Optimizing tomato production with IoT-enabled precision irrigation: A case study of water and fertilizer management

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Published

2025-06-30

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58993/ijh/2025.82.2.10

Keywords:

Automated irrigation, fertigation, sensors, IoT, yield
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Vol. 82 No. 02 (2025): Indian Journal of Horticulture

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Research Articles

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Copyright (c) 2025 Mahesh salimath, Nirmal Kaliannan, Sushant Ranjan, Varun Prabhakar

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Authors

  • Mahesh salimath 867, 2nd floor, 22nd Main Road, 2nd Phase, J.P. Nagar, Bengaluru 560078, Karnataka, India
  • Nirmal Kaliannan 867, 2nd floor, 22nd Main Road, 2nd Phase, J.P. Nagar, Bengaluru 560078, Karnataka, India
  • Sushant Ranjan 867, 2nd floor, 22nd Main Road, 2nd Phase, J.P. Nagar, Bengaluru 560078, Karnataka, India
  • Varun Prabhakar 867, 2nd floor, 22nd Main Road, 2nd Phase, J.P. Nagar, Bengaluru 560078, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Precision irrigation is key for increasing tomato yields, especially given the crop’s high-water demands. This study uses Internet of Things (IoT) technology and wireless sensor networks for automated irrigation and fertigation to improve water and fertilizer management for two tomato varieties, ‘Sahoo’ and ‘SVTD8323’, addressing resource inefficiency and water scarcity. The research compares different irrigation thresholds: -23 kPa during the seedling stage (100% water availability) and -30 kPa from vegetative to maturity stages (80% water availability). Fertigation schedules include 100% (F1) and 75% (F2) of the recommended fertilizer dose against a control treatment (constant -23 kPa) using Indian Institute of Horticulture Research fertilizer guidelines. Results show that ‘Sahoo’ under IF1 and IF2 treatments had a 12.5% and 13.5% yield increase over the control, using 34.9% and 38.7% less water, respectively. For ‘SVTD8323’, yields increased by 4.8% and 12.5% with water savings of 35.9% and 29% under IF1 and IF2. Additionally, IF2 treatment for ‘Sahoo’ and ‘SVTD8323’ resulted in a 31% and 14% rise in the number of fruits per plant, and an 8% and 5.5% increase in fruit weight, respectively. Cost analysis indicated that the control incurred the highest costs, with benefit-to-cost ratios of 1.28 and 1.34 for ‘Sahoo’ under IF1 and IF2, and 1.11 and 1.42 for ‘SVTD8323’. IoT-enabled irrigation at 75% RDF significantly improves yield and resource efficiency.

 

Results show that ‘Sahoo’ under IF1 and IF2 treatments had a 12.5% and 13.5% yield increase over the control, using 34.9% and 38.7% less water, respectively. For ‘SVTD8323’, yields increased by 4.8% and 12.5% with water savings of 35.9% and 29% under IF1 and IF2. Additionally, IF2 treatment for ‘Sahoo’ and ‘SVTD8323’ resulted in a 31% and 14% rise in the number of fruits per plant, and an 8% and 5.5% increase in fruit weight, respectively. Cost analysis indicated that the control incurred the highest costs, with benefit-to-cost ratios of 1.28 and 1.34 for ‘Sahoo’ under IF1 and IF2, and 1.11 and 1.42 for ‘SVTD8323’. IoT-enabled irrigation at 75% RDF significantly improves yield and resource efficiency.

How to Cite

salimath, M., Kaliannan, N., Ranjan, S., & Prabhakar, V. (2025). Optimizing tomato production with IoT-enabled precision irrigation: A case study of water and fertilizer management. Indian Journal of Horticulture, 82(02), 188–194. https://doi.org/10.58993/ijh/2025.82.2.10

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