Chapter 12

Agricultural IoT

Learning Outcomes
After reading this chapter, the reader will be able to:
• Relate to the applicability of IoT in real scenarios
• List the salient features of agricultural IoT
• Understand the requirements, challenges, and advantages in implementing IoT in
agriculture
• Relate to the appropriate use of various IoT technologies through real-life use
cases on IoT-based leaf area index assessment and an IoT-based irrigation system

12.1 Introduction
Currently, IoT-enabled technologies are widely used for increasing crop productivity,
generating significant revenue, and efficient farming. The development of the IoT
paradigm helps in precision farming. Agricultural loT systems perform crop health
monitoring, water management, crop security, farming vehicle tracking, automatic
seeding, and automatic pesticide spraying over the agricultural fields. In an IoT-
based agricultural system, different sensors necessarily have to be deployed over
agricultural fields, and the sensed data from these sensors need to be transmitted to
a centralized entity such as a server, cloud, or fog devices. Further, these data have
to be processed and analyzed to provide various agricultural services. Finally, a user
should be able to access these services from handheld devices or computers. Figure
12.1 depicts a basic architecture of an agricultural IoT.

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 272 Introduction to Internet of Things

20%
20%
Flow
Sensor D 20%

20%
20%
20%
20%

Sensor D
20%
20%
20%

100
100

90
80
70
90

60
80
70
60
Sensor A Sensor C

Figure 12.1 Architecture of agricultural IoT

12.1.1 Components of an agricultural IoT

The development of an agricultural IoT has helped farmers enhance crop productivity
and reduce the overhead of manual operations of the agricultural equipment in the
fields. Different components such as analytics, drone, cloud computing, sensors,
hand-held devices, and wireless connectivity enable agricultural IoT as depicted in
Figure 12.2.

Handheld
device Wireless
connectivity

Drone
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%

Cloud computing
Analytics

Scnsor Camera Satellite

Figure 12.2 Components of agricultural IoT

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 Agricultural IoT 273

The different components of an agricultural IoT are discussed as follows:

• Cloud computing: Sensors such as the camera, devices to measure soil moisture,
soil humidity, and soil pH-level are used for serving different agricultural
applications. These sensors produce a huge amount of agricultural data that
need to be analyzed. Sometimes, based on the data analysis, action needs to be
taken, such as switching on the water pump for irrigation. Further, the data from
the deployed sensors are required to be stored on a long-term basis since it may
be useful for serving future applications. Thus, for agricultural data analysis and
storage, the cloud plays a crucial role.
• Sensors: In previous chapters, we already explored different types of sensors and
their respective requirements in IoT applications. We have seen that the sensors
are the major backbone of any IoT application. Similarly, for agricultural IoT
applications, the sensors are an indispensable component. A few of the common
sensors used in agriculture are sensors for soil moisture, humidity, water level,
and temperature.
• Cameras: Imaging is one of the main components of agriculture. Therefore,
multispectral, thermal, and RGB cameras are commonly used for scientific
agricultural IoT. These cameras are used for estimating the nitrogen status,
thermal stress, water stress, and crop damage due to inundation, as well as
infestation. Video cameras are used for crop security.
• Satellites: In modern precision agriculture, satellites are extensively used
to extract information from field imagery. The satellite images are used in
agricultural applications to monitor different aspects of the crops such as crop
health monitoring and dry zone assessing over a large area.
• Analytics: Analytics contribute to modern agriculture massively. Currently, with
the help of analytics, farmers can take different agricultural decisions, such as
estimating the required amount of fertilizer and water in an agricultural field
and estimating the type of crops that need to be cultivated during the upcoming
season. Moreover, analytics is not only responsible for making decisions locally;
it is used to analyze data for the entire agricultural supply chain. Data analytics
can also be used for estimating the crop demand in the market.
• Wireless connectivity: One of the main components of agricultural IoT is wireless
connectivity. Wireless connectivity enables the transmission of the agricultural
sensor data from the field to the cloud/server. It also enables farmers to access
various application services over handheld devices, which rely on wireless
connectivity for communicating with the cloud/server.
• Handheld devices: Over the last few years, e-agriculture has become very
popular. One of the fundamental components of e-agriculture is a handheld
device such as a smartphone. Farmers can access different agricultural
information, such as soil and crop conditions of their fields and market tendency,
over their smartphones. Additionally, farmers can also control different field
equipment, such as pumps, from their phones.

