Sustainable Irrigation

Our model for a small plant

Inspiration

Water is a necessity for our survival, not just to consume, but also to grow crops, feed animals, and create food. This compound must be used sustainably, otherwise, especially with an increasing global population, we will face water deficiency across the globe. With an increasing demand for water and food every day, it is imperative that we adapt our agriculture industries

According to a High Tide Technologies (HTT) 2020 article (1), 70% of the world’s fresh-water is consumed annually in the agriculture industry, specifically at farms. That is equivalent to over 2 quadrillion gallons of water. In Canada alone, according to Statistics Canada (2), about 1.8 billion cubic meters of water were used to irrigate Canadian crops in 2020. Produce takes up the majority of water used in the agriculture industry (about 70% of the 2 quadrillion gallons used annually). As crops must remain hydrated to grow and increase yield, they require a consistent amount of moisture within the soil they are implanted in to function properly - this specific amount is different for each crop.

However, of the 70% of fresh water used worldwide, 40% is wasted/underutilized due to poor water management. Farmers use numerous methods for irrigation, each using different equipment, degrees of automation, and styles of transporting water into plants. All irrigation methods waste water to some extent, at different rates. Currently, the most common irrigation type in the globe is surface irrigation, where water is delivered using gravity-based streams in between crop lines. This method wastes approximately 50% of its water according to TWL Irrigation (3). Another popular irrigation method that wastes large portions of used water is sprinkler irrigation, where sprinklers are used to mimic natural rainfall and water the crops. The sprinklers spray water all over the fields, some going into the soil while others go on top of the crops. Through this process, about half the used water is evaporated, run off the field, or get lost in transit. Manual irrigation is another prime culprit in the wastage of water in the agriculture industry. Manual irrigation requires intensive labour and specific measurements to ensure that crops get the proper amount of water to grow. However, many farmers do not do this measurement and carelessly add more water than required to each plant, effectively wasting much more water.

However, these irrigation methods are still required in practice as they are the most suited for irrigating certain crops. The issue arises when these practices are also used for crops that do not require these irrigation tactics. More efficient irrigation systems are not suitable for all crops. For example, drip irrigation is where water is delivered directly to the root of the plants. It is the most efficient irrigation method, saving up to 80% of farmer’s water. Although this method is sustainable, it is not suitable for all crops. Thus, farmers are forced to use other irrigation methods. As you can imagine, this is not very sustainable.

References 1 -- https://htt.io/water-usage-in-the-agricultural-industry/#:~:text=How%20Much%20Water%20Does%20The,and%20overall%20poor%20water%20management

2 -- https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/211213/dq211213d-eng.html

3 -- https://www.twl-irrigation.com/sustainable-irrigation/#:~:text=All%20this%2C%20combined%20with%20the,the%20world's%20farmers%20use%20it.

4 -- https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/16-508-x/16-508-x2016001-eng.html

5 -- https://www.fao.org/3/S8684E/s8684e06.htm#:~:text=Sprinkler%20irrigation%20is%20a%20method, which%20fall%20to%20the%20ground.

6 -- https://nrcca.cals.cornell.edu/soil/CA3/CA0324.php

7 -- https://www.fao.org/3/S8684E/s8684e08.htm#:~:text=Drip%20irrigation%20is%20suited%20to, growing%20crops%20(e.g.%20rice).&text=The%20type%20of%20technology%20affects%20the%20choice%20of%20irrigation%20method.

What it does

Our plan to reduce water mismanagement and waste in the agriculture industry is to create an automated agriculture farm that monitors sunlight and moisture. Through sensors, we will detect the levels of moisture in the soil and sunlight the area is receiving, thus watering the crops based on this information. The pumps for the water can be easily relocated, either pumping water directly to the soil or acting as a sprinkler and spraying large areas at once.

Our proposal and design exemplify a sustainable lifestyle within the agriculture industry. With the ability to change the location of the sprinkler system with ease, farmers can separate different crops with the irrigation method that suits them best, effectively reducing wastage and saving farmers’ water. Additionally, with constant moisturizing achieved through automated moisturization, plants can create greater yields leading to bigger harvests and more food.

Another benefit to our proposal is the automation element within the farm. Manual labour is not required to irrigate the crops, reducing heavy labour for farmers. Furthermore, with no manual labour, the risk of over or under-watering plants through carelessness is brought to zero.

How we built it

We recreated a model that might represent a low-budget system using an arduino to power the soil moisture sensor and a sunlight sensor. The arduino will also be able to run the water pump that will water the plant based on the data the sensors record. This type of system will only be working for one plant. In order to handle the irrigation of many crops spanning many square feet, a different system will be used. This system will use a large battery that powers the many sensors that will be used. The battery will be used to power a large water pump.

The sensor that we are using is a soil moisture sensor that detects the amount of moisture in the soil. The values the sensor records do not particularly represent any units but rather they explain how dry soil might be ranging from 100 (very dry) to 1200 (very wet). A normal plant will need to be watered when the soil moisture sensor reads anything below 600. Due to the different needs of each plant, a plant may need to be watered when the soil moisture sensor reads anything under 300 to 800. Thus, it is vital that proper research is put into the amount of water that each plant will need.

We created a website using HTML and CSS to support our cause.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges was time management. The hackathon was during a busy time during our lives and we were busy handling different responsibilities. Due to this, we were not able to work on the project as much as we would like to.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of creating a website as most of us did not have the adequate knowledge to create a website before. So we are glad that we were able to get a finished product working.