Modular System for High-Precision Irrigation with Nutrients Addition

Precision agriculture necessitates irrigation systems capable of adapting to spatial variability and dynamic crop requirements. Existing systems often rely on costly infrastructures or lack the fine-grained control and integration of fertigation. This paper presents the development and experimental validation of a cost-effective, modular Irrigation Modular System (IMS) designed for deployment on pivot or linear movement automated irrigation infrastructure. The system enables high-precision irrigation with nutrient addition, supported by real-time environmental sensing and Power Line Communication (PLC) for data transfer. The IMS comprises five main components: electrovalve-controlled irrigation modules, soil and atmospheric sensor nodes, nutrient supply units, a PLC-based communication layer, and a centralized decision-making platform. Field trials on early tomatoes and autumn cauliflower demonstrated improved water and nutrient use efficiency, reduced input consumption, and increased yields. The IMS presents a scalable, retrofit-ready solution for efficient resource management in precision agriculture.