• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.252-252
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• 2017

Nowadays water shortage is becoming one of the biggest problems in the Korea. Many different methods are developed for conservation of water. Soil water management has become the most indispensable factor for augmenting the crop productivity especially on soybean (Glycine max L.) because of their high susceptibility to both water stress and water logging at various growth stages. The farmers have been using irrigation techniques through manual control which farmers irrigate lands at regular intervals. Automatic irrigation systems are convenient, especially for those who need to travel. If automatic irrigation systems are installed and programmed properly, they can even save you money and help in water conservation. Automatic irrigation systems can be programmed to provide automatic irrigation to the plants which helps in saving money and water and to discharge more precise amounts of water in a targeted area, which promotes water conservation. The objective of this study was to determine the possible effect of automatic irrigation systems based on soil moisture on soybean growth. This experiment was conducted on an upland field with sandy loam soils in Department of Southern Area Crop, NICS, RDA. The study had three different irrigation methods; sprinkle irrigation (SI), surface drip irrigation (SDI) and fountain irrigation (FI). SI was installed at spacing of $7{\times}7m$ and $1.8m^3/hr$ as square for per irrigation plot, a lateral pipe of SDI was laid down to 1.2 m row spacing with $2.3L\;h^{-1}$ discharge rate, the distance between laterals was 20 cm spacing between drippers and FI was laid down in 3m interval as square for per irrigation plot. Soybean (Daewon) cultivar was sown in the June $20^{th}$, 2016, planted in 2 rows of apart in 1.2 m wide rows and distance between hills was 20 cm. All agronomic practices were done as the recommended cultivation. This automatic irrigation system had valves to turn irrigation on/off easily by automated controller, solenoids and moisture sensor which were set the reference level as available soil moisture levels of 30% at 10cm depth. The efficiency of applied irrigation was obtained by dividing the total water stored in the effective root zone to the applied irrigation water. Results showed that seasonal applied irrigation water amounts were $60.4ton\;10a^{-1}$ (SI), $47.3ton\;10a^{-1}$ (SDI) and $92.6 ton\;10a^{-1}$ (FI), respectively. The most significant advantage of SDI system was that water was supplied near the root zone of plants drip by drip. This system saved a large quantity of water by 27.5% and 95.6% compared to SI, FI system. The average soybean yield was significantly affected by different irrigation methods. The soybean yield by different irrigation methods were $309.7kg\;10a^{-1}$ from SDI $282.2kg\;10a^{-1}$ from SI, $289.4kg\;10a^{-1}$ from FI, and $206.3kg\;10a^{-1}$ from control, respectively. SDI resulted in increase of soybean yield by 50.1%, 7.0% 9.8% compared to non-irrigation (control), FI and SI, respectively. Therefore, the automatic irrigation system supplied water only when the soil moisture in the soil went below the reference. Due to the direct transfer of water to the roots water conservation took place and also helped to maintain the moisture to soil ratio at the root zone constant. Thus the system is efficient and compatible to changing environment. The automatic irrigation system provides with several benefits and can operate with less manpower. In conclusion, improving automatic irrigation system can contribute greatly to reducing production costs of crops and making the industry more competitive and sustainable.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.225-231
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• 2009

'Nokkwang' green pepper plants were grown in soil system (silty loam with pH 6.5) under the greenhouse, to determine the effects of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) and subsurface drip irrigation plus aeration (SDIA) into root zone comparing with conventional surface drip irrigation (DI) in terms of water use efficiency, soil properties, and growth and fruit yield. Two drip lines per crop row were layed on the soil surface in DI system, buried at a depth of 20cm below the soil surface in SDI system, and also buried at a depth of20cm below the soil surface and aerated for 3minutes a hour during the daytime ($08:00{\sim}19:00$) by a air compressor in SDIA system. A automatic irrigation with starting point of -20kPa and ending point of -10kPa based on soil moisture contents was applied by controllers and electronic vacum soil moisture sensors. Reduction in soil moisture contents was delayed in SDI and SDIA, compared to DI. Irrigation amount applied in pepper cultivation was around 30% less in SDI than in DI. Electric conductivity and nitrate nitrogen content in the surface soil grown green pepper were significantly lowered in SSDI and SDIA, compared to DI. Better development of root system was observed in SDIA and SDI than in DI. Results showed that pepper fruit yield increased by 30% in SDIA and 22% in SDI in comparision with DI.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.115-123
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• 2008

This study was conducted to develop an automatic soil water content control system for greenhouse, which consisted of drip irrigation nozzles, soil water content sensors, an on/off valve, a servo-motor assembly and a control program. The control logic adopted in the system was Ziegler-Nichols algorithm and rising time, time constant and over/undershoot ratio as control variables in the system was selected and determined by various control experiments to maintain small delay time and low overshoot. Based on the experimental results, it was concluded that the control system developed in the study could replace the unreliable conventional greenhouse soil water management.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2013

