APPLICATIONS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN

AGRICULTURE: WSNS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL

MONITORING

By

Yasser Mahmoud Awad, PhD

Faculty of Agriculture

Suez Canal University

SRGE 08/14/2014 – Ismailia, Egypt

Scientific Research Group in Egypt www.egyptscience.net

Overview

Introduction

WSNs

Applications

Current works

Conclusions

Introduction

Environmental degradation is due to the depletion of natural

resources, including water and soil by mainly unsustainable

human practices and activities.

Plant nutrition needs should be addressed not only in the

nutrient content but also in the balance of the content in Plant

organs over the entire period of plant growth.

Problematic: Climatic Change

Temperature change (oC) relative to

1900

1940 1970 1994

Greenhouse gases 0.10 0.38 0.69

Sulfate emissions -0.04 -0.19 -0.27

Solar forcing 0.18 0.10 0.21

Volcanic forcing 0.11 -0.04 -0.14

Ozone -0.06 0.05 0.08

Net 0.19 0.17 0.53

Observed 0.26 0.21 0.52

Climate Change Impacts

Agriculture

Water Resources

Shift in food growing areas.

Changes in crop yields.

Increased irrigation demands.

Increased pests, crop diseases and weeds in warmer areas.

Decreased water

quality.

Increased drought.

Increased flooding

(Torrent in 2009 in

Sinai).

Pollution

Heavy metals

Organic Pollutants

Introduction

Research questions Scientific approach

Will the earth continue to get warmer? The global average temperature rise is > 0.6 oC. Continuous

monitoring of weather by Wireless Sensors Instrumentation

Systems.

How rapidly could climate shift in

Egypt?

Building dataset for weather, after which further analysis and

modeling should be performed.

What are the effect of increased CO2

level or temperature on various crops?

Further measurements and monitoring of plant responses

under lab and field conditions.

Can soil absorb more CO2? It can occur through applying biochar and polymeric

conditioners to reduce CO2 emission and maintain soil organic

matter.

In case of Egypt, what are the possible

mitigation technologies?

Regional experimental findings with IT can produce various

scenarios to mitigate climate change impacts on agriculture.

In Case of Egypt

Proximal sensing

deployment strategies

that are based on: real

time (a), map-based (b),

and integrated (c)

approaches.

Applications

Prototype sensor integrating optical, mechanical

and capacitance components

Sensor system integrating soil electrical

conductivity and pH mapping

Applications

Applications

Applying the X-ray fluorescent (XRF) and mid-infrared (MIR)

spectroscopy for monitoring plant nutrition needs during

growth stages.

Gas Exchange and Fluorescence | LI-CO

Applications

Hydroponics

Sensors for Monitoring Greenhouse

SMART IRIGATION SYSTEM

Sensors for Smart Irrigation in Field

Soil Moisture

Sensors

Applications

Fertilization Management Software

Sensors for Water Quality in Aquaculture

SMART

IPhone Over fertilization symptoms

Mobile-Based Applications

Current work

WSNs for environmental monitoring to reduce emission

of Green House Gases (GHGs), especially CO2.

WSNs for monitoring of water quality in Aquaculture

(Aquaponic Project).

Manage pollution technically: Water quality monitoring

systems.

Thermal imaging technique and the early detection of

plant diseases and stress.

Thermal Sensing of Plant Disorder

Thermal imaging technique of normal and infected leaves

for early detection of powdery mildew in wheat after the

artificial infection in a pot experiment under greenhouse

conditions.

Infection with powdery mildew pathogen induced changes in

leaf metabolism, contributing to a distinct thermal signature

characterizing the early and late phases of the infection.

Thermal Sensing of Plant Disorder

Powdery mildew in wheat caused by Erysiphe

graminis f. sp. tritici Thermal image of infected leaves

Conclusions

Applying agriculture

and IT is a promising

solution to improve the

quality of life (QOL)

Recommended Literature

For further questions: Yasser M. Awad

ryasser@gmail.com