An Automated Irrigation System for Greenhouses

Abstract

Gaza Strip is a small region with limited agriculture land and water resources. Greenhouse technology allows farmers to optimize the use of this land. In this paper a computer-based control and monitoring system is designed and tested to automate drip irrigation. The model greenhouse can be used as a prototype where several sensors are connected to an acquisition and control system using a PC and a data acquisition card. The designed system can be used as a stand-alone system by lay farmers with no technical background where they can command full control through a screen command. The system is set up to handle several crops by using a user screen to adjust certain parameters on the front panel. A web server enables users to remotely monitor and control the greenhouse through VI's from any place in the world with internet access. Moreover, the system periodically generates alarms and automatically sends emails to notify users of the conditions inside greenhouse.