Internet of Things Based System for Cucurbitaceous Crops Farming

Abstract: The current food shortages due to increasing population, especially in developing countries calls for intensification of efforts in the development and adoption of technologies to enhance food production. Soil type and quality is key for crops to grow produce maximally, hence the soil should be properly managed. This is where technology involvement becomes necessary. Smart agriculture using Internet of Things (IoT) system can help farmers to analyse soil properties, monitor and control crops intake of vital nutrients. This research developed a more cost effective Online IoT-based technology for soil testing, analysing soils for better nutrient advisory to cucurbitaceous farmers. The research adopted an experimental method and used the object oriented analysis and design methodology. An IoT based system with Arduino Uno, ESP8266 Node Microcontroller and NPK sensors was developed and used to collect and analyse soil data. The system when deployed will assist farmers to test soil type and nutrient qualities in real/offline time and receive experts advice on cucurbitaceous crops in order to increase crop quality and yields.