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Automatic Plant Watering System
Experiment Findings · March 2016
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Abhishek Gupta
Swami Keshvanand Institute of Technology Management and Gramothan (SKIT)
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Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR)
Vol-2, Issue-4, 2016
ISSN: 2454-1362, http://www.onlinejournal.in
Imperial Journal of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Page 1123
Automatic Plant Watering System
Abhishek Gupta1
, Shailesh Kumawat2
& Shubham Garg3
1
Sr. lecturer, Department of EE, SKIT Jaipur, India
2,3
IV B.Tech, Department of EE, SKIT Jaipur, India
Abstract : This project is taken up as India is an
agriculture oriented country and the rate at which
water resources are depleting is a dangerous threat
hence there is a need of smart and efficient way of
irrigation. In this project we have implemented
sensors which detect the humidity in the soil
(agricultural field) and supply water to the field
which has water requirement. The project is
PIC16F877A microcontroller based design which
controls the water supply and the field to be
irrigated. There are sensors present in each field
which are not activated till water is present on the
field. Once the field gets dry sensors sense the
requirement of water in the field and send a signal
to the microcontroller. Microcontroller then supply
water to that particular field which has water
requirement till the sensors is deactivated again. In
case, when there are more than one signal for
water requirement then the microcontroller will
prioritize the first received signal and irrigate the
fields accordingly.
This project uses PIC16F877A
Microcontroller. It is programmed in such a way
that it will sense the moisture level of the plants
and supply the water if required. This type of
system is often used for general plant care, as part
of caring for small and large gardens. Normally,
the plants need to be watered twice daily, morning
and evening. So, the microcontroller has to be
coded to water the plants in the greenhouse about
two times per day. People enjoy plants, their
benefits and the feeling related to nurturing them.
However for most people it becomes challenging to
keep them healthy and alive. To solve this problem
we made a project for those who cannot water the
plant due to their busy schedule or when they go
outside for long time. The system automation is
designed to be assistive to the user. We hope that
through this project people will enjoy having
plants without the challenges related to absent or
forgetfulness.
1. INTRODUCTION
In present days, in the field of agriculture farmers
are facing major problems in watering their crops.
It’s because they don’t have proper idea about the
availability of the power. Even if it is available,
they need to pump water and wait until the field is
properly watered, which compels them to stop
doing other activities – which are also important
for them, and thus they loss their precious time and
efforts. But, there is a solution – “ An Automatic
Plant Irrigation System “ not only helps farmers but
also others for watering their gardens as well.
Healthy plants can transpire a lot of water, resulting
in an increase in the humidity of the Green house
air. A high relative humidity ( above 80 – 85 % )
should be avoided because it can increase the
incidence of the disease and plant transpiration.
Sufficient venting or successive heating and
venting can prevent condensation on plants
surfaces and greenhouse structure. The use of
cooling system during the warmer summer months
increases the greenhouse air humidity. During
periods with Warm and humid outdoor conditions,
humidity control inside the greenhouse can be a
challenge. Greenhouse located in dry environments
benefit greatly from evaporative cooling system
because large amount of water can be evaporated
into the incoming air, resulting in significant
temperature drops.
This automatic irrigation system senses the
moisture content of the soil and automatically
switches the pump when the power is on. A proper
usage of irrigation system is very important
because the main reason is the shortage of land
reserved water due to lack of rain, unplanned use of
water as a result large amounts of water goes
waste. For this reason, we use this automatic plant
watering system, and this system is very useful in
all climatic conditions
Since the relative humidity alone does not tell
us anything about the absolute water holding
capacity of air, a different measurement is
sometime used to describe the absolute moisture
status of the soil. The vapor pressure deficit is a
measure of the difference between the amount of
moisture the air contains at a given moment and
the amount of moisture it can hold at that
temperature when the air would be saturated.
Pressure deficit measurement can tell us how easy
it is for plants to transpire: higher values stimulate
transpiration (but too high can cause wilting), and
lower values inhibit transpiration and can lead to

condensation on leaf and greenhouse surfaces.