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 274 Introduction to Internet of Things

• Drones: Currently, the use of drones has become very attractive in different
applications such as surveillance, healthcare, product delivery, photography, and
agriculture. Drone imaging is an alternative to satellite imaging in agriculture.
In continuation to providing better resolution land mapping visuals, drones are
used in agriculture for crop monitoring, pesticide spraying, and irrigation.

An agricultural food chain (agri-chain) represents the different stages that are
involved in agricultural activity right from the agricultural fields to the consumers.
Figure 12.3 depicts a typical agricultural food chain with the different operations
that are involved in it. Additionally, the figure depicts the applications of different
IoT components required for performing these agricultural operations. In the agri-
chain, we consider farming as the first stage. In farming, various operations, such
as seeding, irrigation, fertilizer spreading, and pesticide spraying, are involved. For
performing these operations, different IoT components are used. As an example, for
monitoring the soil health, soil moisture and temperature sensors are used; drones are
used for spraying pesticides; and through wireless connectivity, a report on on-field
soil conditions is sent directly to a users’ handheld device or cloud. After farming,
the next stage in the agri-chain is transport. Transport indicates the transfer of crops
from the field to the local storage, and after that, to long-term storage locations.
In transport, smart vehicles can automatically load and unload crops. The global

- Seeding - Transport - Cold-storage - Packaging - Long- - Retail

Operations

- Irrigation from field - Moisture- - Drying distance

transport - Supermarket
- Fertilizer to storage control -... - Whole
- Pesticides locations - Protection for the
market Seller
- ... -... -... -...
-...
Agri-chain

Farming Transport Storage Processing Logistics Market

- Sensors - Sensors - Sensors - Sensors

IoT-Componcents

- Sensors - Sensors
- Wireless - RFID - Camera - RFID - RFID - RFID
connetivity - GPS - Wireless - Cloud - Cloud - Cloud
- Drone -... connetivity computing computing computing
- Camera - Cloud - Wireless - Wireless - Wireless
- ... computing connetivity connetivity connetivity
-... -... -... - ...

Figure 12.3 Use of IoT components in the agricultural chain

positioning system (GPS) plays an important role by tracking these smart devices,
and radio frequency identification (RFID) is used to collect information regarding the
presence of a particular container of a crop at a warehouse. Storage is one of the
important operations in the agri-chain. It is responsible for storing crops on a long-

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 Agricultural IoT 275

term basis. Typically, cold storage is used for preserving the crops for a long time and
providing them with the necessary climatic and storage conditions and protection. In
the storage, cameras are used to keep a check and protect the harvested crops. The
camera feeds are transferred through wireless connectivity to a remote server or a
cloud infrastructure. Moreover, the amount and type of crops stored in a storage
location are tracked and recorded with the help of sensors and cloud computing.
For pushing the crops into the market, processing plays a crucial role in an agri-
chain. Processing includes proper drying and packaging of crops. For drying and
packaging, different sensors are used. Packaging is the immediate operation prior
to pushing the crop into the market. Thus, it is essential to track every package and
store all the details related to the crops in the cloud. Logistics enables the transfer of
the packed crops to the market with the help of smart vehicles. These smart vehicles
are equipped with different sensors that help in loading and unloading the packed
crop autonomously. Additionally, GPS is used in these smart vehicles for locating the
position of the packed crops at any instant and tracking their whereabouts. All the
logistical information gets logged in the cloud with the help of wireless connectivity.
Finally, the packed items reach the market using logistical channels. From the market,
these items are accessible to consumers. The details of the sale and purchase of the
items are stored in the form of records in the cloud.

