Effectiveness of iot based automation system for salad cucumber (Cucumis sativus) cultivation in protected house under Sri Lankan conditions

Protected house cultivation is one of the best solutions to address food security and overcome the scarcity of land and other resources in the future. An automation system with the Internet of Things (IoT) will be the most effective way to maintain a protected house with minimum labours. This research was mainly focused to determine the effectiveness of IoT based automation system for protected house cultivation of salad cucumber in Sri Lanka and validation of temperature and relative humidity sensors used in this system. The study was carried out in two protected houses with the same crop management practices. An IoT-based automation system was designed to control temperature and relative humidity inside the protected house. Fertigation was done several times a day by an automation system for the automated protected house to control electrical conductivity in grow bags. Temperature, RH, EC, and light intensity were recorded by using sensors and standard methods in different periods. Temperature and RH values measured from sensors and standard methods were not significantly different during the experimental period. Therefore, used temperature and RH sensors were valid for this system. Temperature, RH, and EC values were significantly different in two protected houses and the automated protected house was maintaining those conditions near to the desired levels for salad cucumber. There was a 40% yield increment in the automated protected house than the conventional protected house. Based on the findings, IoT based automation system is effective to use with protected house cultivation of salad cucumber in the southern province of Sri Lanka.