TY - JOUR

T1 - Development of a LoRaWAN IoT Node with Ion-Selective Electrode Soil Nitrate Sensors for Precision Agriculture

AU - Bristow, Noel

AU - Rengaraj, Saravanan

AU - Chadwick, Dave

AU - Kettle, Jeff

AU - Jones, Davey L.

PY - 2022/12

Y1 - 2022/12

N2 - Crop productivity is highly dependent on the availability of soluble nitrogen (N), e.g. nitrate, in soil. When N levels are low, fertilisers are applied to replenish the soil’s reserves. Typically the timing of these applications is based on paper-based guidance and sensor-based measurements of canopy greenness, which provides an indirect measure of soil N status. However this approach often means that N fertiliser is applied inappropriately or too late, resulting in excess N being lost to the environment, or too little N to meet crop demand. To promote greater N use efficiency and improve agricultural sustainability, we developed an Internet of Things (IoT) approach for the real-time measurement of soil nitrate levels using ion-selective membrane sensors in combination with digital soil moisture probes. The node incorporates state-of-the-art IoT connectivity using a LoRaWAN transceiver. The sensing platform can transfer real-time data via a cloud-connected gateway for processing and storage. In summary, we present a validated soil sensor system for real-time monitoring of soil nitrate concentrations, which can support fertiliser management decisions, improve N use efficiency and reduce N losses to the environment.

AB - Crop productivity is highly dependent on the availability of soluble nitrogen (N), e.g. nitrate, in soil. When N levels are low, fertilisers are applied to replenish the soil’s reserves. Typically the timing of these applications is based on paper-based guidance and sensor-based measurements of canopy greenness, which provides an indirect measure of soil N status. However this approach often means that N fertiliser is applied inappropriately or too late, resulting in excess N being lost to the environment, or too little N to meet crop demand. To promote greater N use efficiency and improve agricultural sustainability, we developed an Internet of Things (IoT) approach for the real-time measurement of soil nitrate levels using ion-selective membrane sensors in combination with digital soil moisture probes. The node incorporates state-of-the-art IoT connectivity using a LoRaWAN transceiver. The sensing platform can transfer real-time data via a cloud-connected gateway for processing and storage. In summary, we present a validated soil sensor system for real-time monitoring of soil nitrate concentrations, which can support fertiliser management decisions, improve N use efficiency and reduce N losses to the environment.

KW - fertiliser; decision support; Internet of Things (IoT); LoRaWAN; soil nitrate; agritech; ion-selective sensor; smart agriculture

U2 - 10.3390/s22239100

DO - 10.3390/s22239100

M3 - Article

VL - 22

JO - Sensors

JF - Sensors

SN - 1424-8220

IS - 23

M1 - 9100

ER -