12.1.2 Advantages of IoT in agriculture

Modern technological advancements and the rapid developments in IoT components
have gradually increased agricultural productivity. Agricultural IoT enables the
autonomous execution of different agricultural operations. The specific advantages of
the agricultural IoT are as follows:

(i) Automatic seeding: IoT-based agricultural systems are capable of autonomous

seeding and planting over the agricultural fields. These systems significantly
reduce manual effort, error probability, and delays in seeding and planting.
(ii) Efficient fertilizer and pesticide distribution: Agricultural IoT has been used to
develop solutions that are capable of applying and controlling the amount of
fertilizers and pesticides efficiently. These solutions are based on the analysis of
crop health.
(iii) Water management: The excess distribution of water in the agricultural fields
may affect the growth of crops. On the other hand, the availability of global
water resources is finite. The constraint of limited and often scarce usable
water resources is an influential driving factor for the judicious and efficient
distribution of agricultural water resources. Using the various solutions
available for agricultural IoT, water can be distributed efficiently, all the while,
increasing field productivity and yields. The IoT-enabled agricultural systems
are capable of monitoring the water level and moisture in the soil, and
accordingly, distribute the water to the agricultural fields.

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 276 Introduction to Internet of Things

(iv) Real-time and remote monitoring: Unlike traditional agriculture, in IoT-based

farming, a stakeholder can remotely monitor different agricultural parameters,
such as crop and soil conditions, plant health, and weather conditions. Moreover,
using a smart handheld device (e.g., cellphone), a farmer can actuate on-field
farming machinery such as a water pump, valves, and other pieces of machinery.
(v) Easy yield estimation: Agricultural IoT solutions can be used to record and
aggregate data, which may be spatially or temporally diverse, over long periods.
These records can be used to come up with various estimates related to farming
and farm management. The most prominent among these estimates is crop yield,
which is done based on established crop models and historical trends.
(vi) Production overview: The detailed analysis of crop production, market rates,
and market demand are essential factors for a farmer to estimate optimized
crop yields and decide upon the essential steps for future cropping practices.
Unlike traditional practices, IoT-based agriculture acts as a force multiplier for
farmers by enabling them to have a stronger hold on their farming as well as
crop management practices, and that too mostly autonomously. Agricultural IoT
provides a detailed product overview on the farmers’ handheld devices.

12.2 Case Studies

In this section, we discuss a few case studies that will provide an overview of real
implementation of IoT infrastructure for agriculture.

12.2.1 In-situ assessment of leaf area index using IoT-based agricultural system
In this case study, we focus on an IoT-based agricultural system developed by Bauer
et al. [1]. The authors focus on the in-situ assessment of the leaf area index (LAI),
which is considered as an essential parameter for the growth of most crops. LAI is a
dimensionless quantity which indicates the total leaf area per unit ground area. For
determining the canopy (the portion of the plant, which is above the ground) light,
LAI plays an essential role.

Architecture
The authors integrated the hardware and software components of their
implementation in order to develop the IoT-based agricultural system for LAI
assessment. One of the important components in this system is the wireless sensor
network (WSN), which is used as the LAI assessment unit. The authors used two types
of sensors: (i) ground-level sensor (G) and (ii) reference sensor (R). These sensors are
used to measure photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). The distance between the
two types of sensors must be optimal so that these are not located very far from one
another. In this system, the above-ground sensor (R) acts as a cluster head while the
other sensor nodes (Gs) are located below the canopy. These Gs and R connect and

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 Agricultural IoT 277

form a star topology. A solar panel is used to charge the cluster head. The system is
based on IoT architecture. Therefore, a cluster head is attached to a central base station,
which acts as a gateway. Further, this gateway connects to an IoT infrastructure. The
architecture of the system is depicted in Figure 12.4.

IoT
infrastructure
MQTT
Broker

Internet

Gateway Cluster User

Cluster
head
head

Cluster 1 Cluster 2

Figure 12.4 System architecture

Hardware
For sensing and transmitting the data from the deployment fields to a centralized
unit, such as a server and a cloud, different hardware components are used in the
system. The commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) TelosB platform is used in the system.
The TelosB motes are equipped with three types of sensors: temperature, humidity,
and light sensors. With the help of an optical filter and diffuser accessory on the light
sensors, the PAR is calculated to estimate the LAI. The system is based on the cluster
concept. A Raspberry-Pi is used as a cluster head, which connects with four ground
sensor motes. The Raspberry-Pi is a tiny single board, which works as a computer and
is used to perform different operations in IoT. Humidity and wet plants intermittently
cause attenuation to the system, which is minimized with the help of forward error
coding (FEC) technique.
The real deployment of the LAI assessment system involves various environmental
and wild-life challenges. Therefore, for reliable data delivery, the authors take the
redundant approach of using both wired and wireless connectivity. In the first
deployment generation, USB power supply is used to power-up the sensors motes.
Additionally, the USB is used for configuring the sensor board and accessing the
failure as per requirement. In this setup, a mechanical timer is used to switch off
the sensor nodes during the night. In the second deployment generation, the cluster
is formed with wireless connectivity. The ground sensor motes consist of external

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 278 Introduction to Internet of Things

antennas, which help to communicate with the cluster head. A Raspberry-Pi with
long-term evolution (LTE) is used as a gateway in this system.