Vegetables production in greenhouse are typically intensely managed with high inputs of fertilizers and irrigation water, which increases the risk of ground-water nitrate contamination. In 2010 and 2011, a study was conducted to determine the appropriate depth of soil moisture sensor for automatic irrigation control to use water and nitrogen efficiently under subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) systems. The irrigation line for SDI placed 30 cm below soil surface and tensiometer was used as soil moisture sensor. Three tensiometer treatments placed at 10 (SDI-T10), 20 (SDI-T20) and 30 cm (SDI-T30) depths below soil surface under SDI. These are also compared to SUR-T20 treatment where tensiometer placed at 20 cm below soil surface under surface drip irrigation (SUR) systems. The growth of cucumber was not statistically different between SUR and SDI without SDI-T30 treatment. Fruit yields (Mg/ha) were 57.0 and 56.9 (SDI-T10), 56.0 and 60.5 (SDI-T20), 40.9 and 41.2 (SDI-T30) and 56.6 and 54.3 (SUR-T20) for 2010 and 2011, respectively. Slightly higher total yield was observed in tensiometer placed 20 cm below the soil surface, although no significant differences were found between SDI-T10 and SDI-T20 under SDI treatments. In addition, nitrogen application rates and daily irrigation rates were lowest in SDI-T20 compared with other SDIs and SUR treatments. Nitrogen and daily irrigation application under SDI-T20 was lower than that under SUR-T20 by 6.0%. These findings suggested tensiometer 20 cm depth under SDI systems was best for cucumber production in greenhouse.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.227-234
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• 2018

The smart irrigation system using ICT technology is crucial for stable production of upland crops. The objective of this study was to develop a smart irrigation system that can control soil water, depending on irrigation methods, in order to improve crop production. In surface irrigation, three irrigation methods (sprinkler irrigation (SI), surface drip irrigation (SDI), and fountain irrigation (FI)) were installed on a crop field. The soil water contents were measured at 10, 20, 30, and 40 cm depth, and an automatic irrigation system controls a valve to maintain the soil water content at 10 cm to be 30%. In subsurface drip irrigation (SSDI), the drip lines were installed at a depth of 20 cm. Controlled drainage system (CDS) was managed with two ground water level (30 cm and 60 cm). The seasonal irrigation amounts were 96.4 ton/10a (SDI), 119.5 ton/10a (FI), and 113 ton/10a (SI), respectively. Since SDI system supplied water near the root zone of plants, the water was saved by 23.9% and 17.3%, compared with FI and SI, respectively. In SSDI, the mean soil water content was 38.8%, which was 10.8% higher than the value at the control treatment. In CDS, the water contents were greatly affected by the ground water level; the water contents at the surface zone with 30 cm ground water level was 9.4% higher than the values with 60 cm ground water level. In conclusion, this smart irrigation system can reduce production costs of upland crops.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.128-136
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• 1989

The purpose of this study was to develop a computer operated automatic drip irrigation system for application in vinyl-house cultivation. The results can be summarized as follows: 1) The T-type ice compensation wire was used to measure the temperature. The voltage level measured up to 0.02 volt was used as input to an 8-bit A/D converter. 2) A specially devised tensiometer was used to content the watering system. When the needle of the pressure gauge reaches the lower threshold position it turns on the pumping system and turns off when it reaches higher threshold position. 3) In order to use the multiple gypsum blocks for one transducer, reed relays and a D/O board were used to make the sequential switching possible. 4) It was possible to automate the trickle irrigation system for the whole growth period of vinyl-house crops with the help of microcomputer. 5) In terms of furrow irrigation, the irrigation water consumption was the smallest, 2.8 times less than conventional method of surface trickle irrigation, 3.4 times less than subsurface trickle irrigation method. 6) In terms of productivity of cucumber, there was a drop in productivity when compared to furrow irrigation method, 7.2% for surface trickle irrigation, 27.4% for subsurface irrigation method.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.703-718
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• 2021

An irrigation monitoring system is an efficient approach to save water and to provide effective irrigation scheduling for rice cultivation in desert soils. This research aimed to design, fabricate, and evaluate the basic performance of an irrigation monitoring system based on information and communication technology (ICT) for rice cultivation under drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation in desert soils using a Raspberry Pi. A data acquisition system was installed and tested inside a rice cultivating net house at the United Arab Emirates University, Al-Foah, Al-Ain. The Raspberry Pi operating system was used to control the irrigation and to monitor the soil water content, ambient temperature, humidity, and light intensity inside the net house. Soil water content sensors were placed in the desert soil at depths of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 cm. A sensor-based automatic irrigation logic circuit was used to control the actuators and to manage the crop irrigation operations depending on the soil water content requirements. A developed webserver was used to store the sensor data and update the actuator status by communicating via the Pi-embedded Wi-Fi network. The maximum and minimum average soil water contents, ambient temperatures, humidity levels, and light intensity values were monitored as 33.91 ± 2 to 26.95 ± 1%, 45 ± 3 to 24 ± 3℃, 58 ± 2 to 50 ± 4%, and 7160-90 lx, respectively, during the experimental period. The ICT-based monitoring system ensured precise irrigation scheduling and better performance to provide an adequate water supply and information about the ambient environment.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.341-348
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• 2013

