Application of the internet of things (IoT) for smart farming: a case study on groundnut and castor pest and disease forewarning

Abstract

Agriculture in India is at the cross roads of transformation and, the induction of modern electronics and ICT solutions can help increase crop productivity and profitability, benefitting small and marginal farmers in India. Specifically, the concept of ‘precision agriculture’ creates the opportunity for internet of things (IoT) technologies, that use sensors and wireless communication to monitor critical parameters such as climate, soil, water, pest and disease. IoT can provide farmers with adequate scientific knowledge to take timely decisions for their crops thereby maximizing yield and income. This paper describes how the IoT can be customized to local needs, particularly adapting to farming conditions of small and marginal farmers in India, to increase crop productivity and for pest and disease surveillance. Two case studies are presented in this paper: an end to end IoT based system for groundnut pest and disease forewarning (leaf miner pest and late leaf spot disease), and a scientific approach for the development of a forewarning model for gray mold disease in castor.