Enhancing water usage efficiency in agriculture through smart systems: a review

Abstract

As the scarcity of clean water becomes more pronounced, significant challenges emerge in efforts to uphold food security and achieve sustainable progress, particularly on a global scale. Agriculture stands out as one of the primary sectors significantly contributing to water consumption. Thus, enhancing water usage efficiency within irrigated agricultural systems holds paramount importance to ensure the continued development of agricultural sustainability. One promising avenue lies in the advancement of intelligent irrigation systems, particularly leveraging wireless communications technology, monitoring systems, and advanced control strategies to optimize irrigation scheduling. This study adopts a qualitative methodology, grounded in a thorough examination of literature adhering to specific criteria, including publications in indexed journals, articles, or research papers published in the past ten years. It introduces diverse irrigation control and observation methodologies employed in recent times. An intriguing proposition emerges regarding the integration of soil, temperature, and humidity monitoring systems with predictive control models, potentially augmenting water usage efficiency. Through this review, researchers will be able to monitor and create control prospects related to irrigation agriculture as well as identify directions and gaps for future research activities in this field.