Communication
The LAI system consists of multiple components, such as WSN, IoT gateway, and IoT-
based network. All of these components are connected through wired or wireless
links. The public land mobile network (PLMN) is used to establish connectivity
between external IoT networks and the gateway. The data are analyzed and visualized
with the help of a farm management information system (FMIS), which resides in the
IoT-based infrastructure. Further, a prevalent data transport protocol: MQTT, is used
in the system. We have already explored the details of MQTT in Chapter 8. MQTT is
a very light-weight, publish/subscribe messaging protocol, which is widely used for
different IoT applications. The wireless LAN is used for connecting the cluster head
with a gateway. The TelosB motes are based on the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless protocol.

Software
Software is an essential part of the system by which different operations of the
system are executed. In order to operate the TelosB motes, TinyOS, an open-source,
low-power operating system, is used. This OS is widely used for different WSN
applications. Typically, in this system, the data acquired from the sensor node is
stored with a timestamp and sequence number (SN). For wired deployments (the first
generation deployment), the sampling rate used is 30 samples/hour. However, in
the wireless deployment (the second generation), the sampling rate is significantly
reduced to 6 samples/hour. The TinyOS is capable of activating low-power listening
modes of a mote, which is used for switching a mote into low-power mode during
its idle state. In the ground sensor, TelosB motes broadcast the data frame, and
the cluster head (Raspberry-Pi) receives it. This received data is transmitted to the
gateway. Besides acquiring ground sensor data, the Raspberry-Pi works as a cluster
head. In this system, the cluster head can re-boot any affected ground sensor node
automatically.

IoT Architecture
The MQTT broker runs in the Internet server of the system. This broker is responsible
for receiving the data from the WSN. In the system, the graphical user interface (GUI)
is built using an Apache server. The visualization of the data is performed at the
server itself. Further, when a sensor fails, the server informs the users. The server can
provide different system-related information to the smartphone of the registered user.

12.2.2 Smart irrigation management system

In precision agriculture, the regular monitoring of different agricultural parameters,
such as water level, soil moisture, fertilizers, and soil temperature are essential.
Moreover, for monitoring these agricultural parameters, a farmer needs to go to

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 Agricultural IoT 279

his/her field and collect the data. Excess water supply in the agricultural field can
damage the crops. On the other hand, insufficient water supply in the agricultural
field also affects the healthy growth of crops. Thus, efficient and optimized water
supply in the agricultural field is essential.
This case study highlights a prototype of an irrigation management system
[2], developed at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, funded by the
Government of India. The primary objective of this system is to provide a Web-based
platform to the farmer for managing the water supply of an irrigated agricultural
field. The system is capable of providing a farmer-friendly interface by which the
field condition can be monitored. With the help of this system, a farmer can take
the necessary decision for the agricultural field based on the analysis of the data.
However, the farmer need not worry about the complex background architecture of
the system. It is an affordable solution for the farmers to access the agricultural field
data easily and remotely.

Architecture
The architecture of this system consists of three layers: Sensing and actuating layer,
remote processing and service layer, and application layer. These layers perform
dedicated tasks depending on the requirements of the system. Figure 12.5 depicts
the architecture of the system. The detailed functionalities of different layers of this
system are as follows:

Processing Soil moisture Water level

Cluster head board sensor sensor Server

Figure 12.5 Architecture: Smart irrigation management system

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 280 Introduction to Internet of Things

