Sustainable IoT-Based Deep Water Culture Hydroponic for Leaf & Plant-Based Cultivation System with Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts

Abstract

A deep water culture (DWC) hydroponic system was developed and tested with the purpose of measuring the quality of nutrient solution and plants. The system consists of the combination of a pH sensor, TDS sensor, the temperature sensor, and an ESP32 microcontroller to constantly obtain the nutrient reservoir data. The idea supports the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 15: Life on Land by reducing pressure on natural soil ecosystems and allowing a sustainable, land-independent way of food/crop production that coexists with nature. The sensor readings are sent to Blynk cloud dashboard through Wi-Fi, where the real-time data can be observed. Once a parameter goes out of the threshold values defined, the ESP32 sends a notification through the Telegram bot. The outcomes indicate that the pH was kept in 5.6-6.9, the TDS was in 853-1075ppm and temperature of solutions was kept between 26.4°C and 32.7°C. On the same time period the plant height increased from 5 inch (12.7 cm) to more than 20 inches (50.8 cm). Through the integration of IoT, the proposed system demonstrates the presence of reliable real-time control, active data recording, and efficient created alerts, which depict the ability to improve the precision and sustainability of modern hydroponic farming.