A smartphone evapotranspiration-based app for optimal irrigation scheduling for Thai crops

Abstract

Background – Due to global warming and population growth, droughts are increasing, and water is becoming scarce, which have a direct impact on agriculture. Farmers are therefore facing difficulties in supplying their crops with sufficient water. This situation calls for IoT (Internet of Things) farming solutions, more so as the smartphone penetration rate is projected to grow to 84% (almost 60 million smartphone users) by 2026 in Thailand. Objective – To develop a smartphone app that computes the optimal average daily amount of water to irrigate a sample of Thai crops. Methodology/approach – This new smartphone app uses the Water Balance Approach to determine the optimal irrigation cycle for a range of Thai crops using Java programming. Results – This app would result in significant water savings and a less costly irrigation process for both large farms and private gardens in subsistence agriculture. Conclusions – The proposed smartphone app captures the unique characteristics of Thailand’s weather and soil conditions to determine the optimal average daily amount of water required to prevent crop water stress in the current month.