An Electronic Agricultural Soil Quality Assessment Device

Agriculture in the Philippines is one big sector that plays an important role in the Philippine economy. The growth of the economy in the agricultural sector partly depends on crops yield. To have a good crops yield, soil quality will have to be good enough to nourish the crops for good harvest yield. Laboratory method of soil quality analysis methods can take weeks to months to produce the nutrient content of the soil. In this paper, the proponents propose the use of a hybrid electronic nose and sensors to identify the ammonia, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, pH and moisture content that affect the quality of soil for planting the best produce, in a shorter amount of time. The prototype will consist of a micro controller that will interface a MQ137 sensor that will detect without delay, the volatile organic compound (VOC's) present in the soil, along with a soil moisture sensor probe and Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) sensor that will determine the moisture, NPK and pH content of the soil. The sensed parameters are to then be displayed in a human machine interface (HMI) with a graphical user interface (GUI) firmware interfaced with the micro controller. This will allow farmers and agricultural technicians to determine the needed fertilizer mix for agricultural-grade soil, consequently, can lead to more produce. The prototype was compared to a chemical method of soil testing i.e. Rapid Soil Test Kit of the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Soils and Water Management. The prototype was concluded to be a viable replacement for chemical soil quality tests.