"Drip irrigation system" implemented at the Agro Techno Park in Malang, East Java
Malang, East Java, Indonesia, Oct 23, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - Brawijaya University (UB) has developed an internet of
things (IoT)-based system for melon cultivation, currently being implemented at the Agro Techno Park in Malang, East
Java. Eka Maulana, a lecturer from the university's Faculty of Engineering, said the "drip irrigation system" is based
on the water content in the planting medium.
"Logically when the soil is dry, the 'drip irrigation system' is active. How much water content is in the medium when
the drip system is active, as well as data and information related to the mechanism, are sent via an IoT connection. In
principle, water has been applied with additional nutrients," Eka explained to visitors on Friday.
The drip irrigation system cannot only be used for irrigation, said Eka, but also for determining nutritional needs,
lighting, temperature and humidity in the melon garden greenhouse, among others things.
"In the process, the 'drip irrigation system' works according to the nutritional needs of each plant. So it is not just
how much it irrigates the plants, but according to the age of the plants. Control of this system is monitored in terms
of time and data variables that have been recorded before," Eka explained.
Suyadi, Manager of Agriculture and Development at the Agro Techno Park, said the process of providing nutrients to
plants periodically through water flow to the media is based on the needs of the plants.
"In a day, it can be done 5 to 10 times, so with this technology, we do not need to manually provide nutrients. It can
be left to do other work, because it will automatically turn on the 'drip irrigation system' and flow nutrients to the
planting media according to the needs of the plant," he noted.
Suyadi pointed out that the use of IoT has made work easier because the machine turns on automatically whenever the
planting media needs nutrients. "So that there is no shortage of nutrients. Because if we are doing it manually, then we
still use our instincts when plants need nutrients," he said.
The application of the drip irrigation system, he said, has turned out to give maximum results to melon plants. "The
fruit yields can be better and ideal because the availability of nutrients is stable. If the nutrition is not stable,
then the development of melons is not optimal; the fruit can break or the sweetness level will be low," he noted.
Melons that are cultivated using the 'drip irrigation system' are of premium quality, starting from the taste, netted
skin that is neatly arranged, and the ideal weight compared to conventional melons, he said. "The market is exclusive,
so the taste is definitely different from what is sold in the conventional market. In Jatikerto (Malang), there are
several varieties of melon including rock, golden, and honey," Suyadi added.
He explained that the technology-based agricultural cultivation process in Jatikerto is also being used as a laboratory
for students majoring in electrical engineering. "If melon plants are cultivated using a hydroponic system, then what
the student does is aeroponic cultivation of vegetables," he said.
In addition to nutrients that are more easily absorbed, planting with the aeroponic method also leads to faster growth
because it uses LED lighting that is more constant than sunlight, he explained. "We can use LED light to trigger the
generative phase and the vegetative phase in plants, resulting in increased nutrition, faster growth, and obtaining the
desired leaf texture and taste," he said.
One of the team members who is also an electrical engineering student, Muhammad Romadhani Prabowo said that with the
drip irrigation system, plants will be protected from pests or fungi. Vegetables will be safer to eat as they will not
even need to be washed, he said. The quality of the harvest will also be more durable than in hydroponic plants, he
added.
The concept of aeroponics is currently applied to hydroponic plants, such as lettuce, mustard greens, bok choy (type of
Chinese cabbage), basil, and spinach, he said. "Currently, we are also exploring (the drip irrigation system to be
implemented for) herbal plants for treatment or plants with high economic value, such as mint and lemon balm," Prabowo
said.
Meanwhile, the development of IoT-based melon cultivation has arisen from the management of horticultural agriculture in
Indonesia, which is still mostly done conventionally and with minimal use of technology, he said. This has had an impact
on the instability of crop productivity, he added.
Visit Brawijaya University at https://ub.ac.id/ and the Agro Techno Park at http://atp.ub.ac.id/.