A Prototype of Soil Monitoring and Notification System in Durian Farm: A Case Study of Bueng Ka Sam, Nong Suea, Pathum Thani

Abstract

One factor that affects the durian’s growing process in the target area is that the majority of the farmers do not own the system that measures soil moisture and makes an immediate report. The soil is sent to the lab and it generally requires approximately 3 to 4 months to produce the result, which is not the effective way because often the soil moisture changes when the result comes back. Therefore, the soil monitoring and notification system in durian farm to overcome such problems was developed in this research and deal with farmers directly. The methodology consists of investigating the requirements from users, analyzing and designing the system, developing the prototype in software which applied knowledge-based, and hardware parts which are the connected circuits, and sensors which measure soil pH, moisture, temperature and light volume, installing the system, and transferring the technology to the target group. The results show that the prototype system is running normally. It was powered by solar energy allowing it to keep operate off grid. The farmers can adjust the value of soil moisture and pH according to their formula via the application. The server can handle a substantial number of sensors that will increase in the future. The evaluation of the system was marked as “Very Good” from users’ satisfaction. Besides, the cost was reasonably low, and it helps the farmers to reduce their investment. In the future, it is possible to reduce the cost of prototype equipment as well as it can apply to the intelligent farm with other plants.