Wireless Personal Communications

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-019-06285-2

Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision

Agriculture: A Review

Divyansh Thakur1 · Yugal Kumar1   · Arvind Kumar1 · Pradeep Kumar Singh1

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
Presently, wireless sensor network (WSN) plays important role in engineering, science,
agriculture and many other field like surveillance, military applications, smart cars etc.
Precision agriculture (PA) is one of the field in which WSN is widely adopted. The aim
of the adoption of WSNs in PA is to measure the different environmental parameters such
as humidity, temperature, soil moisture, PH value of soil etc., for enhancing the quantity
and quality of crops. Further, the WSNs are also helped to reduce the consumptions of the
natural resources used in farming. Hence, the aim of this review is to identify the various
WSNs technologies adopted for precision agriculture and impact of these technologies to
achieve smart agriculture. This review also focuses on the different environmental parame-
ters like irrigation, monitoring, soil properties, temperature for achieving precision agricul-
ture. Further, a detailed study is also carried out on different crops which are covered using
WSNs technologies. This review also highlights on the different communication technolo-
gies and sensors available for PA. To analyze the impact of the WSNs in agriculture field,
several research questions are designed and through this review, we are tried to find the
solutions of these research questions.

Keywords  Wireless sensor network · Precision agriculture · Sensors · Monitoring ·

Irrigation

Abbreviations
APTEEN Adaptive periodic threshold-sensitive energy efficient sensor network
protocol
AMSR-E Advanced microwave scanning radiometer for the earth observing system

* Yugal Kumar
yugalkumar.14@gmail.com
Divyansh Thakur
divyanshthakur8@gmail.com
Arvind Kumar
arvind221@gmail.com
Pradeep Kumar Singh
pradeep_84cs@yahoo.com
1
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Jaypee University of Information Technology,
Waknaghat, Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India

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 D. Thakur et al.

ASCAT​ Advanced scatterometer

BOP Beacon only period
CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor
CSMA Carrier-sense multiple access
DCTA​ Dynamic converge cast tree algorithm
DEEC Distributed energy efficient clustering
DGNSS Differential global navigation satellite system
DSSS Direct-sequence spread spectrum
ECA Electrical conductivity
ECHERP Equalized cluster head election routing protocol
EEHC Energy efficient hierarchical clustering
EMI Electromagnetic induction
FHSS Frequency-hopping spread spectrum
GFSK Gaussian frequency shift keying
GIS Geographical information system
GPRS General packet radio service
GPS Global positioning system
IC Integrated circuit
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IOT Internet of thing
IRT Interactive response technology
LAA Last address assignment
LLC Logical link control layer
MAC Media access control address
MC Moisture content
MIR Mid-infrared
MLR Multiple regression analysis
NIR Near-infrared spectroscopy
NS2 Network simulator 2
OASNDFA Optimized algorithm of sensor node deployment for intelligent agricultural
monitoring
OC Organic carbon
OFDM Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing
OGC Open Geospatial Consortium
OS Operating system
PA Precision agriculture
PCR Principal component regression
pH Potential of hydrogen
PIR Sensor Passive infrared sensor
PLSR Partial least squares regression
PRI Polarization ratio index
PRR Packet reception ratio
RBHR Region-based hybrid routing protocol
RF Radio frequency
RIFD Radio frequency identification
RIMCS Remote irrigation monitoring and control system
RQ Research question
RSSI Received signal strength indicator)
SBC Single board computer

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Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

SCI Science citation index

SMSS Soil moisture sensor system
SNDCP Sub network dependent convergence protocol
SoC System on chip
SQL Structured Query Language
SWE Sensor Web Enablement
TC Canopy temperature
TDR Time-domain reflectometer
TDT Time domain transmissometry
TN Total nitrogen
UAV Unmanned-aircraft vehicle
URI Uniform Resource Identifier
USB Universal Serial Bus
vis–NIR Visible near infrared
VRI Variable rate irrigation
Wi-Fi Wireless fidelity
WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for microwave access
WISC Wireless in-field sensing and control
WSAN Wireless sensor and actuator network
WSN Wireless sensor network
WUSNs Wireless underground sensor networks

1 Introduction

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are the networks which are composed of sensor nodes.
These sensor nodes help in sensing, gathering and measuring the information from the sur-
roundings where they are deployed and transmit the data to the users. A WSN has small or
we can say no infrastructure and having number of sensor nodes in it from ten to thousands
which works together to monitor a area where they are deployed.WSN are classified into
two categories structured and unstructured. Structured WSN are those which are deploy
in proper manner into a specific area and can be easily configured if there is any problem
in a senor nodes whereas unstructured WSN are those in which sensors nodes are deploy
in bulk without any proper architecture these type of WSN are mainly found in those area
where it is difficult for humans to reach easily and obtain data from that area. In unstruc-
tured WSN, it is difficult to take care of sensor nodes if they stop working or issue of node
failure occurs. Wireless sensor network are classified into five types to monitor the param-
eters of surface of earth, underground conditions, underwater conditions, multimedia and
to monitor the area by the help of movement of sensors. These five types of sensors are
defined as
Terrestrial WSN-In this type of WSNs, huge number of nodes are deploy into a surface
of land that can help to examine the conditions of land.
Underground WSN- As the name depict underground WSN are networks of sensor
nodes which are deployed in caves, mines or underground surface for monitoring the con-
dition of soil, moisture and military boarder monitoring.
Underwater WSN- In this WSNs, sensors are deployed in the region of oceans, rivers
for underwater surveillance.

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 D. Thakur et al.

Multi-media WSN-It is a network consists of sensors nodes that have ability to store,
process and access multi-media data such as video data, audio files and pictures.
Mobile WSN- In this network, sensor nodes have the ability to move from one place
to other. The application of such networks is military surveillance, monitoring of area,
tracking of target, monitoring under water [1].
In WSNs, sensors are integrated with a radio transceiver and a set of electronics com-
ponents which helps in transmission of data from source to destination. Sensor nodes
have capability to organize themselves to create ad hoc, multi-hop network which helps
in creating communication link between nodes. User can give commands to sensors; as
a response of these commands sensors can transmit data to the user for example a par-
ticular limit of temperature is assign to the sensor with the help of embedded language
if temperature exceeds from that assigned value than sensor provides information to the
user [2].

1.1 Wireless Sensor Network in Precision Agriculture

Precision agriculture is a crop management concept which allows farmers for managing
spatial and temporal variability with in the agricultural field such as reduction of natu-
ral resources, irrigation management, production management, fertilizer management,
intrusion attacks, and real time data monitoring [3]. The aim behind the adoption of
sensors in precision agriculture is to enhance the overall production of crops. Sensors
can help for measuring various parameters of agriculture land like humidity, soil mois-
ture, climatic condition, intrusion detection, water level which facilitate that can lead
to better production [4]. Further, sensor can collect the information regarding various
parameters and process the collected information for better farming. The significant role
of sensors in agricultural field is listed below (Fig. 1).

• Collecting information of weather condition, soil, and crop etc.

• Surveying of the land for better cultivation.
• Measuring the needs of resources for crops.
• Determine the time to time requirement for crops such as fertilizers, irrigation, pesti-
cides etc.
• Protect farming fields from intruder attacks [5].

Users’
Desktop,Laptop
,Cell Phone

Base
Station

Sensor Nodes Wireless Link

Fig. 1  Overview of WSNs

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Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

Figure 2 shows overview of precision agriculture using WSNs. In this figure sensors
are deploy in agriculture field.

1.2 Process of Literature Review

1.2.1 Research Question

The primary goal of this review is to find the solution of the following research ques-
tions (RQ). These are given as

RQ1 What are the different techniques/tools available for precision agriculture using
wireless sensor network?
RQ2 What are the different sensors adopted in precision agriculture?
RQ3 What are the different crops considered for the precision agriculture?
RQ4 Which communication Technology is used in WSNs for precision agriculture?

1.2.2 Source of Information

Due to wide scope of review article, it is suggested that different research databases
can be extract for existing work. So in this study five databases are searched to find the
existing related work in the domain of precision agriculture using wireless sensor net-
work. These databases are

• Google scholar (scholar.google.com)

• IEEE (www.ieee.org)
• Springer (www.sprig​erlin​k.com)
• Science direct (www.scien​cedir​ect.com)
• ACM digital library (dl.acm.org)
• Mendeley (https​://www.mende​ley.com).

Desktop
Laptop Internet

Farm

Base Station

Sensor Nodes
DataBase

Wireless Communication Link

Fig. 2  Overview of precision agriculture

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 D. Thakur et al.

1.2.3 Inclusion and Search Criteria

The goal of this study is to outline the relationship between agriculture and wireless sen-
sor network and the applicability of Wireless Sensor Network for increasing the produc-
tion and protection of agricultural fields. Hence, the studies based on Precision agriculture
using wireless sensor network in this review the following criteria is met.

• Related to Wireless sensor network.

• Includes the data on Precision agriculture using Wireless sensor network.
• Articles published in between 2006 and 2017.

