AUTOMATION IN

MICRO IRRIGATION

Presented by :MANJUNATH, KI.D. NO. AEK 715

ContentsContents Introduction

System components of automated irrigation system

Preparation of programming schedule

Various types of automation system

Important points for automated drip system

Benefits of automized irrigation

Limitations of automized irrigation system

INTRODUCTIONAutomation is the boon of farming.

In developed countries a large area

has been covered under automated

micro irrigation system.

It is relatively new; but getting

popularity day-by-day.

04/08/23 4

What is automation?What is automation?Automation is a

kind of innovation, in

which the manual

interventions are

replaced by an

automated system to

perform all the

operations.

04/08/23 5

What is micro irrigation?What is micro irrigation?It refers to low-pressure

irrigation systems that sprays,

mist, sprinkle, or drip.( The

water discharge patterns differ

because emission devices are

designed for specific

applications due to agronomic

or horticultural requirements)

04/08/23 6

What is automation in micro irrigation?

It is a system by which all the

operations related to the supply of

irrigation water or fertilizer to the crop

are carried out, automatically with no

or minimum manual interventions.

04/08/23 7

The scope of automation has become a

new development in micro irrigation

sector.

In India, the pressurized irrigation has

created a great awareness among the

farmers.

From government side several initiatives

have been taken for popularization.04/08/23 8

Layout of Aumation in micro irrigationLayout of Aumation in micro irrigation

System components of automated irrigation

system

04/08/23 10

An automized micro-irrigation

consists of following three

components

1.Sensors

2.Controllers and

3.Monitoring software / decision support

system

04/08/23 11

Sensors These are the device

used in the system for

producing electrical

signals related to the

parameter to be

measured.

Provide the basic data to

drive the automatic

control system04/08/23 12

Installation of sensor

Types of sensors1. Continuous sensors

Produce the electrical

signals in continuous

form such as voltage,

current, conductivity,

capacitance etc

Used for measuring the

pressure drop across the

filter or for determining

the soil moisture tension.

04/08/23 13

2.Discrete sensors

These are the

mechanical or electronic

switches

They indicate on/off

condition and also to

indicate the

opening/closing state of

valves, alarms, etc04/08/23 14

Different sensors used

Analog tensiometer.

Contact tensiometer.

Electrical resistance sensors.

Dielectric sensors.

Thermal soil matric potential sensor.

Gypsum block soil moisture sensor.04/08/23 15

Controllers It is considered as the heart of

automation system.

Its function is to coordinate the

operation of entire system.

They consists of an electronic calendar

and the clock.

There is option for irrigation schedule

of weekdays.04/08/23 16

Types of controllers

1.Electromechanical

controllers.

They are mechanically

based and not very

sensitive to the quality

of available power.

They have very limited

features regarding their

use.04/08/23 17

2. Electronic

controller

They are very

sensitive to the

power-line quality.

They provide a large

number of favorable

features at low cost.

04/08/23 18

Control valves1. Hydraulic valves.

These control valves are

operated by hydraulic

pressure.

Control tubes and solenoid

coils are used to transmit

the commands to valves.

Two types of

configuration normally

closed (NC) and normally

open (NO).04/08/23 19

2.Automatic metering

valves

Used in volume based

automated irrigation

system.

04/08/23 20

Master relayIts function is to control the pump operation.

Metering pump They are suitable to feed

a known quantity of

fertilizers / chemicals

Generally pumps of 1.5

to 3.5 lph are generally

found suitable

04/08/23 21

Metering pump

Master relay

Flow transducers

Used to measure the

flow and totaling the

flow.

The flow rate is

measured based on

the pulse output

indicated at the

counter.04/08/23 22

Sequencer system

The electro-

mechanical and

electronic driven

sequencers are

commonly used in

automated

system.

04/08/23 23

Preparation of programming schedule

Programmed the irrigation system to

determine the duration of irrigation for

the given crop, and for each section.

04/08/23 24

Feed the duration of individual

valves in the controller along with

system start time.

Set the controller clock in respect of

current day and time.

04/08/23 25

Working procedureAs the clock of controller gets

synchronized with the start time of

programme.

