Internet of Things Based Advisory System for Watermelon Farming

ABSTRACT

The Internet of Things (IoT) plays a significant role in many areas of human endeavours, including gaining the attention of researchers in agriculture. However, the adoption rate is still meagre in many developing countries. The ever-growing population and increased awareness of the health benefits of watermelon in Nigeria led to high demand, which far exceeds the supply due to crude farming practices and poor yields. Hence, a need to adopt modern farming practices to change this scenario. The study developed IoT advisory system to enable farmers to select, monitor, and control the soil type, fertility requirements and get advice on best practices for cucurbitaceous crop farming especially, Watermelon. The study adopted an experimental method, using the Arduino Uno R3 board and ESP8266 Node Microcontroller-based sensors to gather and analyse the soil data quality in real time. The system reduces cost, increases yield, and provides farmers access to expert recommendations on watermelon farming. .

Keywords: Watermelon, Internet of Things, Agriculture, Advisory System, Soil quality, Farmer