(i) Sensing and Actuating layer: This layer deals with different physical devices,
such as sensor nodes, actuators, and communication modules. In the system,
a specially designated sensor node works as a cluster head to collect data from
other sensor nodes, which are deployed on the field for sensing the value of soil
moisture and water level. A cluster head is equipped with two communication
module: ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). The
communication between the deployed sensor nodes and the cluster head takes
place with the help of ZigBee. Further, the cluster heads use GPRS to transmit
data to the remote server. An electrically erasable programmable read-only memory
(EEPROM), integrated with the cluster head, stores a predefined threshold value
of water levels and soil moisture. When the sensed value of the deployed sensor
node drops below this predefined threshold value, a solenoid (pump) activates
to start the irrigation process. In the system, the standard EC-05 soil moisture
sensor is used along with the water level sensor, which is specifically designed
and developed for this project. A water level sensor is shown in Figure 12.6(a).
(ii) Processing and Service layer: This layer acts as an intermediate layer between the
sensing and actuating layer and the application layer. The sensed and process
data is stored in the server for future use. Moreover, these data are accessible
at any time from any remote location by authorized users. Depending on the
sensed values from the deployed sensor nodes, the pump actuates to irrigate
the field. A processing board as depicted in Figure 12.6(b) is developed for the
project.

(a) Water level sensor (b) Processing board

Figure 12.6 Water level sensor and processing board

(iii) Application layer: The farmer can access the status of the pump, whether it is in
switch on/off, and the value of different soil parameters from his/her cell phone.
This information is accessible with the help of the integrated GSM facility of the
farmers’ cell phone. Additionally, an LED array indicator and LCD system is
installed in the farmers’ house. Using the LCD and LED, a farmer can easily
track the condition of his respective fields. Apart from this mechanism, a farmer
can manually access field information with the help of a Web-based application.
Moreover, the farmer can control the pump using his/her cell phone from a
remote location.

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 Agricultural IoT 281

Deployment
The system has been deployed and experimented in two agricultural fields: (i) an
agricultural field at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur),
India, and (ii) Benapur, a village near IIT Kharagpur, India. Both the agricultural
fields were divided into 10 equal sub-fields of 3 × 3m2 . In order to examine the
performance, the system was deployed at over 4 sub-fields. Each of these sub-fields
consists of a solenoid valve, a water level sensor, and a soil moisture sensor, along with
a processing board. On the other hand, the remaining six sub-fields were irrigated
through a manual conventional irrigation process. The comparison analysis between
these six and four fields summarily reports that the designed system’s performance is
superior to the conventional manual process of irrigation.

Summary
This chapter explored the applications of IoT in the domain of agriculture. Further, the
chapter helps the reader to visualize the importance of IoT in the various links of the
agricultural food chain. A case study on a very important aspect of agriculture, leaf
area index assessment, was explored in this chapter. This case study gives a detailed
idea about the system along with basic knowledge of the hardware used in it. Another
real deployed system of irrigation management is discussed in this chapter. This case
study is beneficial for the learner to understand the importance of IoT architecture in
the irrigation process of agriculture.

Exercises
(i) List the type of sensors which can be used for agricultural IoT.
(ii) Explain two use cases where drones can be used for agricultural IoT.
(iii) Design a scenario where we can use fog computing in agriculture.
(iv) How can agricultural IoT help in the efficient distribution of water in agricultural
fields?
(v) What are the roles of the various IoT components in an agri-chain?
(vi) What are the advantages of agricultural IoT?
(vii) List a few communication modules used for agricultural IoT?
(viii) Design a case study to develop an IoT-based agricultural planter. In the case
study, you should include the requirement analysis of different components and
justify their usability in the planter.
(ix) What is the importance of satellites in agricultural IoT?

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press

 282 Introduction to Internet of Things

References
[1] Bauer, J. and N. Aschenbruck. 2018. “Design and Implementation of an Agricultural
Monitoring System for Smart Farming.” In Proceedings of IoT Vertical and Topical Summit
on Agriculture - Tuscany (IOT Tuscany), May 2018.
[2] Roy, Sanku Kumar, Sudip Misra, Narendra Singh Raghuwanshi, and Amitava Roy.
2017. “A Smart Irrigation Management System using WSNs.” Indian Patent File No.:
201731031610.
[3] Roy, S. K., A. Roy, S. Misra, N. S. Raghuwanshi, and M. S. Obaidat. 2015. “AID:
A Prototype for Agricultural Intrusion Detection using Wireless Sensor Network." In
Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Communications (ICC), London, 2015. pp.
7059–7064.

[Link] Published online by Cambridge University Press