In the mid-20th century, the advent of diesel
and electric motors led to systems that could pump
groundwater out of major aquifers faster than
drainage basins could refill them. This can lead to
permanent loss of aquifer capacity, decreased
water quality, ground subsidence, and other
problems.
Apart from all these problems and failures,
there has been a considerable evolution in the
methods to perform irrigation with the help of
technology. The application of technology in the
areas of irrigation has proven to be of great help as
they deliver efficiency and
accuracy.
2. BLOCK DIAGRAM & WORKING
There are two functional components in this
project. They are the moisture sensors and the
motor/water pump. The function of the moisture
sensor is to sense the level of moisture in the soil.
The motor/water pump supplies water to the plants.
This project uses microcontroller 8051 to
control the flow of water through motor in the
field.. Follow the schematic to connect the
microcontroller to the motor driver, and the driver
to the water pump. The motor can be driven by a
12 volt battery, and current measurements show us
that battery life. The microcontroller is
programmed using the KIEL software. The
moisture sensor measures the level of moisture in
the soil and sends the signal to the microcontroller
if watering is required. The motor/water pump
supplies water to the plants until the desired
moisture level is reached.
2.1 Circuit Diagram & Working
The circuit diagram consists of a microcontroller
unit that is microcontroller PIC16F877A.It is a 8
bit operation microcontroller. It has 4 ports. These
ports are used to connect peripheral devices which
are controlled by microcontroller 8051. We connect
crystal oscillator of 3.75 MHZ to operate the
microcontroller. Crystal oscillator decides the
frequency at which the microcontroller works.
Since this project does not require any special
timing precision and speed so we choose this rating
of crystal oscillator. For higher speed operation the
oscillator with higher rating can be used. We add a
timer circuit which takes care of real time and
seasons. It tells the microcontroller the real time
and microcontroller does its prescribed work at
appropriate time. For timer circuit we used DS1307
Serial Real-Time Clock.At one port we add LCD
which will provide the information of time and
makes us to change the date and time.
At another port we connect a 4*4 keys keyboard as
the port available is of 8 bit. So we cannot connect
directly each key to one bit of 8 bits. So to make
available all the 16 keys to microcontroller we use
multiplexing technique.
At another port we connect Darlington amplifier
needed for operation of relays. Relays operate at a
level of 12 volt and microcontroller sends and
receive signals at 5 volts. So to amplify that 5 volt
to 12 volt we use Darlington amplifier. It converts
5 volt signal received from microcontroller to 12
volt for operation of relays.
At last port we add moisture sensors placed in the
fields. These moisture sensors keep records of real
time moisture in the fields/planter. And
microcontroller compares that value send by
sensors to the set value in the microcontroller. If
the prescribed value becomes more than the real
time moisture in the plant then microcontroller
sends signal to relay circuit via Darlington
amplifier and corresponding relay sends signal to
solenoids to open the valve for water and motor is
sent a signal to start by a relay.
Figure 1- Automatic Plant Watering Schematic
diagram

2.2 Flowchart :
Fig 2 – Flowchart On Automatic Plant Watering
System
2.3 Programming:
The PIC16F877A microcontroller can be
programmed with the KEIL software.
The Keil Development Tools are designed to solve
the complex problems facing embedded software
developers.
1)When starting a new project, simply select the
microcontroller you use from the Device Database
and the μ Vision IDE sets all compiler, assembler,
linker, and memory options for you.
2) Numerous example programs are included to
help you get started with the most popular
embedded PIC16F877A devices.
3) The Keil μ Vision Debugger accurately simulate
son-chip peripherals (I²C, CAN,UART, SPI,
Interrupts ,I/O Ports, A/D Converter, D/A
Converter, and PWM Modules) of your
PIC16F877Adevice. Simulation helps you
understand hardware configurations and avoids
time wasted on setup problems. Additionally, with
simulation, you can write and test applications
before target hardware is available.
