in the SWITCHED ON condition or will be
working during THIGH and will be OFF during TLOW time. This
is because the switching states of relays are controlled by the
timer output, where the relay contacts are open during the TLOW
time. The values of external resistor and capacitor components
will be fixed according to the working time requirements of
the motor.
 NI- MULTISIM

• NI Multisim (formerly MultiSIM) is an electronic schematic capture and

simulation program which is part of a suite of circuit design programs, along
with NI Ultiboard. Multisim is one of the few circuit design programs to
employ the original BerkeleySPICE based software simulation. Multisim
was originally created by a company named Electronics Workbench, which
is now a division of National Instruments. Multisim includes microcontroller
simulation (formerly known as MultiMCU), as well as integrated import and
export features to the Printed Circuit Board layout software in the suite, NI
Ultiboard.

• Multisim is widely used in academia and industry for circuits education,

electronic schematic design and SPICE simulation.

MUTLISIM SIMULATION RESULTS FOR THE

 MULTISIM SIMUATION RESULTS FOR THE POWER CIRCUIT

The working of the power circuit is tested using MULTISIM

by emulating various cases of soil moisture content.
The rms voltage of the input voltage is kept Vin=220
V. Fig. 6 shows the motor or load voltage (Channel B-red
color) and input voltage (channel A-blue color) during case 0,
maximum soil wet condition with all the relays OFF. As
expected the load voltage is 0V as the TRIAC is in the OFF
state. Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 show the cases 1, 4 soil moisture
conditions respectively. The load voltage increases as expected
in our theory and we get maximum motor voltage in case 4,
soil dry conditions.
Table IV shows the summary of the load voltage for the
five different cases that are found from MULTISIM
simulations. The firing time or angle decreases from case 0 to
case 4 and hence an increase in the output load voltage or
power as per our expectations. The results of the simulation
showed that the system can automatically control the speed of
the water pumps by controlling the supplied power to the
motor. Therefore such an automatic electronic system can be
designed to control the levels of water that can be supplied to a
farm land based on the condition of soil moisture content.
 FUTURE EXTENSION

• The working of project is basically dependent on the output of the moisture

sensors. Whenever there is need for excessive water in the fields( RICE
crops) then it will not be possible by using sensor technology. For this we
will have to use DTMF technology.
• By using this we will be able to irrigate the desired field in desired amount.
 ADVANTAGES

 Highly sensitive, low cost and reliable circuit.

 Works according to the soil condition.
 Complete elimination of manpower.
 System can be switched into manual mode whenever required.
 Enhances crop or product productivity from automating.
 Provides proper water management to ensure viable farming industry
especially in those regions that receive less rain and dry areas.
 SAVES WATER.

DISADVANTAGES

 This is applicable only for large farms.

 Have limited life after installation due to the detoriation of the plastic
component in a hot, arid climate when exposed to UV rays.
 CONCLUSION

In this paper, an electronic system is designed to control and operate a water pump
automatically based on the level of
the soil moisture (water) content. The different stages of the
proposed system are designed using easily available discrete
components, gates, timers, op-amps and relays. The design is
tested using MULTSIM simulation software and a desired
pump controlling is achieved by emulating different cases of
soil moisture content. The proposed system eliminates the
manual switching mechanism used by farmers or users to
ON/OFF an irrigation or similar watering system. Moreover,
the system achieves proper water management, saves human
power and enhances crop or plant productivity from
automating. The overall design methodology can be used for
designing and developing an advanced system capable of
providing several levels of water pumping according to the
state of the soil moisture content.
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