The controller starts sending 24V AC

current to the first solenoid valve in the

programme sequencer.

At the same time the current reaches the

master relay to start the pump.04/08/23 26

Various types of automation system

04/08/23 27

1. Time based system

Operation time is considered as the

basis of irrigation.

Operation time is computed on the

basis of required volume of water and

the average rate of water flow.

04/08/23 28

Feed the time in the controller

clock

Controller Valve 1

open

Valve 1 close

valve 2 open

signals

04/08/23 29

2) Volume based system

Provided with volume controlled

metering valve by which a preset

amount of water is applied to the field.

It consists of 2 systems

04/08/23 30

System 1.

04/08/23 31

System 2

Interconnected automatic metering

valves at each field segment.

For closing and opening of metering

valves.

04/08/23 32

3.Open loop system

In this system information about

irrigation duration or required volume of

water is feed to the control unit.

These information were programmed in

he system controller.

04/08/23 33

Cont…Advantage - low cost.

Disadvantage – system does not

respond to the environmental

conditions.

04/08/23 34

4.Closed loop system

In this system one or more sensors are

equipped

Operator based on operator’s control

strategy

System takes the decision on he basis

of sensors data.

04/08/23 35

5. Real time feed back system

The system works on the basis of real

feed back data regarding demand of

the crop at a given time

04/08/23 36

Cont..Various sensors like tensiometers,

relative humidity sensors, rain

sensors, temperature sensors etc,

used to feed the crop data to control

unit.

04/08/23 37

6. Computer based irrigation control system

In this system, a hardware and

software is equipped to supervise the

irrigation and other associated works

like fertigation, maintenance.

04/08/23 38

Contd..This control system used in MIS is

divided into following two

categories:

1)Interactive system and

2)Fully automatic system

04/08/23 39

1. Interactive system

This system use a micro computer.

The data is transmitted to control unit

from sensors and then to central

computer.

04/08/23 40

Cont…In system, the field devices like

valves, regulators, pumps etc., are

fitted with electrically operated

servo-device, which operates them

04/08/23 41

Cont…Operator has provision to control the

flow from the central computer by

changing the parameters like

pressure etc.

04/08/23 42

2) Automatic system

In this system person is completely

avoided.

Computer is programmed to perform

automatic functions

With the help of control devices corrections

can be done

In this system there is a facility to stop the

function when there is a rainfall etc,04/08/23 43

Important points for automated drip system

04/08/23 44

The controller should be installed at the

eye level for easy programming and screen

reading

Voltage stabilizer should be used for proper

supply of power in the system

The field wiring should be done through

conduit for safety point of view

Controller should not be installed in the

moistened or warm room04/08/23 45

Controller should be protected from the

water, insects, lizard and other reptiles.

The flow control system is for fine-

tuning; it should be used only for this

purpose.

If possible, the controller should be

installed either near to the pumping

unit or water source.

04/08/23 46

Benefits of automized irrigation

Conservation of water, labour and

energy

Flexibility in operation

Precision and ease in operation

Adoption possibilities of advanced

cropping and new technologies04/08/23 47

Feasibility of water use from different

sources

Control on entire irrigation system

Enhancement in crop yield with better

quality

Better water and nutrient use

efficiency04/08/23 48

Limitations of automized irrigation system

High system cost.

Sensor sensitivity.

Improper functioning of control valves.

Frequent maintenance.04/08/23 49

ConclusionConclusion In this era of mechanization due to the popularization

of micro irrigation the automation as become a new

development in micro irrigation sectors.

This technology mainly focuses on smooth operation,

energy saving and less labour dependency.

Hence the automation is the bone of farming with

increase the water use efficiency.

Reference Abraham, N.,Hema, P.S.,Saritha, E.K. & Subramannaiah,

S. (2000). Irrigation automation based on soil electrical

conductivity & leaf temperature. Agricultural water

management 45:145-157

R.Suresh, “ Micro irrigation theory and practice “

Dhingra, D and Kumar, A. (2000). Automation of micro

irrigation system. In micro irrigation(Sing et al, eds).

Proc. Int. Conf. on micro and sprinkler irrigation

systems, jalgaon, 8-10 Feb.. 2000. p. 229-235.