Initial search; consider all relevant existing work in the field of precision agriculture
using WSNs. The SLR of this study is mention in Fig.  3. The keywords used for initial
search are (((Wireless sensor network) < OR > (Precision agriculture using wireless sen-
sor network) < OR > (Monitoring crops using WSNs) < OR > (Measuring Environmen-
tal parameters using WSNs)) < AND > ((Efficient irrigation in agricultural fields using
WSNs) < OR > (Automatic irrigation system using WSNs)) < AND > ((Soil moisture using
WSNs) < OR > (Measuring soil properties using WSNs) < OR > (Soil pH Value). To find
all existing literature work, the above search method is applied on full article rather than
abstract and conclusion. The articles which are chosen are published from year 2006 to
2017

1.2.4 Citation Criteria

For this review, the articles published in SCI listed journals are considered. To collect the
good literature review, several search strings are designed which are mentioned in Sect. 2.3.
But these search strings are not capable to distinguish articles published in SCI listed jour-
nals and non SCI listed journals. So, the separation between SCI and non SCI listed jour-
nals are done manually and all the articles published in non SCI listed journals and confer-
ences are not included. The search strings also find number of articles based on wireless
sensor networks, but these articles are not related to precision agriculture. These articles
include new routing mechanisms, energy efficiency in WSNs, topology setup, enhanced
WSNs protocols, latency etc. Such types of articles are discarded. The articles considered
for this review are published in SCI listed journals. Table 1 shows the list of journals as
well as number of articles taken from the individual journal.

2 Literature Survey

This section of paper describes the literature survey of various research articles related to
precision agriculture using wireless sensor network. This section includes various tech-
niques, sensors, algorithms and sensor motes used for collecting information from agri-
cultural fields. The literature survey on the usability of sensor nodes in PA is divided into
three categories. These categories are

(1) Monitoring of Crops

(2) Irrigation Management of Crops

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Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

DATABASES Google scholar, IEEE explore, Springer,

Science direct, Acm digital library
NOT
Searching: Precision agriculture, Wireless sensor
network, Soil sensor, Temperature sensor, Irrigation INCLUDED
system articles published between 2006 to 2017

Books, Magazines, Papers which are not

Articles NO published, case studies,
published in
journal and
conferences

YES

NON SCI Journals

SCI and Non NO
SCI journals

YES

Simple Precision
Agriculture articles
Articles NO
published in
SCI journals

Precision agriculture using Wireless sensor network, Monitoring

YES of agricultural fields, Sensors used for getting information of
agricultural field, Irrigation management , Simulation software
used for getting data

Analysis of NO Only Abstract,

Articles Conclusion

YES

Whole article

Conclusion of Articles

Fig. 3  Criteria for identification of literature

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 D. Thakur et al.

Table 1  Illustartes the categorization of articles with journals

S. no. Journal name Publisher No. of papers

1 Computer Networks Elsevier 3

2 Computer Communications Elsevier 1
3 Precision Agriculture Springer 11
4 Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Elsevier 18
5 Computer Standards & Interfaces Elsevier 3
6 Frontiers of Forestry in China Springer 1
7 Applied Geography Elsevier 1
8 Journal of China University of Mining and Technology Elsevier 1
9 Wireless Personal Communications Springer 1
10 Journal of Microwave Power and Electromagnetic Energy Taylor and Francis 1
11 Journal of Cleaner Production Elsevier 1
12 IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications IEEE 1
13 Egyptian Informatics Journal Elsevier 1
14 Agriculture And Agricultural Science Elsevier 1
15 IEEE Sensors Journal IEEE 2
16 Journal of Information and Telecommunication Taylor and Francis 1
17 Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Wiley online library 1
18 IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement IEEE 2
19 American Journal of Potato Research Springer 1
20 Geoderma Elsevier 1
21 Agricultural Water Management Elsevier 3
22 Wireless Personal Communications Springer 1
23 Irrigation and Drainage Wiley online library 1
24 Environmental Modelling & Software Elsevier 1
25 Journal of Sensors Hindawi 1
26 Agricultural Systems Elsevier 1
27 Soil & Tillage Research Elsevier 2
28 Water Resources Research Wiley online library 1
29 Journal of Hydrology Elsevier 1
30 Remote Sensing of Environment Elsevier 1
31 Frontiers of Earth Science Springer 1
32 Physical Communication Elsevier 1
33 IETE Journal of Research  Taylor and Francis 1
34 Measurement Elsevier 1
35 Wireless Sensor Networks and Ecological Monitoring Springer 1
36 Sensors MDPI 3
37 Journal of the Chinese Institute of Engineers Taylor and Francis 1
38 Bio Systems Engineering Elsevier 1

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Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

(3) Environmental parameters for Crops

2.1 Monitoring

This subsection describes the works reported on monitoring of the crops. Sanchez et al. [6]
proposed an integrated wireless sensor network as a solution for precision agriculture. This
model can help to assimilate crop data acquisition, transmission of data from the end user
and video-supervision task. The main objective this model is to secure the crops from
intruders and identification of same in the agriculture field. The detection and identification
of intruders are done with help of video surveillance. High consumption of energy and end
to end delay problems are remain unsolved. The different hardware prototypes have been
implemented for crop monitoring devices. The detection intruder is measured using infra-
red motion sensors and identification is consummated with the help of camera sensors.
Zhang et al. [7] proposed a method to monitor vigor of the plant with the help of WSNs. In
this work, the vigor of the plant is non-violently monitored through embedded and image
processing technology. If unusual behaviour of a plant is identified during monitoring pro-
cess, then warning message is sent to end users. With the help of wireless sensor nodes
deployed in the field’s wastage of resources which are needed for cultivation of plant are
minimised. Proposed method based on data fusion of fuzzy comprehensive evaluation
helps in providing the well-organized way for monitoring the strength of plant in many
phases of agriculture. Zou et  al. [8] proposed an algorithm named as OASNDFA for
achieving intelligent agricultural monitoring with minimum sensor nodes deploy in the
field. The selection of location of nodes is difficult in hilly areas due graphical and weather
conditions. This algorithm helps to find the suitable location of nodes. This algorithm
works in three phases. The first phase considers the different relevant factor. In second
phase, a mathematical model is designed with the help of relevant factors. The third phase
consists of key points with maximum features. These features are computed through math-
ematical model. To address the vulnerable dynamic topology problem for monitoring the
crops, Jiang et al. [9] proposed an algorithm based on tree topology, called dynamic con-
verge cast tree algorithm (DCTA). This algorithm is employed within the monitoring sys-
tem of WSN. The aim of the proposed algorithm is to obtain better data attainment for
monitoring of growth of plant. The DCTA algorithm having three stages i.e. (a) routing
which is based on dynamic routing (b) adaptable time slot scheduling (c) compilation and
examination of data. This algorithm provides high data transmission between nodes. For
real time monitoring of the agriculture filed, Kim et al. [10] proposed an WSNs architec-
ture based on beacon mode with autonomous. This architecture provides the solutions for
the problems like fire, intrusion attack, and lack of availability of resources. The proposed
architecture is worked on the TinyOS platform and further, multiple beacon scheduling in
the MAC layer with bop slots is considered. The dynamic address allocations and path
recovery process for unexpected link is addressed on the network layer. The results staed
that the proposed architecture having reliable transmission ratio for a real-time processing
service like fire and emergency agriculture monitoring systems under heavy traffic environ-
ments. Intrusion attacks are one of the major issues faced by farmers. Because, intruders
destroy the agriculture fields and leads to decrease in productivity. To address the same,
Bapat et al. [11] proposed a wireless sensor network to protect farms from animal attacks.
Sensor nodes equipped with PIR sensors, sound sensors, light flashers and RF module are
deployed in agriculture field. Sensor nodes that are located near to boundaries of field
detect animal entry and send information to the central base station. From the central base

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 D. Thakur et al.

station, the information is sent to end users. To monitor the variability of nitrogen gas and
biomass foe sugarcane crop, Portz et al. [12] proposed active crop sensor model based on
WSNs. The results revealed that the proposed model is capable to indicate demand of
nitrogen and biomass in sugarcane fields. The nitrogen sensor helps to detect the variability
of biomass and nitrogen and preventing action can be taken for supplying the biomass and
nitrogen into sugarcane crop. Reiser et al. [13] proposed WSNs based system for autono-
mous navigation of agriculture field. The proposed system comprises of location of nodes
deployed in agriculture field and data attainment. The proposed system has advantages
over the narrow transmission range of nodes. This system is effectively detected the faulty
nodes. Smiljkovikj et al. [14] proposed an intelligent cloud based system named as Smart-
wine which monitors the wine production process using grapes. It works on sensor network
platform having centralized server system which allows more than one users to use system
simultaneously. The Smartwine system helps in decrease the cost of energy, water,
resources and pesticides use for wine production. To monitor the agricultural production
process, Diaz et  al. [15] proposed a methodology which have seven phases that are (1)
Study the condition of environment. (2) Design of sensor network architecture. (3) Role
and Importance. (4) Implementation. (5) Simulation (6) Deployment. (7) Maintenance.
The designed methodology represents the importance of wireless sensor in agricultural
field and provides strong foundation for building applications with high productivity gain.
To monitor the crops in green house and orchard, Zhu et al. [16] developed a monitoring
system based on WSNs. The capabilities of the proposed system are evaluated using three
different scenarios such as greenhouse, open farmland and orchard. The proposed system
gives better reliable communication between sensors nodes deployed in agriculture fields.
Further, it is also seen that rate of packet loss is significantly decreased. To attaining less
management cost and high productivity in cultivation of crops, Srbinovska et al. [17] pro-
posed WSNs based architecture for vegetable greenhouse. The developed system analyzes
the various environmental parameters like temperature, humidity and light, for optimal
conditions of crops. It is revealed that the proposed system would be able to improve the
productivity and quality of crop. A review on infrastructure of WSNs for precision agricul-
ture is presented in [18]. Further, in this work, a hybrid WSN model based on terrestrial
WSNs and underground sensor network for precision agriculture is proposed. The objec-
tive of the proposed model is to reduce the human efforts for collecting agricultural infor-
mation. It is seen that the proposed model provides information regarding agriculture fields
more efficiently and accurately than existing sensor networks. To address approximate
inference problem in agriculture field, Abouzar et  al. proposed RSSI (received signal
strength indicator) based-distributed Bayesian localization algorithm for message passing
[19]. The proposed algorithm avoids communication overhead and minimizes computa-
tional complexity. El-kader et  al. [20] proposed a precision farming solution model for
potato crop [20]. In the proposed model, soil testing of land is done through sensor nodes
whether the land is suitable for cultivation or not. This model also provides the facilities of
better irrigation and fertilization scheduling to reduce natural resources. Further, it is
noticed that APTEEN protocol is adopted for better routing paths. To monitor the parame-
ters of soil, Georgieva et al. [21] designed a WSNs based monitoring model. The proposed
monitoring model computes the different parameters of soil like temperature, humidity,
conductivity and amount of acid. The arduino platform is used to integrate the different
components of the proposed monitoring model. For providing better and qualitative con-
nectivity and coverage of sensors in agriculture field, Kaiwartya et al. [22] designed a sys-
tem for multi-metric quality measurement for deployed sensor nodes. In this work, seven
metrics are designed for the sensor deployment and the optimal connectivity between the

