Brawijaya University has developed an Internet of Things-based farming system for melon cultivation named 'drip irrigation system' that is currently being implemented at the Agro Techno Park in Malang, East Java.
A lecturer from the university's Faculty of Engineering, Eka Maulana, said the 'drip irrigation system' is controlled based on the water content in the growing medium.
"Logically, when the soil is dry, the drip system is active. When the drip system is active, data and information related to the mechanism are sent via an IoT connection. Water has been supplied with additional nutrients," the researcher said in a statement received here on Friday.
The system cannot only be used for irrigation, but also for determining nutritional needs, lighting, and temperature and humidity of the melon garden greenhouse, among others, Eka explained.
"In the process, the drip irrigation system works according to the nutritional needs of each plant, so it is not just how much it irrigates the plants, but also according to the age of the plants. Control of this system is monitored in terms of time and data variables that have been recorded before," Eka explained.
Manager of the Agriculture and Development at Agro Techno Park, Suyadi, said the process of providing nutrients to plants periodically through water flowing into the medium is based on the needs of the plant.
"In a day, it can be done 5 to 10 times, so with this technology, we do not need to manually provide nutrients. It can be left to do other work because it will automatically turn on the drip machine and flow nutrients to the planting media according to the needs of the plant," he noted.
Meanwhile, the development of IoT-based melon cultivation has arisen from the management of horticultural agriculture in Indonesia, which is still mostly done conventionally and with minimal use of technology, he said. This has had an impact on the instability of crop productivity, he added.
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