2.4. MOISTURE SENSOR:
Soil moisture sensors measure the water
content in soil. A soil moisture probe is made up of
multiple soil moisture sensors.
Technologies commonly used in soil
moisture
sensors include:
• Neutron moisture gauges, utilize the
moderator properties of water for neutrons.
• Electrical resistance of the soil.
• Frequency domain sensor such as
capacitance sensors.
In this particular project, we will use the
moisture sensors which can be inserted in the soil,
in order to measure the moisture content of the
soil.
Fig 3 - moisture sensor circuit
Fig 4- moisture sensor
Soil electrical conductivity is simply
measured using two metal conductors spaced apart
in the soil except that dissolved salts greatly alter
the water conductivity and can confound the
measurements. We will use a little bit inefficient
but cheap method by measuring the voltage
between the conductors in soil buried conductors.
When water comes between the two
conductors then voltage difference between the
two reduces and when water does not come in
contact of both wires then the potential difference
between the two wires increased as compared to
the previous condition.
When potential difference between these
two wires is low that means that there is enough
water present for the plant and when potential
difference is larger than that means water is
lacking in plant. We can set the voltage level at
which the water will be given to plant. For plant
that does not need much water we can set the

voltage level to a high value. And for the plant
which is sensitive to dryness and require water
timely we can set lower value of voltage difference
between the wires of conductors in the soil.
Methods for exploiting soil dielectric
properties actually measure proxy variables that
more or less include a component due to the soil
electrical conductivity and are thus inherently
sensitive to variations in soil salinity and
temperature as well as water. Measurements are
also affected by soil bulk density and the
proportion of bound and free water determined by
the soil type. Nevertheless, good accuracy and
precision can be achieved under specific conditions
and some sensor types have become widely
adopted for scientific work.
Soil dielectric measurement is the method
of choice for most research studies where expertise
is available for calibration, installation and
interpretation, but scope for cost reduction through
sensor multiplexing is limited due to the possibility
of stray capacitances. A lower manufacturing cost
is possible through development of application
specific integrated circuits (ASICS), though this
requires a high level of investment. Multiple
sensors are required to provide a depth profile and
cover a representative area, but this cost can be
minimized through use of a computer model to
extend the measurements in a predictive way. Thus,
by using the moisture sensors, the over-riding
factor will be reliable, cost-effective sensors and
electronic systems for accessing and interpreting
the data.
2.5. WATER PUMP:
The water pump is used to artificially
supply water for a particular task. It can be
electronically controlled by interfacing it to a
microcontroller. It can be triggered ON/OFF by
sending signals as required. The process of
artificially supplying water is known as pumping.
There are many varieties of water pumps used.
This project employs the use of a small water
pump which is connected to a H-Bridge.
The pumping of water is a basic and
practical technique, far more practical than
scooping it up with one's hands or lifting it in a
hand-held bucket. This is true whether the water is
drawn from a fresh source, moved to a needed
location, purified, or used for irrigation, washing,
or sewage treatment, or for evacuating water from
an undesirable location. Regardless of the
outcome, the energy required to pump water is an
extremely demanding component of water
consumption. All other processes depend or benefit
either from water descending from a higher
elevation or some pressurized plumbing system.
2.6. Relay Circuit:
Relay circuit is vital part of this project as all the
mechanical parts of the project are done by relays.
Relays work as interfacing between the electronic
circuit and mechanical circuit.
The electromagnetic relay consists of a multi-turn
coil, wound on an iron core, to form an
electromagnet. When the coil is energized, by
passing current through it, the core becomes
temporarily magnetized. The magnetized core
attracts the iron armature. The armature is pivoted
Which causes it to operate one or more sets of
contacts? When the coil is de-energized the
armature and contacts are released. The coil can be
energized from a low power source such as a
transistor while the contacts can switch high
powers such as the mains supply. The relay can
also be situated remotely from the control source.