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Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

sensor nodes is measured. Lam et  al. [23] developed a wireless sensor module for rural
monitoring and precision agriculture applications. In their work, specification like received
signal strength indicator (RSSI), packet reception ratio (PRR) of wireless sensor module
was tested as compared with commercial products. The designed modules have capability
to give optimal solution for real-world applications. Further, it can provide better applica-
tions for precision agriculture like reduce energy consumption of nodes, prediction of pest
or disease and improved quality of crops. For better coverage of agriculture field, An et al.
[24] proposed an effective technique for sensor deployment based on field information cov-
erage. In this work, two polynomial-time algorithms are presented. The work of the first
algorithm is to find the location of deployed sensors. Whereas, second is to identify the
locations of relay nodes with minimum number of relay nodes in between source to desti-
nation. It is seen that the good trade-off between sensor nodes is obtained. To fruit recogni-
tion and disease detection, Lee et al. [25] designed a sensing system integrated with yield
mapping system, sensors for detecting disease, devris detectors, an N detector for precision
agriculture using ground and aerial based platforms. The proposed sensing system can
measure the soil phosphorus detection, detection of nutrient in soil and grain insect detec-
tion with the help of NIR and RAMAN spectroscopy. To monitor the frost in vineyard,
Valente et al. [26] proposed a collaborative system based on WSNs and robot. The aerial
robot can be worked as dynamic node and it can be responsible for communication between
agriculture field and base station. Further, in this work, UAV and WSN are combined for
surveying fragmented crop fields. Zhang et al. [27] designed a remote monitoring system
based on WSNs for collecting agricultural information. This monitoring system is based on
ZigBee and GPRS wireless communication technologies. The agriculture data is collected
through CC2430. The ARM9 processors are adopted to design base station. The proposed
system is more feasible than other existing systems in terms of feasibility and it also con-
serve water content in agriculture field efficiently. Li et al. [28] proposed a monitoring sys-
tem based on WSNs for greenhouse. The proposed system includes cluster of sensor nodes,
base station and data centre. The JN5139 micro-processor is used for designing wireless
nodes and further, ZigBee protocol is used for communication purpose. The proposed
monitoring system is a low-cost, expandable and reliable model with better processing
capability. Park el al. [29] designed an environmental monitoring system to prevent dew
condensation in greenhouse. The proposed environmental system integrates the Bahren-
burg formula to compute the dew point of leaves. Further, the dew condensation is pre-
vented on the surface of crops which to prevent diseases infection. To monitors the envi-
ronmental parameters, Carrascosa et  al. [30] proposed an open source based hardware
model for precision agriculture. The proposed model contains two main components i.e.
hardware and software. The hardware component of the model is responsible to record
environmental parameters, whereas, software component connect the device with data
server. The characteristics of open source hardware model are low acquisition cost and less
complexity for customization. Table 2 summarizes the work reported on monitoring of dif-
ferent crops.

2.2 Irrigation Management

This subsection presents the literature works on irrigation management for the crops. To
optimize the water content in agriculture field, Gutierrez et al. [31] proposed an automated
irrigation system based on WSNs. The proposed irrigation system comprises of distributed
wireless network of soil-moisture and temperature sensors. It is seen that the proposed

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Table 2  Depicts the work reported on crop monitoring
Author Work done Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes

13
Sanchez et al. [6] Design a WSNs system for integrating
video surveillance and data monitor-
ing in PA over distributed crops
Zhang et al. [7] Provide method for monitoring the
cotton plant strength based on the
WSN technology
Zou et al. [8] Design a optimized algorithm of sen-
sor node deployment for intelligent
agricultural monitoring
Sensor S8000 Broccoli Sensor S8000 measures the soil-PH
HYDRA-PROBE II parameter
EC-10HS sensor HYDRA-PROBE II sensor measure
IMOTE2 board conductivity, salinity, soil moisture,
IMB400 board and temperature of agricultural field
Camera sensor, EC-10HS sensor used to measure the
IMOTE2 main board soil-moisture
PIR sensor Camera sensor helps in video surveil-
Infrared motion sensors lance of fields for preventing crop
IEEE 802.15.4 communication tech- from intrusion attack
nology The network is deployed using commu-
nication technology ZigBee
Image processing technology Cotton plant Leaf angle and the chlorophyll concen-
USB for transmitting gather data to tration are measured through image
host computer processing technology
RF system USB for transmitting data to host
ADG821 chip computer
ADG821 power management chip is
used to reduce WSN power consump-
tion
OASNDFA algorithm Orange orchards OASNDFA can be endorse extensively
Sensor nodes and is fairly appropriate for large-scale
crops
Sensor nodes deployed for measuring
soil moisture and temperature
D. Thakur et al.
 Table 2  (continued)
Author Work done Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes

Jiang et al. [9] Design a WSNs-based monitoring sys-
tem with dynamic convergecast tree
algorithm for precision Cultivation
management
Kim et al. [10] Design a beacon based wireless sensor TinyOS platform
network for agricultural emergency
DCTA algorithm Orchid greenhouses Dcta algorithm is based on tree topol-
EC-5 sensor, ogy and have three stages 1) Routing
SHT-11 sensor which is dynamic; 2) Flexible plan-
CCM-200 m ning of time-slot 3) Sensing and col-
lecting data. High and successful data
delivery rate can be obtain through
DCTA​
EC-5 sensor for measuring soil moisture
SHT-11 sensor for measuring tempera-
ture and humidity
CCM-200 is a Chlorophyll concentra-
tion meter
Vinyl greenhouse TinyOS is operating system platform for
IEEE 802.15.4 low power wireless devices
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

monitoring system MAC protocol Medium access control (MAC) protocol

Database server is responsible for transmitting data
Internet based remote database system packets
BOP and LAA algorithm BOP (beacon only period) and the LAA
(last address assignment) algorithm
for dynamic mesh networks
Internet based remote database system
for biological and ecological research
Analysis
Bapat et al. [11] Develop a WSN application for crop GUI Laboratory Graphical user interface (GUI) for
protection to divert animal intrusions PIR sensors indication of field status
in the agricultural land Arduino board PIR sensor helps in detection of intru-
Laser diode sion and crop protection against
animals
Arduino board integrate various sensors

13

Table 2  (continued)
Author Work done
13
Portz et al. [12] Design a active crop sensor to detect
variability of nitrogen supply and
biomass on sugarcane fields
Reiser et al. [13] Autonomous field navigation, data
acquisition and node Location in
wireless sensor networks
Smiljkovikj et al. [14] Design intelligent end-to-end cloud-
based Monitoring system
Tools/technique/sensor
N-sensor for measuring the require-
ment of nitrogen fo the crop,
GPS receiver where sensors are con-
nected
RSSI
Laser scanner
EZ430-RF2500
DGNSS Receiver
IEEE 802.15.4
Smartwine
Air temperature sensor
Air humidity sensor
Atmospheric pressure sensor
Solar radiation sensor
Ultraviolet radiation sensor
Wind speed sensor
Wind direction sensor
Leaf wetness sensor
Soil temperature sensor
Database server
Web server
Crop Attributes
Sugarcane Nitrogen(n) sensors is capable of detect-
ing the inconsistency of sugarcane
biomass and n uptake while being
unaltered by diversity of characteris-
tics, type of soil, condition of growth
thus giving a good estimate of the
site-specific n supply by the soil
Vineyard RSSI helps in evaluating sensor node
data
Llaser scanner used for obstacle detec-
tion and avoidance
EZ430-RF2500 is a development tool to
integrate sensor motes
DGNSS receives signals and digitally
processed them
Grape farms IEEE 802.15.4 is used as communica-
tion technology
Sensors are used to measure the various
parameters like temperature, humid-
ity, atmospheric pressure, radiations,
speed and direction of wind
Database server is used to stored data of
agricultural field
D. Thakur et al.
 Table 2  (continued)
Author Work done
Diaz et al. [15] Develop a novel methodology for
the monitoring of the agricultural
production Process based on wireless
sensor networks
Zhu et al. [16] Development and evaluation of a
wireless sensor Network monitor-
ing system in various agricultural
Environments
Srbinovska et al. [17] Design a system for environmental
parameters monitoring in precision
agriculture using Wireless sensor
networks
Yu et al. [18] Done a survey on wireless sensor net-
work infrastructure for agriculture
13
Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes
Weather stations Vineyard Weather stations help in measuring
Surveillance satellites atmospheric conditions and further
MDA300 sensor board send information to the users
ECHO sensor EC20 sensor helps in measuring the
EC20 sensor moisture of soil
Temperature sensor MDA300 sensor board is a data acquisi-
tiny OS tion board in which temperature and
humidity sensors are integrated
FDS100 sensors A greenhouse, an open FDS100 soil moisture sensors help in
SHT10 sensor farmland and an measuring the moisture of soil
CC2530 chip orchard SHT10 sensors are used for measuring
tiny OS 2.0 operating system the temperature
CC2530 chip enables robust network
nodes to be built with very low total
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…
bill-of-material costs
Tiny OS is a platform for low power
wireless devices
EZ43-RF2500 Pepper EZ43-RF2500 is a wireless develop-
CC2500 RF Transceivers ment tool that includes both software
MSP430F2274 microcontroller and hardware required to develop a
IEEE 802.15.4, network
Telosb IEEE 802.15.4 is used as communica-
Shimmer tion technology
telosb is a platform used by sensors
Hybrid wireless sensor network Green house MATLAB a simulation software used
architecture for getting result and solving math-
MATLAB ematical equations
CC2430 NRF905 wireless chip to collect and
NRF905 transmit information
CC2430 wireless transceiver module to
collect soil information

