Agriculture depends heavily on freshwater, yet most conventional irrigation systems still operate without real-time knowledge of soil conditions. Fixed-schedule watering and manual control frequently lead to both over-irrigation and moisture deficiency, which negatively affect crop growth and increase resource consumption. This paper presents an Internet-of-Things (IoT)–based smart irrigation system that automatically regulates water delivery using soil-moisture sensing, microcontroller-based decision making, and cloud monitoring. The ESP8266 microcontroller processes live moisture readings and controls a relay-driven pump so that irrigation starts only when the soil becomes dry and stops at an optimal threshold. Experimental results demonstrate reduced water usage, lower labor effort, and improved monitoring capability, highlighting the potential of low-cost IoT solutions to support sustainable agriculture.
Bhale et al. (2026) studied this question.