Relays can generate a very high voltage across the
coil when switched off. This can damage other
components in the circuit. To prevent this a diode
is connected across the coil.
Fig 5 – Relay circuit
Relay uses DC 12volt power for their operation. So
a rectifier circuit is added to power supply and a
capacitor to remove ripples. To get 12 volt ,
transformers are used.
3. MICROCONTROLLER
PIC16F877A
The Intel 8051 is an 8-bit micro controller which
means that most available opration are limited to
8bits . there are 3 basic “sizes” of the
PIC16F877A : short ,standard ,and extended .The
short and standard chips are often available in DIP
(dual in-line package) form, but the Extended
PIC16F877A models often have a different form
factor, and are not "drop-in compatible". All these
things are called PIC16F877A because they can
all be programmed using PIC16F877A assembly
language, and they all share certain features

(although the different models all have their own
special features).
Some of the features that have made the
PIC16F877A popular are:
• 14 KB on chip program memory.
• 368 bytes on chip data memory (RAM).
• 4 register banks.
• 128 user defined software flags.
• 8-bit data bus
• 16-bit address bus
• 32 general purpose registers each of 8 bits
• 16 bit timers (usually 2, but may have
more, or less).
• 3 internal and 2 external interrupts.
• Bit as well as byte addressable RAM area
of 16 bytes.
• Four 8-bit ports, (short models have two
8-bit ports).
• 16-bit program counter and data pointer.
• 1 Micro second instruction cycle with 12
MHz Crystal.
4. CONCLUSION
Thus the “AUTOMATIC PLANT WATERING
SYSTEM” has been designed and tested
successfully. It has been developed by integrated
features of all the hardware components used.
Presence of every module has been reasoned out
and placed carefully, thus contributing to the best
working of the unit. The system has been tested to
function automatically. The moisture sensors
measure the moisture level (water content) of the
different plants. If the moisture level is found to be
below the desired level, the moisture sensor sends
the signal to the microcontroller which triggers the
Water Pump to turn ON and supply the water to
respective plant. When the desired moisture level
isreached, the system halts on its own and the
Water Pump is turned OFF. Thus, the functionality
of the entire system has been tested thoroughly and
it is said to function successfully.
5. REFERENCES
[1]John B Peatmen, Design with micro controllers,
Mc-Graw Hill, USA.
[2]D I corporated, "Rectifier, 1N4001 - 1N4007,"
[Online]. Available:www.diodes.com. [Accessed
05 01 2014]
[3]"Arduino Uno" Arduino ,[Online].
Available:arduino. cc/en/Main/arduino Board Uno.
[Accessed 22 12 2013].
[4] Automatic water level control with short
messaging (SMS) notification by sanam Pudasaini.
International Journal of Scientific and Research
Publications, Volume 4, Issue 9, September 2014
ISSN 2250-3153
[5] Devika et al., International Journal of Advanced
Research in Computer Science and Software
Engineering 4(10), October - 2014, pp. 449-456 ©
2014, IJARCSSE All Rights Reserved Page | 449
Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2014 ISSN: 2277
128X .
[6] Microprocessor Architecture, Programming &
Applications, by Ramesh S. Gaonkar.
[7] S. Garera and A. Rubin, “An Independent
Audit Framework for Software Dependent Voting
Systems,” in Proc. of ACM conf. Computer and
Comm. Security, pp. 256-265, 2007.
[8] Ms. Sweta S. Patil, Prof. Mrs. A.V. Malvijay,
“Review for ARM based agriculture field
monitoring system”, International Journal of
Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 4,
Issue 2, February 2014.
[9] A DIGITAL SOIL MOISTUR METER USING
THE 555 TIMER by Sam B. Onoja , Jonathan A.
Enokela and Grace O. Published by ARPN Journal
of Engineering and Applied Sciences ,VOL. 9, NO.
10, OCTOBER 2014, ISSN 1819-6608.
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