Table 2  (continued)
Author Work done Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes

13
Abouzar et al. [19] Gives a rssi-based distributed self- Distributed localization Agricultural field To estimate the distance between two
localization for Wireless sensor net- Range-based localization algorithms nodes range based algorithms are used
works used in precision Agriculture Bayesian updates MATLAB is used for simulation
MATLAB
El-kader et al. [20] Precision farming solution in egypt Sensor nodes Potato crop Ph value of soil is measured with the
using the wireless Sensor network MTS400 sensor, help of ph sensors
technology MDA300 boards, MTS400 sensor is used for measuring
APTEEN protocol the temperature
MDA300 is a data acquisition boards
APTEEN protocol is used for routing
Georgieva et al. [21] Design a wireless sensor network for Zigbee Laboratory Arduino is a hardware board used for
monitoring of soil quality parameters Labview software integrating sensors in it
Arduino ZigBee is a communication technology
that is used for transmitting informa-
tion
Labview software for development of
GUI
Kaiwartya et al. [22] Testbed based multi-metric quality Indriya Agricultural field Indriya is a low cost wireless sensor
measurement of sensor deployment NS2 network testbed
for precision agriculture Network simulator(NS) 2 is a simula-
tion tool
Lam et al. [23] Design wireless sensing modules C# Laboratory C# is used for writing data collection
for rural monitoring and Precision SHT11 sensor SHT11 sensor for measuring air tem-
agriculture applications 5TM sensor perature and humidity
ZigBee 5TM is a soil moisture and temperature
Telosb sensor
MICAZ MICAZ is a 2.4 GHz mote module used
for enabling low-power WSNs
The network is deployed using commu-
nication technology ZigBee
D. Thakur et al.
 Table 2  (continued)
Author Work done Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes

An et al. [24] Effective sensor deployment based on
field information coverage in preci-
sion agriculture
Lee et al. [25] Design sensing systems for precision
agriculture in florida
Valente et al. [26] Design a wireless sensor network
Polynomial-time algorithms Polynomial-time algorithms used to
EN2100 wireless communication node determine the deployed locations of
ES1101 sensor source nodes
ES1101 sensor is used for measure the
moisture of soil
Disease detection sensors Citrus and blueberry crop n detectors are used to detect the quan-
soil P detectors, tity of nitrogen in plant
NIR and RAMAN spectroscopy Mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR) is a
n detectors vibrational spectroscopy technique
MIR spectroscopy that identifies chemicals based on the
interaction of molecules with electro-
magnetic radiation in the mid-infrared
region
Quad rotor, Vineyard Quad rotor is a helicopter which is made
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

for monitoring environmental param- Arduino board up of four rotor by using X-BL-52 s
eters of Crop X-Bee brushless motors
Arduino board help in reading data from
quad rotor
Zhang et al. [27] Design a remote monitoring system for CC2430 chip Agricultural field CC2430 is a radio frequency chip helps
getting agricultural field informa- ARM9 processors in collecting data from agricultural
tion by the help of wireless sensor soil moisture sensor field
network TDC220 sensor ARM9 processor helps in designing of
base station
TDC220 is a soil moisture sensor
Li et al. [28] Design A System based on wireless JN5139 micro-processor Vegetable greenhouse ARM7 microprocessor and ZKOS O.S
sensor network Which monitors ARM7 microprocessor helps in developing a gateway node
Greenhouses ZKOS operating system by the mean of which data, display on
screen, and configuration of system
can be achieved

13

Table 2  (continued)
Author Work done Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes

13
Park el al. [29] Design a WSN based system for moni- MSP430 MCU Greenhouse MSP430 Microprocessor used for data
toring environmental conditions and CC2420 RF chip, processing
automatic control system for Dew CC2420 radio frequency chip used for
prevention wireless transmission
Carrascosa et al. [30] Design a open source hardware to Arduino Agriculture field Arduino board gives platform to the
monitor environmental parameters LM35 sensors
Humidity sensor LM35 used for measuring temperature
KEYES of the surroundings
JY-MCU H06 KEYES sensor records moisture of soil
JY-MCU H06 is Bluetooth sensor mod-
ule which links with a smart phone
D. Thakur et al.
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

system is feasible, cost effective and also reduce the amount of water content needed to the
crops. To address the drought and tolerance issues of crops, Levy et al. [32] developed a
method for irrigation management and enhancement of tolerance for the crops. It is
observed that lack of water, drought, heat and salinity can affect the production of the crop.
With the help of proposed method, all these factors are analyzed and it is concluded that
required amount of the water is supplied through the proposed system to the crops. Further,
it is noticed that micro-irrigation and drip irrigation systems helps farmer to conserve
water. To measure the soil variability, Hedle et al. [33] adopted spatio-temporal modelling
with high spatial resolution electromagnetic and digital elevation method data layers for
quantify the variability of soil. Wireless sensor network with high temporal resolution
dataset is used to mould the vibrant nature of soil moisture. The proposed approach is more
accurate than a multiple linear regression modelling because it helps in providing best
implementation of a variable rate irrigation system. For efficient use of irrigation system,
Hellin et al. [34] developed an irrigation architecture based on WSNs for agriculture field.
The proposed architecture helps in describing the design, optimization and development of
an application to reduce the wastage of water. Sensor nodes which were deploy in fields are
of good use they helps in reaching the required moisture condition to maintain water elec-
trical conductivity level of the irrigation system at desired value through which there is a
efficient management of water resources in agriculture field. To optimize agricultural irri-
gation, Nolz et al. [35] developed an irrigation model for monitoring the status of water in
soil. In this work, two types of sensors are applied for measuring the potential of water in
soil. These sensors are deployed under thin layer of soil to evaluate the status of water. It is
noticed that the proposed irrigation model reduce the necessity of water to the crops effec-
tively. A decision support system is developed for effective irrigation management in [36].
The proposed system comprises of sensor nodes, actuation network and fuzzy logic. The
proposed method can reduce the wastage of water using fuzzy logic and actuation network.
Further, it is observed that productivity of crop can be increased using this decision sup-
port system. Kim et  al. [37] proposed an efficient water management system based on
WSNs. In this work, the conventional irrigation system is replaced through an electroni-
cally controllable system for better irrigation management in agricultural fields. The pro-
posed water management system is continuously monitored using GPS. Zhao et  al. [38]
designed an irrigation system based on soil water content and temporal stability. Further, in
this work, water content and temporal stability is compared using VRI and URI to identify
the location for deploying soil water sensors. In this work, temporal stability of soil mois-
ture is evaluated regularly. It is seen that proposed irrigation system changes the overall
similarity of soil moisture spatial patterns. It is also noticed that consumption of water is
significantly reduced. To investigate the efficiency of linear move installed irrigation sys-
tem, Chavez et  al. [39] proposed a method for remote irrigation monitoring and control
system (RIMCS). The proposed RIMCS system contains the pulsing nozzles and sole-
noids. The proposed system is also capable to vary the water rate. It is claimed that the
proposed systems can monitor the flow of water, pressure of water, location and agriculture
field. To control the irrigation in agriculture field, Maurya et  al. [40] proposed a novel
approach based on sensor technology. The sensor nodes are continuously sense soil tem-
perature, moisture and humidity in agricultural field and transmits this information to base
station. Further, in this work, region-based static clustering approach is used to provide
efficient coverage over entire agricultural field. The proposed clustering approach uses the
fuzzy logic technique to select best cluster head. This energy-efficient protocol is also com-
pared with existing protocol like EEHC, DEEC, DDEEC and RBHR. To precisely monitor
environmental conditions Sawant et al. [41] proposed a system. The proposed system helps

