Soil Moisture Monitoring for Improved Agricultural Productivity

Pakistan is a hub of agricultural practices. Agriculture contributes 18.9% to the country’s GDP and over 49% of the labor force is involved in it. However due to rigid and outdated practices, the sector often sees losses in the form of low crop yield, increased input and production costs and the lack of an efficient use of resources. One of the major problems is lack of data regarding efficient water usage which for a country already riddled with major water crisis, is a very urgent issue. Being informed about the correct water need and usage is a crucial aspect of agriculture. Too much water will leave less growth space for the roots. Less than required water will leave the crop in a growth strain. The usage of excess water also poses the threat of seeping into ground water which can further lead to health problems. With a plan in mind to combat these shortcomings, lack of availability of proper data and to transform the current agrarian culture into an advanced field, Center for Water Informatics (WIT) at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) took up the task of introducing “Soil Moisture Sensors”. This technology generates automatic alerts as to when to irrigate and when not to, thus conserving water and boosting yield. These sensors allow for the growing of a crop within a crop-specific optimum band of water content at the crop root zone hence boosting the yield of the crop. These sensors also boast a long battery life which can ensure a year-long operation without human intervention. Sugarcane farmers who used these installed soil moisture sensors saved up to 35% on irrigation costs and increased the quality of their crop yield.

Soil Moisture Sensor: Development & Specifications

Learn more about the development and specifications of the Soil Moisture Sensor here, including its design process, technical features, and applications in agricultural monitoring.

Publications on Soil Moisture Sensor:

M. Ahmad, H. Rafique and A. Muhammad, "Exploring the Application of Machine Learning for Soil Moisture Forecasting over In-situ Soil Moisture Sensors Network," 2024 Horizons of Information Technology and Engineering (HITE), Lahore, Pakistan, 2024, pp. 1-5.
H. Rafique, R. Zainab, Z. Ahmad and A. Muhammad, "A Quality Assured in-situ Real-Time Soil Moisture Monitoring Network for the Indus Basin," IGARSS 2024 - 2024 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Athens, Greece, 2024, pp. 5155-5161

Soil Moisture Sensors: Workshops, Conferences, and Meetings

Workshop on Digital Sustainable Agriculture.
WIT LUMS Hosts the Launch of Nestle Pakistan Water Plan.

Soil Moisture Sensor Development Team:

Soil Moisture Sensors (SMS) are indigenously produced at WIT’s production laboratory. The facility has dedicated staff responsible for development, field deployment, and maintenance. Prior to deployment, each SMS undergoes rigorous testing under laboratory conditions, followed by a thorough calibration process. Once validated, the sensors are deployed in the field.

Data transmitted from the SMS units is continuously monitored through a centralized dashboard, and the sensors are maintained through field visits whenever required.

The following are the team members currently associated with the SMS program: