Environmental parameters monitoring in precision agriculture using wireless sensor networks

• Wireless sensor network (WSN) application for precision agriculture deployed in a pepper vegetable greenhouse.
• Take appropriate measure such as remote control for drip irrigation and facilities with the guidance of the expert system.
• The proposed system consists of low cost, low powered sensors for the greenhouse, easy to build, implement and maintain.
• Measurements have shown that with communication protocols the overall battery lifetime of the sensors can be increased.
• The possibility to use meshed network topology and communication protocol based on gossip algorithms is developed.

The 2011 EU Common Agricultural Policy aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the agricultural sector, to promote innovation, contribute to environmental protection and to support jobs and growth in rural areas. The consecutive reforms in agricultural policy have created adequate environment for developing and implementing innovative, environmentally friendly farming methods, allowing the farmers to increase the production and manage the local environment, which is essential for the sustainable development of the agricultural sector.In this paper, wireless sensor network architecture for vegetable greenhouse is proposed in order to achieve scientific cultivation and lower management costs from the aspect of environmental monitoring. According to the analysis of the features of greenhouse environment, a practical and low-cost greenhouse monitoring system is designed based on wireless sensor network technology in order to monitor key environmental parameters such as the temperature, humidity and illumination.