13
 D. Thakur et al.

in addresses the issues like standardized way of data discovery, access and sharing of data
across various distributed sensor networks through the adaptation of a framework based on
OGC standards for sensor SWE. The proposed system is a cost-effective, standardized
sensing system which includes functionalities like sensor plug-n-play, remote monitoring,
tools for crop water req. Estimation and nutrient management. A WSNs based irrigation
software system is presented in [42]. The proposed system is named as WISC. The
designed system provides real time monitoring of fields and remotes access to in-field
information through WSN for irrigation purpose. For the proper irrigation in agriculture
field, Coates et al. [43] proposed an irrigation model based on WSNs with valve control.
The proposed model can sense the agriculture field for irrigation as well as also control the
flow of water. Hence, in this work, manual control of irrigation valves is replaced through
automatic control. To automate the irrigation process, Nikolidakis et al. [44] proposed an
algorithm with collaboration of integrated system. This algorithm consists of advanced
routing scheme i.e., ECHERP and provides efficient utilization of energy required for sen-
sor motes. Nagarajan et al. [45] designed a sensor mote for sprinkler irrigation automation
system. In the proposed work, humidity, temperature and PH sensors are used to control
the water content of the agriculture field. The ZigBee communication technology is used
for data transformation. Further, the GPRS system is adopted for data analyses and storing
purpose. The proposed system is capable to perform real time monitoring and control water
supply. An adaptable decision support system is proposed by Goumopoulos et al. [46]. The
proposed system integrates sensors for monitoring soil, crop and climate in agriculture
field. Further, this system is implemented in autonomous closed loop zone specific irriga-
tion. This system is more effective in terms of agronomic performance as compared to tra-
ditional agricultural practices. Kim et al. [47] proposed a novel water monitoring system
for reducing depletion of water resources. It is reported that fine-grained consumption of
water resources can help farmers to pinpoint waste, and improve efficiency. The proposed
water monitoring system can conserve the natural resources and also to reduce the amount
of water needed by a crop. Masseroni et al. [48] designed a system for soil water monitor-
ing and irrigation management. The proposed system is implemented using Arduino based
open-hardware device. This system continuously measures the water level in the soil, espe-
cially in the root area. Further, this information is used to decide the irrigation timings. The
proposed system reduces the water consumption significantly. An IOT based smart irriga-
tion idea is presented in [49]. This irrigation system comprises of environmental sensors,
web services and IOT devices. The proposal has deployed sampling algorithm successfully
which will provide constraints for the sensor network. A model driven control strategy for
irrigation in agriculture field is presented [50]. The aim of the proposed strategy is to pro-
vide right amount of water at right place in an agriculture field. Further, a predictive algo-
rithm is incorporated in the proposed strategy for measuring the moisture content in soil.
Table 3 presents the work reported in literature on different irrigation management system
for precision agriculture.

2.3 Environmental Parameters

This subsection describes the recent study reported on various environmental parameters
like humidity, temperature, soil condition etc., to achieve precision agriculture. Rossel
et al. [51] developed a soil sensing technique based on characterization of soil and environ-
mental conditions. The objective of this technique is to improve the production of the crop
and further, to reduce the environmental effects on crop. This technique measures and

13
 Table 3  Illustrates the work reported on irrigation system for achieving precision agriculture
Author Work done Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes

Gutierrez et al. [31] Design an automated irrigation VH400 sensor Greenhouse VH400 is a soil-moisture sensor to
system using a wireless Sensor DS1822 sensor measure the amount of moisture
network and GPRS module Triggers actuators present in soil
ZigBee DS1822 sensor is used to measure
the temperature
ZigBee is a communication technol-
ogy which is used for sending data
Levy et al. [32] Design a system for irrigation Soil moisture sensor Potato Sensors used for measuring various
Management and enhancement Temperature sensor parameters like moisture, tem-
of tolerance to drought And GPS perature
salinity GPS is a navigation system use to
predict the information
Hedle et al. [33] Design a system for measuring EM31 sensors Maize field EM31 sensors used to measure the
soil water status and water table EM38MK2 sensors electrical conductivity
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

depth modelling using electro- DELTA-T SM300 sensors EM38MK2 sensors are ground
magnetic surveys for Precision VRI system conductivity meter
irrigation scheduling DELTA-T SM300 sensor is a mois-
ture sensor used for measuring
moisture of soil
Hellin et al. [34] Design a wireless sensors architec- GPRS remote server Greenhouse GS3 sensor used for monitor-
ture for efficient irrigation water ZigBee network ing moisture, conductivity and
management SDI-12 interface temperature
sim900 GSM/GPRS chip MPS-2 sensor used for soil metric
GS3 sensor potential and temperature
MPS-2 sensor HP II sensor used for moisture,
HP II conductivity and temperature
HTML5 JavaScript and PHP Remote server allows user to access
the files
Nolz et al. [35] Design a soil water potential sen- MPS-1 sensors Laboratory MPS-1sensors helps in measuring
sors integrated into a wireless Watermark sensors soil water potential
monitoring Network Watermark sensors used to measure
soil water tension

13

Table 3  (continued)
Author Work done
13
Viani et al. [36] Design a low-cost wireless moni-
toring and decision Support for
water saving in agriculture
Kim et al. [37] Design a system for remote sens-
ing and control of an irrigation
system Using a distributed wire-
less sensor network
Zhao et al. [38] Determining placement criteria
of moisture sensors Through
temporal stability analysis of soil URI system
water contents For a variable rate TDR trime-tube system
irrigation system
Chavez et al. [39] Design a remote irrigation moni-
toring and control system
Tools/technique/sensor
Wireless sensor and actuation
network (WSAN) technology
fuzzy rule sets
the wireless anchor Node
the wireless actuation node
Global positioning system
Bluetooth wireless radio com-
munication
In-field sensing station
Weather station
WISC software
Variable rate irrigation (VRI)
system
Solenoid valve
A pressure transducer
Relay board
SBC
Wireless Ethernet bridge
Crop Attributes
Vineyard WSAN is a group of sensors that
gather information about their
environment and actuators
Agricultural field WISC software provides real-time
remote monitoring and control of
variable rate irrigation
Weather stations help in measuring
atmospheric conditions and further
send information to the users
Wheat Trime-tube system is a moisture
meter used for measuring the
moisture of soil
Linear move (lm) irrigation system A solenoid valve is a valve which is
electromechanically operated and
is controlled by electric current
SBC is embedded with program to
send a control string to the relay
board
Wireless Ethernet Bridge helps in
connecting wired network together
D. Thakur et al.
 Table 3  (continued)
Author Work done Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes

Maurya et al. [40] Design a fuzzy based energy
efficient sensor network protocol
for precision Agriculture
Sawant et al. [41] Design an interoperable agro
meteorological observation and
analysis platform for Precision
agriculture
Heterogeneous sensor nodes
Soil temperature sensor
Soil moisture sensor
Microcontroller
Transmitter
EEHC, DEEC, DDEEC and
RBHR protocols
Wi-Fi communication protocol
low powered system on chip
serial peripheral interface (SPI)
sense tube sensing system
temperature sensor
Four different agricultural regions
Citrus crop
Various types of sensors are used
to measure various parameters of
field like temperature, moisture
EEHC is a energy efficient hierarchi-
cal protocol
DDEEC is a developed distributed
energy efficient clustering protocol
RBHR is a region based hybrid
protocol
Wi-Fi standard IEEE 802.11 is used
for communication
Serial peripheral interface helps in
collecting the data
Sensors for measuring the tempera-
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

humidity sensor ture and humidity

Kim et al. [42] Design software for wireless SD202 Five different zones SD202 is a Bluetooth transmitter
sensor-based site-specific irriga- MSP-101A and receiver helps in sending and
tion CS625 receiving data
CR200 CR200 is a data logger helps in
YUASA NP7-12 recording the data
Solar panel CS625 is a soil moisture sensor
YUASA NP7-12 is a battery used in
a device
Coates et al. [43] Design a wireless sensor network Valve actuator Agricultural field Valve actuator is mechanism of
with irrigation valve control soil moisture Sensors opening and closing of valves
ZigBee, which irrigate water
Soil moisture sensor helps in meas-
uring moisture of soil and water
content

13

Table 3  (continued)
Author Work done
13
Nikolidakis et al. [44] Design a energy efficient auto-
mated control of irrigation in
agriculture by using Wireless
sensor networks Automation
system
Nagarajan et al. [45] Design a wireless soil monitoring
sensor for sprinkler irrigation
Automation system
Goumopoulos et al. [46] Design a automated zone-specific
irrigation with wireless sensor
Network
Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes
ECHERP Laboratory ECHERP is equalized cluster head
ZigBee election routing protocol which
GPRS system helps in providing efficient energy
LM35 LM35 IC is ahumidity and tempera-
PH sensor ture sensor
ZigBee is a communication technol-
ogy which helps in transmitting
data
ZigBee, Agricultural field High range GPRS system is used for
GPRS system data storing and analysis
solar panels Solar panels is used for making
LM35 IC system self-sustainable
wireless sensor network actuator SEN-13322 sensors measure the
controller volumetric content of water n the
SEN-13322 soil moisture sensor soil
ph sensor, pH sensors helps in measuring the
PIC 16F877 microcontroller ph value of soil
Tyndall25 Green house Echo EC-10 helps in measuring
Tmega128 l 8-bit microcontroller volumetric water content
Chipcon CC2420 SHT11 for measuring relative
ZigBee humidity and temperature
RF chip MF51E103E3950 sensor for meas-
TinyOS uring leaf air temperature
IEEE 802.15.4 communication
protocol
Echo EC-10 soil Moisture sensor
SHT11 sensor
MF51E103E3950 sensor
D. Thakur et al.
 Table 3  (continued)
Author Work done Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes

Kim et al. [47] Proposed a model for nonintrusive
autonomous water monitoring
System
Masseroni et al. [48] Design a hardware device for soil
water potential Monitoring and
irrigation management
Sensor for measuring various Simulator Accelerometers measure the vibra-
parameters tions according to the microscopic
Accelerometers water ow model in a pipe
Vibration sensors MOSEK software is used for solving
CVX toolbox mathematical equations
MOSEK
Arduino Peach orchards Arduino is a hardware board used
DS18B20 sensor for providing platform to the
PHP My SQL sensor
DS18B20 sensor is used for measur-
ing the temperature
MySQL is used for creating
database where data is stored and
retrieve easily
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

Wong et al. [49] Design an application to water
quality Using web services
Lozoya et al. [50] Design a sensor-based model
driven control strategy for Preci-
sion irrigation
Sensor nodes Laboratory Various parameters of field can be
measured by the help of deployed
sensors
Data acquisition and control Green pepper crop Data acquisition and control system
system helps in monitoring and control-
Sensor nodes ling the data
Actuator nodes Sensor nodes help in measuring
Arduino board parameters
10HS volumetric water content Actuator nodes help in converting
sensor electrical control signals to physi-
cal actions
10HS volumetric water content sen-
sor which measures the amount of
water present in soil

