Advanced IoT-Based Remote Monitoring and Control for Smart Solar-Powered Irrigation Systems

In arid regions where water is scarce, effective management of irrigation water for agricultural practices is a major challenge. Integrating IoT technology with modern irrigation systems enables real-time monitoring and data-driven decision-making, significantly improving irrigation efficiency. Therefore, the current study aims to improve water use in these environments by integrating cutting-edge Internet of Things (IoT) technology into modern subsurface irrigation systems. Considering the urgent need for sustainable date palm farming in arid regions, the study focuses on developing and validating an innovative IoT-based system for remote monitoring and controlling solar-powered smart subsurface irrigation (SSI) systems. This SSI system operates under two distinct irrigation scheduling strategies: volumetric soil sensor-based irrigation scheduling (VSS-BIS) and evapotranspiration-based irrigation scheduling (ET-BIS). The SSI system performance was evaluated against the traditional bubbler irrigation (TBI) system. The SSI features an independent sensor network that collects real-time data based on soil moisture in VSS-BIS and based on climatic conditions in ET-BIS. This data is managed through the ThingSpeak cloud platform, which supports algorithmic analysis, generates event-triggered alerts for users, and sends instructions to IoT devices based on the specific irrigation approach. The SSI system with VSS-BIS followed by ET-BIS proved to be significantly more efficient than TBI, reducing water consumption by 62.3% and 58.2%, respectively. The average annual water use of SSI with VSS-BIS, ET-BIS, and TBI was found to be 28.91, 32.51, and 68.81 m³/palm tree, respectively. The water use efficiency (WUE) was highest with SSI using VSS-BIS (1.83 kg/m³), followed by ET-BIS (1.56 kg/m³), and much lower with TBI (0.62 kg/m³). This result was because the VSS-BIS method consistently maintained the volumetric water content close to field capacity, improving root zone conditions. This study confirms the beneficial effect of IoT application for date palm irrigation management, especially in combination with the VSS-BIS, demonstrating its effectiveness for irrigation water conservation in arid climates.