PPK Ormawa Hiamfi Team x Himagreen UNSOED Apply IoT-Based Drip Irrigation
[unsoed.ac.id, Kam, 14/09/23] The PPK Ormawa Team of Physics Student Association (Himafi) X Agricultural Engineering Student Association (Himagreen) Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed) carried out the Student Organization Capacity Strengthening Program (PPK Ormawa) in Cendana Village, Kutasari District, Purbalingga Regency, Central Java. This team was led by Mufti Saefurohmah (Physics 2021), with 14 student members, and accompanied by a supervisor, Mrs. Adilla Luthfia S.Si., M.Si. This team carried out a village community empowerment program with the title of the activity “Optimizing IoT-Based Drip Irrigation Systems to Increase Agricultural Yields in Dryland Areas in Cendana Village, Purbalingga”.
This activity is based on agricultural problems in Cendana Village. Based on surveys and interviews that have been conducted, it is found that one of the agricultural problems in Cendana Village is limited water for agricultural land and dry land types. This is due to the absence of water springs around the agricultural area. This condition makes agricultural land in Cendana Village not planted with plants during the dry season. As an alternative solution to this problem, the PPK Ormawa Himafi x Himagreen Unsoed Team try to implement an IoT-Based drip irrigation system in the cultivation of chili plants.
The program will be implemented for six months, from June to November 2023. The program includes socialization activities, water procurement, design and installation of drip irrigation, design of drip irrigation system automation, and cultivation of chili plants. In its implementation, the PPK Ormawa Himafi x Himagreen Unsoed team collaborated with the Cendana Village government, youth organizations, Cendana Village farmer groups, and one of the agricultural land owners in Cendana village, Mr. Bashori (The Chairman of the Cipta Utama Farmer Group).
This activity begins with socialization to the Cendana Village community regarding the program to be implemented. This activity is expected to be able to provide an overview of the program that will be implemented by the Himafi x Himagreen Ormawa PPK team to the community and provide an overview of the IoT-based drip irrigation system and its benefits for agricultural activities in Cendana village. The next activity is the procurement of water sources around the land. The water source comes from the PDAM of Sikapat Village, Sumbang District, Banyumas Regency. The water from the PDAM is collected in 2 water tanks and then channeled to the farmland through the IoT-based drip irrigation system that has been made.
The drip irrigation design and installation activities carried out include land measurement activities, making drip irrigation designs, procuring and making equipment, and testing drip irrigation systems. Drip irrigation system is an irrigation technology that aims to utilize the limited availability of water efficiently. In its implementation, this system was designed to irrigate seven beds of land. In this drip irrigation system, a mixing bucket was also installed to mix water and fertilizer. So that the water that flows through the plants is water that contains fertilizer.
The drip irrigation system automation design activities carried out include system design activities, procurement of tools and materials, assembly of tools, programming, and testing of drip irrigation system automation. By using IoT, farmers in Cendana Village can monitor the condition of the drip irrigation in real-time and can control the flow of water given to the chili plants, so that the level of water use efficiency in agricultural land can increase.
This IoT-based drip irrigation system was then tested on chili plant cultivation activities. This is to see whether the IoT-based drip irrigation system that has been made can work according to its function and purpose or not. The success parameter of this system is seen from the effectiveness and efficiency of water usage in irrigation activities in chili plant cultivation.
After being successfully implemented, this LoT-based drip irrigation system is expected to be an alternative solution for Cendana Village farmers who experience problems in terms of irrigation, especially during the dry season. So that during the dry season, farmers in Cendana Village can carry out agricultural activities without worrying about water shortages.