13
 D. Thakur et al.

monitors the soil physical and biochemical attributes for better productivity. To compute
and plot the spatial variability of soil, Bernardi et al. [52] developed a decision tool based
on soil properties, yield and liming. The aim of this tool is to compute the fertilizer need
and economic return of an alfalfa pasture. The vesper software is adopted to measure the
spatial variability of soil and site-specific liming and fertilizer needed. Further, the infor-
mation of fertility of soil is computed using spring software. It is revealed that it is an
effective tool for mapping and evaluating the spatial variability of soil. Kuang et al. [53]
developed a NIR spectroscopy based calibration model to acquire soil spectra in diffuse
reflectance mode. This model is adopted to examine the different spiking strategies and
spiking ratios. The effectiveness of the proposed model is evaluated using 425 sample of
soil. The results stated that the proposed model provides more correct and accurate infor-
mation regarding soil OC, TN and MC. To measure the electrical conductivity of soil, Par-
rilla et al. [54] designed a system using electromagnetic induction (EMI) based apparent
electrical conductivity technique for olive orchards. In this work, both wet and dry soil
conditions are taken into consideration. Further, it is seen that to check the efficiency of
proposed model, forty-eight soil samples are tested for soil texture and soil water content.
It is stated that in both situation (wet and dry soil), proposed model gives the same infor-
mation. The spatial variation of soil phosphorus(p), magnesium(mg), potassium(k) have
been investigated using geostatistics, conventional statistics and a geographical information
system in [55]. In this study, total five hundred thirty-seven soil samples are collected for
this experiment. It is observed that this model provides useful information for agronomic
and environmental management for crops. To design a low water cost WSNs, Bogena et al.
[56] have tested the applicability of different water sensors like EC-5, EC-20 and TDR for
measuring soil water content. The experiment is performed both in laboratory and field. It
is seen that in laboratory, the performance of the water sensors are almost same. But, in
field, there is significant difference between the performances of the different water sen-
sors. Authors claimed that EC-5 water sensor gives better accurate results among all other
sensors and it is best suitable sensor to design low water cost WSNs. To measure the cli-
mate change mitigation strategies for ecosystem and agriculture, Knadel et  al. [57] pre-
sented a study on the self organic carbon parameter. In this study, two different agriculture
fields are taken into consideration and mapped using Veris mobile sensor platform. Fur-
ther, fuzzy clustering is applied to obtain different field of spectra. The objective of this
study is to identify either a single sensor or fusion of sensors can provide best predictive
accuracy for SOC parameters. It is seen that the fusion of sensors is obtained best predic-
tive accuracy for SOC parameter. Further, it is observed that low cost robust calibration
model can be developed on the basis of Vires mobile platform. A soil property monitoring
system based on WSNs is presented in [58]. The proposed system is deployed in the wheat
field to measure the soil properties. It is seen that proposed system provides more than 95%
real time information of soil parameters. Ritsema et al. [59] developed a stand-alone wire-
less embed network system for continuous monitoring of water contents at different depths.
Further, this system is associated with web application to display the real time results for
end users. To monitor the soil moisture dynamics from top depth, Majone et al. [60] pre-
sented a multi hop WSNs based monitoring system for orchards. In this work, sensors are
deployed on different depth level i.e. 10, 20, 30, 50 and 80  cm. The proposed system is
based on independent sensors that can provide both real time and historic data. It is
revealed that distribution of soil moisture can affect the production of orchards. To find the
low cost sensor and better frequency range for measuring moisture content, electrical con-
ductivity and temperature of soil, Kizito et al. [61] evaluated E­ CH2O sensors family in the
range of 5–150 MHz frequencies. The results concluded that ECH2O-TE sensor gives the

13
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

better results at 70  MHz. The relationship and precision between volumetric soil water
content and volumetric soil water content sensed are determined through four commercial
soil moisture sensor systems in [62]. It is revealed that only the IM and RB systems are
identified the high corelation between volumetric soil water content and volumetric soil
water content sensed. Brocca et al. [63] assessed the reliability of soil moisture estimations
through ASCAT and AMSR-E sensors. In their work, fourteen different sites of four differ-
ent countries is taken into consideration. It is stated that AMSR-E sensor provides the high
correlation between the observed and modelled data using LPRM algorithm. A review on
the soil properties using remote sensing technique is presented in [64]. To characterize the
underground wireless network and the basic problems for better communication in agricul-
tural field, Vuran et al. [65] derived advance channel models. The proposed model helps in
analyzing bit error rate for two different networks. The results obtain from field measure-
ments used in evaluating parameters of soil and the effects of variation in moisture of soil.
To measure the temperature of agriculture field, Badia-melis et al. [66] evaluate the behav-
iour of various sensors under the three temperature ranges that are 5 °C, 23 °C and 35 °C.
Three wireless sensor network devices with different sensors are compared with four RIFD
tags to get the information of behaviour of various sensors. Two alternative methods were
used to adjust experimental data. For monitoring and modelling temperature variations
inside silage stacks, Green et al. [67] designed a wireless mote which is deployed at differ-
ent location. The proposed system helps in detection of temperature variation during
decomposition of silage. To obtain real time information about environmental parameters
of greenhouse, Jahnavi et al. [68] developed a smart wireless system. The designed system
helps in giving optimal use of resources and water required for cultivation of crops. Micro-
controller in designed system helps in transmitting and receiving data from sensor nodes to
gateway node. Users can get real time information of greenhouse through web application
where data is transmitted through gateway node. To control the eexchange of water and
energy of heat between the agricultural field and atmosphere, Jackson et al. [69] designed a
temperature and moisture sensor. The developed sensors are composed of micro machined
MEMS cantilever beams which are equipped with water sensitive sensors. The variation in
resistance of the sensor due to moisture depends on the cantilever beam thickness. For
measuring temperature of agricultural field, Martinez et al. [70] proposed a cost-effective
system named as LITAS. The designed system evaluates infrared thermometry and thermal
imaging which supervised water stress level of the plant. The LITAS system tested in the
field of sugar beet and the measurements of LITAS were compared to canopy
temperature(TC) which is obtain from thermal images. Pierce et  al. [71] deployed a two
WSNs for agricultural process, one wireless sensor network is designed for regional-scale
applications, such as weather stations and the second network is designed for on-farm
applications such as monitoring of temperature for protecting agricultural field from frost.
To monitor physiological condition of plants, Mahan et al. [72] proposed a smart cop IRT.
The designed system is cost effective which can be easily deployed in large areas and helps
in providing wireless operations that are more appropriate in various research and applica-
tions. To monitor climatic conditions such as temperature, humidity and amount of soil
moisture. In agricultural field Mendez et al. [73] designed a Wi-Fi based network which is
capable to intelligently monitor the condition of agricultural field in a designed manner.
Table  4 summarizes the work reported on enviromental parameters to achieve precision
agricluture.

13

Table 4  Summarizes the work reported on environmental parameters of precision agriculture
Author Work done
13
Rossel et al. [51] Design a soil sensing system for
measuring and monitoring the
physical and biochemical attrib-
ute of soil in agricultural field
Bernardi et al. [52] Measure the Spatial inconsistency
of soil properties
Kuang et al. [53] Measures the performance of
Vis–NIR spectroscopy based
calibration models spiked with
various sampling strategies and
ratios for the prediction of soil
TN, OC and MC
Parrilla et al. [54] Measures the electrical conduc-
tivity under wet and dry soil
conditions
Fu et al. [55] Measure the spatial variation of soil Geographical Information System
nutrients in a diary farm
Bogena et al. [56] Measures soil water content with
the help of wireless sensor
network
Knadel et al. [57] Measures the organic carbon pre-
sent in soil
Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes
Soil sensors Wheat yields Soil sensors, colorimetric sensors and
Colorimetric sensors filed effect transistor helps in sensing
Field effect transistor the moisture, ph value, temperature
present in soil
VESPER software Alfalfa pasture VESPER software helps in modelling the
SPRING software spatial inconsistency of soil properties
SPRING software helps in modelling soil
fertility information
NIR spectrophotometer Agricultural field Value of soil organic carbon and Total
TrusSpec CNS spectrometer nitrogen are measured with the help of
TrusSpec CNS spectrometer
Dualem-21S sensor Olive orchard Electrical conductivity of soil is measure
electromagnetic induction (EMI) with the help of Dualem-21S sensor
technique 5TE sensor helps in measuring the soil
5TE sensors conductivity, water content
Banana GIS is a system which is designed to
(GIS) analyze, store, process, Manage geo-
graphical data
ECH2O probe Agricultural field ECH2O probe and EC-5 sensors helps in
EC-5 sensors measuring the properties of soil
TDR sensors, TDR sensor help in measuring the mois-
ture of soil
VERIS mobile sensor platfor Agricultural field Visible Near infrared (vis–NIR) spec-
vis–NIRS sensor troscopy is a rapid and cost-effective
method which has been used for soil
analysis
D. Thakur et al.
 Table 4  (continued)
Author Work done
Li et al. [58] Developed a wireless sensor
network for monitoring soil
properties
Ritsema et al. [59] Design a system for monitoring
water contents of soil
Majone et al. [60] Deploy WSNs for monitoring
moisture of soil
Kizito et al. [61] Analyse Frequency, electrical
conductivity and temperature of
soil moisture sensor
Lailhacar et al. [62] Measure the relationship between
soil water content with the help
of soil moisture sensor
Brocca et al. [63] Measure soil moisture with the help ASCAT and AMSR-E SENSORS
of ASCAT and AMSR-E sensors
Ge et al. [64] Done a review on Remote sensing
of soil properties
Vuran et al. [65] Analyse the behaviour of Wireless
Underground Sensor Network in
medium of soil
13
Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes
EC-5 Wheat field IRIS mote helps in establishing wireless
EC-TE sensor communication between nodes
IRIS mote MDA320 is a data acquisition board
data acquisition board which is connected with soil sensors
MDA320
EC-5 sensors Agricultural field With the help of EC-5 sensors the proper-
Ambient Studio software ties of soil can be measured
soil moisture sensors Apple tree orchard Soil moisture sensors used for measuring
TinyOS-2.x operating system moisture of soil
ECH2O sensors Dune sand and Palouse silt ECH2O sensor used for measuring
EC-5 probe loam moisture of soil
ECH2O probe Agricultural and Biological The resistance sensor systems Rain Bird
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…
TDT with a RS500 controller Engineering Department MS-100
Rain Bird MS-100 and Water facilities, University of
Watcher DPS-100 Florida,
17 sites located in 4 countries ASCAT and AMSR-E Used for soil
moisture retrieval
MLR, PCR, and PLSR techniques Agricultural field MLR, PCR, and PLSR techniques are the
data testing Technique which helps in
relating soil properties
Mica2 Mote Agricultural field Mica2 mote is developed by crossbow
ATmega128L technology having ATmega128L
CC1000 chip microcontroller and CC1000 chip for
radio transmission