Maintenance of adequate soil tension or content during the period of crop growth is necessary to support optimum plant growth and yields. A better understanding of soil tension and content for precision irrigation would allow optimal soil water condition to crops and minimize the adverse effects of water stress on crop growth and development. This research reports on a comparison of soil water tension and content variations in differently textured soils over time under drip irrigation using two different water management methods, i.e. pulse time and required water irrigation methods. The pulse time-based irrigation was performed by turning the solenoid valve on and off for preset times to allow the wetting front to disperse in root zone before additional water was applied. The required water estimation method was a new water control logic designed by Rural Development Administration that applies the amount of water required based on a conversion of the measured water tension into water content. The use of the pulse time irrigation method under drip irrigation at a high tension of -20 kPa and high temperatures over $30^{\circ}C$ was not successful at maintaining moisture tensions within an appropriate range of 5 kPa because the preset irrigation times used for water control could not compensate for the change in evapotranspiration during day and night. The response time and pattern of water contents for all of the tested soils measured with capacitance-based sensor probes were faster and more direct than those of water tensions measured with porous and ceramic cup-based tensiometers when water was applied, indicating water content would be a better control variable for automatic irrigation. The required water estimation-based irrigation method provided relatively stable control of moisture tension, even though somewhat lower tension values were obtained as compared to the target tension of -20 kPa, indicating that growers could expect to be effective in controlling low tensions ranging from -10 to -20 kPa with the required water estimation system.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.93-100
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• 2011

Maintenance of adequate soil water potential during the period of crop growth is necessary to support optimum plant growth and yields. A better understanding of soil water movement within and below the rooting zone can facilitate optimal irrigation scheduling aimed at minimizing the adverse effects of water stress on crop growth and development and the leaching of water below the root zone which can have adverse environmental effects. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using a portable irrigation controller with an Watermark sensor for the cultivation of drip-irrigated vegetable crops in a greenhouse. The control capability of the irrigation controller for a soil water potential of -20 kPa was evaluated under summer conditions by cultivating 45-day-old tomato plants grown in three differently textured soils (sandy loam, loam, and loamy sands). Water contents through each soil profile were continuously monitored using three Sentek probes, each consisting of three capacitance sensors at 10, 20, and 30 cm depths. Even though a repeatable cycling of soil water potential occurred for the potential treatment, the lower limit of the Watermark (about 0 kPa) obtained in this study presented a limitation of using the Watermark sensor for optimal irrigation of tomato plants where -20 kPa was used as a point for triggering irrigations. This problem might be related to the slow response time and inadequate soil-sensor interface of the Watermark sensor as compared to a porous and ceramic cup-based tensiometer with a sensitive pressure transducer. In addition, the irrigation time of 50 to 60 min at each of the irrigation operation gave a rapid drop of the potential to zero, resulting in over irrigation of tomatoes. There were differences in water content among the three different soil types under the variable rate irrigation, showing a range of water contents of 16 to 24%, 17 to 28%, and 24 to 32% for loamy sand, sandy loam, and loam soils, respectively. The greatest rate increase in water content was observed in the top of 10 cm depth of sandy loam soil within almost 60 min from the start of irrigation.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.257-264
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• 1999

The trickling system for automatic and individual watering were made with Bunchungto, Ongito and Backjato. The thickness of ceramics were 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0mm. And they were fired in a muffle furnace at five different temperatures between 500 and 900'E during 12 hours. The upper plastic parts of sensor consisted of five elements made by steel mold. With the photo fiber sensor attached to datalogger, an accumulated amount of drops for every 10 minutes were recorded. The porosity is higher in the order of Bunchungto, Backjato and Ongito; also, as the firing temperature is higher and the thickness is thicker, the porosity is higher. The ceramic sensors consisted of $SiO_2$ of 54.17~71.62wt.%, A1$_2$ $O_3$ of 15.42~33.79wt.% and the rest of 10wt.%, those were Fe$_2$ $O_3$, CaO, MgO, Na$_2$O, $K_2$O, Ti $O_2$, P$_2$ $O_{5}$. The pattern of dropping were changed according to the variety, thickness and firing temperature of ceramics. As the ceramics were made thicker, the fluctuation of dropping became more rapid, but it did not regularly work at 1mm thickness. As the firing temperature of ceramics became higher, the fluctuation of dropped amount became more rapid.