Table 4  (continued)
Author Work done Tools/technique/sensor Crop Attributes

13
Badia-melis et al. [66] Measure the dynamic behaviour of Sensirion SHT Cold room Sensirion SHT is a humidity sensor
WSN devices and RFID tags for Intersema MS5534B which helps in measuring the humidity
temperature monitoring TAOS TSL2550D of the soil
TAOS TSL2550D used to measure inten-
sity of light
Intersema MS5534B is a pressure sensor
which helps in measuring the pressure
of soil
Green et al. [67] Measuring temperature variations NRF9E5 sensor unit Silage NRF9E5 sensor unit helps in monitoring
inside silage stack using WSNs RF transceiver, the temperature of the surrounding
Jahnavi et al. [68] Design a smart wireless sensor CC2530 chip Greenhouse SY-HS-220 sensor helps in measuring
network for greenhouse ZigBee humidity
SY-HS-220 sensor CC2530 is SoC solution for ZigBee
Temperature sensor
Jackson et al. [69] Monitoring temperature of soil and MEMS sensors Open field Micro electro mechanical systems sen-
moisture using WSNs sors help in measuring environmental
Parameters
Martinez et al. [70] A cost effective canopy temperature MLX90614 sensor Sugar beet MLX90614 is a infrared sensor
measurement system for precision thermal camera Multi-rotor copter integrated with GNSS
agriculture ATmega32u4 receiver which acts as remote sensing
Multi-Rotor copter system
Pierce et al. [71] Design a regional and on-farm AWN200 Farm AWN200 is a Data logger
WSNs for agricultural field AgFrost-Net AgFrost- Net is software installed in
client computer which shows real time
data information
Mahan et al. [72] Measure the field performance by Infrared thermometer TN901 Cotton Consumer Quality infrared sensor
using WSNs CQIRT sensor (CQIRT) is used for monitoring tem-
perature
Mendez et al. [73] Design a WSNs based on Wi-Fi for WSN802G module Hydroponics WSN802G is a Wi-Fi module which
agricultural environment AD8302 helps in transmitting data
AD8302 is a phase detector
D. Thakur et al.
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

3 WSNs Technologies in Precision Agriculture

3.1 Communication Technologies

In wireless sensor communication various technologies are used to transmit the data
from agriculture field to central point. The specification of these technologies is
described in Table  5. Whereas, the WSNs communication technologies used in PA is
given in Table 6.

1. ZigBee—ZigBee is low-cost, low-rate, and less-power consumer device as compared

with other wireless technologies that helps in secure and efficient transmission of data
from source to destination. By applying a wireless sensor network based on ZigBee to
an agriculture field data regarding to the conditions of field is properly transmitted to
the user at high data transmission rate [74].
2. Bluetooth—Bluetooth is a small range, low-power consuming device for wireless sensor
network which helps in transmit data from one user to other in a range of 100 meters. It
operates on the frequency band of 2.4 GHz [75].
3. Wi-Fi—wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) is IEEE standard 802.11b for wireless local area net-
work which is operated in frequency band of 2.4 GHz deploy in a distributed way to
cover the range of hundred meters. Wi-Fi is the most successful technology of wireless
sensor networks few years ago Wi-Fi was only available on laptops but now a day’s
Wi-Fi is easily available in cell phones, cameras, TV etc. [76].
4. GPRS—general packet radio service (GPRS) provides fast speed of data transmission
to the users. It uses the frequency range of 2.4 GHz. GPRS provides faster and long
distance connection for data transmission. Range of GPRS is spread up to kilometres
according to the coverage area of GPRS [77].
5. WiMAX—worldwide inter-operability for microwave access (WiMAX) is an IEEE
802.16e standard used for a long distance communication technology. With the integra-
tion of WiMAX technology, the capacity of network can be raised up to 70 mbps [78].

3.2 Sensors Used in PA

Sensors provide huge contribution in various applications. In agriculture, sensors plays

vital role for measuring various parameters of agricultural field. Tables 7, 8 show the dif-
ferent sensors that are used for precision agriculture. These tables also provide the details
of temperature range and other capabilities of the sensors. Further, Table 9 illustrates the
different sensor reported in the literature to monitor and measure the different parameters
for achieving precision agriculture. Table  10 shows the list of different crops which are
tested for precision agriculture using WSNs technology.

4 Conclusion

In this study, the adaptability of the WSN is explored in the field of precision agriculture. It is
observed that there is the incremental growth to adopt the WSN in PA and having wide range
of the applicability. It is reported that WSNs are widely used to monitor agricultural fields,
optimize irrigation for the crops, measure temperature and soil properties. In this paper,

13


13
Table 5  Available communication technologies with specification for precision agriculture
Specifications Technologies
ZigBee Bluetooth Wi-Fi GPRS 2 g/3 g/4 g WiMAX

Standard IEEE 802.15.4  IEEE 802.15.1 IEEE 802.11a,b,g,n – IEEE 802.16 a, e

Frequency band  2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz 2.4 GHz
Range 10–100 m 100 m 32 m Coverage area of GSM 30 miles
Data rate 20 Kbit/s to 250 Kbit/s 1 mbps 11–54 mbps 50–100 kbps/200 kbps/0.1–1 GB 50–100 mbps
Power consumption Low Medium High Medium Medium
Cost Low Low High Medium High
Modulation/protocol DSSS, CSMA/CA FHSS, GFSK DSSS/CCK, OFDM SNDCP, LLC OFDM
Security 128 bits 64 or 128 bit 128 bit 128 bit 160 bit
D. Thakur et al.
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

Table 6  Communication S. no. Communication technol- Referred in

technology reported for precision ogy
agriculture in literature
1 Bluetooth [25, 30, 37, 42]
2 ZigBee [6, 9–11, 14, 16–19,
21, 23–29, 31,
34, 43–46, 50,
66–68],
3 Wi-Fi [41, 49, 73]
4 GPRS/GSM [12, 20, 27, 28, 32,
35, 37, 40, 44, 45,
48, 50, 58, 59,
71, 72]
5 WiMAX Nil

seventy-eight articles are studied and arranged these articles into three different categories i.e.
monitoring of the crops, irrigation management and environmental parameters management.
Further, this review also discusses the different communication technologies of WSNs avail-
able for precision agriculture in literature. A list of different sensor used in PA is also given.
The major contribution of this literature to scientific community is given below.
RQ1) From literature, it is seen that number of techniques/tools are designed by vari-
ous researchers for PA using WSNs. These tools are IMOTE2, Arduino, EZ430-RF2500,
MDA300 sensor board, EZ43-RF2500, MDA300, Indriya, MICAZ, ZKOS, MSP430,
PIC16F877, CVX toolbox, MOSEK, Veris mobile sensor platform, MDA320, MTS400.
These tools integrate the different sensors on it and collect the information regarding vari-
ous parameters of PA and this information is used for decision making. It is observed that
Arduino platform is widely adopted as a platform to integrate different sensors due to low
cost and ease to embed. It is also seen that some algorithms are also developed for effec-
tive monitoring and smart irrigation of crops. These algorithms include OASNDFA, DCTA,
BOP, LAA, distributed localization algorithm, range based localization algorithms, polyno-
mial-time algorithms for deployment of nodes, electromagnetic induction algorithm, MLR,
PCR and PLSR methods. Some of new communication protocols are also reported in few
research articles like APTEEN protocol, Fuzzy based energy efficient protocol, ECHERP. It
is also revealed that the Tiny OS and Tiny OS 2.0 are taken as operating system for sensors.
RQ2) In precision agriculture, large numbers of sensors are adopted for collecting the
real time information about the growth of crops as well as different environmental parame-
ters like humidity, temperature, soil moisture etc. All these information is collected through
randomly deployed sensor nodes. Further, this information is collected on a central point
for processing purpose. The processed information is used in decision making and action
is taken according the processed information. Table  9 shows the list of different sensors
reported in literature. This table also illustrates the significance of each sensor and citation
details of these sensors are also given. The working of few sensors is discussed as Sensor
s8000 measures the PH parameter, HYDRA-PROBE II sensor measure conductivity, salin-
ity, soil moisture, and temperature values. EC-10HS measure the moisture of soil, EC-5
sensor for measuring soil moisture, SHT-11 sensor for measuring temperature and humid-
ity, N-sensor for measuring the requirement of nitrogen to the crop, VH400 is a soil-mois-
ture sensor which measure the amount of moisture present in soil, DS1822 sensor is used
to measure the temperature, SEN-13322 sensors measure the volumetric content of water

13


13
Table 7  Sensor used for measuring parameters of PA
S. no. Sensors Temperature Parameters References
range
Temperature Moisture Water level Conductivity Salinity

1 Hydra probe − 10 °C to Yes Yes No Yes No www.steve​nswat​

+ 65 °C er.com [79]
2 Hydra probe − 10 °C to Yes Yes No Yes No www.steve​nswat​
pogo mini + 60 °C er.com [79]
3 Stevens gropoint − 20 °C to Yes Yes No Yes No www.steve​nswat​
profile + 70 °C er.com [79]
4 MP306 moisture − 20 °C to Yes Yes Yes No No www.ictin​terna​
sensor + 70 °C tiona​l.com.au
[80]
5 TDR-315L − 40 °C to Yes Yes Yes Yes No www.ictin​terna​
+ 60 °C tiona​l.com.au
[80]
D. Thakur et al.
 Table 8  Sensors used for measuring weather conditions
S. no. Sensors Temperature Parameters measured References
range
Temperature Humidity Atmospheric Wind speed Wind direction
pressure

1 Vaisala humicap − 80 °C to Yes Yes No No No www.steve​nswat​

hmp15 + 60 °C er.com [79]
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

2 Met one 50.5 0–50 m/s stand- No No No Yes Yes www.steve​nswat​

ard er.com [79]
3 TS33C-M − 40 °C to Yes Yes No No No www.meade​.com
+ 50 °C [81]
4 SHT7X − 40 °C to Yes Yes Yes No No www.sensi​rion.
+ 125 °C com [82]
5 SHT75 − 40 °C to Yes Yes Yes No No www.sensi​rion.
+ 125 °C com [82]

13
 D. Thakur et al.

Table 9  List of sensor reported for precision agriculture in literature work

S. no. Sensor Significance of sensor Cited

1 Sensor S8000 Measure soil-ph parameter [6]

2 HYDRA-PROBE II Measure conductivity [6]
3 EC-10HS Soil-moisture [6, 46]
4 PIR sensor Measure intrusion occurrence [6, 11]
5 EC-5 Measuring soil moisture [9, 58, 59, 61]
6 S1087-01 sensor For sensing light [9]
7 SHT-11 Measuring temperature and humidity [9, 13, 46]
8 N Sensor Measuring the requirement of nitrogen for crop. [12]
9 ECHO–EC 20 Soil moisture sensor [15, 61, 62]
10 FDS100 Measure moisture of soil [16]
11 SHT-10 Measure temperature of soil [16, 50]
12 MTS400 Measure moisture of soil [20]
13 5TM sensor Measure moisture of soil [23, 54]
14 TDC220 sensor Measure moisture of soil [27]
15 VH400 sensor Measure moisture of soil [26]
16 DS1822 sensor Measure temperature [26]
17 EM31 Measure electrical conductivity [28]
18 MPS-1 Measures soil water content [30]
19 CS625 Measure moisture of soil [42]
20 SEN-13322 Measure moisture of soil [44, 45]
21 MF51E103E3950 Measure temperature [46]
22 DS18B20 Measure temperature [48]
23 SY-HS-220 Measure humidity [68]
24 MLX90614 Infrared sensor [70]

in the soil. It is found that PA cannot achieve without the help of these sensors. Table 8
illustrates the list of sensors used for measuring weather conditions. It is seen that in PA,
most of works is reported on measuring the soil parameters.
RQ3) Large numbers of crops are taken into consideration in literature to validate the
applicability of the WSNs in agriculture. The aim to adopt the WSNs in agriculture is to
monitor the crops, irrigation management and measure the different environmental param-
eters which are responsible for the growth and improved quality of the crops. Table  10
demonstrates the list of crops which are considered for experimentation. It is found that
eighteen different crops are taken by researchers to investigate the role of WSNs in agricul-
ture. These crops include broccoli crop, cotton plant, orange orchards, orchid greenhouses,
vinyl greenhouse, sugarcane field, grape farms, pepper vegetable greenhouse, potato crop,
citrus and blueberry crop, maize field, wheat, peach orchards and many more. Further, it is
observed that WSNs is widely used to monitor the growth of crops in green houses.
RQ4) From literature, it is seen that five communication technologies are adopted in
WSNs for PA. These communication technologies are described in Table  5. These are
Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, GPRS/GSM and WiMAX. Out of these five techniques, only
four techniques are used. Presently, WiMAX communication technology is not adopted in
PA till date due to high cost and large size. Table  6 shows the various communication

13
Applicability of Wireless Sensor Networks in Precision…

Table 10  List of crops reported S. no. Crop Cited

for precision agriculture in
literature work
1 Broccoli crop [6]
2 Cotton plant [7, 72]
3 Orange orchards [8]
4 Orchid greenhouse [9]
5 Vinyl greenhouse [10]
6 Sugarcane field [12, 70]
7 Vineyard [13, 15, 26, 36]
8 Grape farms [14]
9 Pepper vegetable [17, 50]
10 Potato crop [20, 32]
11 Citrus and blueberry crop [25, 41]
12 Maize field [33]
13 Wheat [38, 51, 58]
14 Peach orchards [48]
15 Alfalfa pasture [52]
16 Olive orchard [54]
17 Banana [55]
18 Apple [60]

technologies cited in different research articles. It is concluded that most of researchers

works with the ZigBee communication technology due to high transmission range and low
cost and cited in twenty-seven research articles. The second most valuable communication
technology is GSM/GPRS and it is cited in sixteen research articles.
Apart from these, several points can be highlighted from this study.

• Seventy-eight SCI listed research articles are included in this study from thirty-five dif-
ferent journals.
• In PA, lot of works are reported on measuring soil parameters including soil moisture,
PH value, soil temperature etc., for improving quality of crops.
• For effective monitoring and irrigation management, some algorithms are also pre-
sented by various researchers in the field of PA.
• Tiny OS and Tiny OS 2.0 are adopted as operating system for sensor nodes due to low
complexity.
• It is noted that Arduino platform is widely adopted to integrate the different component
of WSNs in PA.
• In PA, some work is also reported on communication protocols. Some of new commu-
nication protocols are developed for effective communication between different compo-
nents of WSNs.
• This review also lightens on the communication technologies adopted in WSNs for PA.
It is found that till date only four communication technologies is used.
• It is seen that widely adopted communication technology is ZigBee.
• A lot of crops have been investigated by using WSNs for precision agriculture. It is
observed that vineyard crop is examined multiple times.
• EC-5 senor is widely used for measuring the soil moisture.
• Some works are also presented on the deployment of sensor nodes in agriculture filed.

13
 D. Thakur et al.

• In few research articles, automatic irrigation model is also proposed and these models
also reduce the human effort.
• Few of articles are reported on intrusion detection in the agriculture field. Hence, there
is a scope of work in this direction.
• Lack of work is reported on the usability of fertilizers in the agriculture field.

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Publisher’s Note  Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and
institutional affiliations.

Mr. Divyansh Thakur  has completed his B. Tech. in computer science

and engineering from state government engineering college, Himachal
Pradesh, India. Currently, he is pursuing his master’s degree in com-
puter science and engineering Department of Computer Science and
Engineering at Jaypee University of Information Technology (JUIT),
Waknaghat, Himachal Pradesh, India. His primary area of research
includes precision agriculture, IOT and WSNs.

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 D. Thakur et al.

Dr. Yugal Kumar  is presently working as Assistant Professor (Senior

Grade) in Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Jaypee
University of Information Technology (JUIT), Waknaghat, Himachal
Pradesh, India. He has more than 10  years of teaching and research
experiences at reputed colleges and universities of India. He has com-
pleted his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from Birla
institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi. His primary area of research
includes meta-heuristic algorithms, data clustering, swarm intelli-
gence, pattern recognition, medical data, meta-heuristic algorithms
etc. He has published 50 research papers in various International Jour-
nals and Conferences of repute. He is serving as editorial review board
member of various journals including Soft Computing, Neurocomput-
ing, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, PLOSE ONE,
Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Infor-
matics and Journal of Information Processing System.

Arvind Kumar  is currently working as an Assistant Professor (Grade-

II) in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering/Informa-
tion Technology, Jaypee University of Information Technology
Waknaghat Solan. Prior to join JUIT, he was also worked as a Faculty
Member for 2 years in the Department of Computer Science and Engi-
neering, Faculty of Science and Technology (Formerly ICFAI Tech).
He has over 8 years of experience in Academics and Industry in India.
He is also a reviewer for various renowned International conferences.

Dr. Pradeep Kumar Singh  is currently working as Assistant Professor

(Senior Grade) in Department of Computer Science and Engineering
at Jaypee University of Information Technology (JUIT), Waknaghat,
H. P. He is having 10 years of vast experience in academics at reputed
colleges and universities of India. He has completed his Ph.D. in Com-
puter Science and Engineering from Gautam Buddha University (State
Government University), Greater Noida, UP, India. He is Senior Mem-
ber of ACM Society. Dr. Singh is having life membership of Computer
Society of India (CSI) as Senior Member Grade. He has worked as
publicity chair of five IEEE International Conferences and associated
as TPC member and reviewer of various Conferences and Journals too.
He is Associate Editor of International Journal of Information Security
and Cybercrime (IJISC) a scientific peer reviewed journal from Roma-
nia. He is currently guiding four Ph.D. scholars and having 176 Google
scholar citations in his account. He has published 35 research papers in
various International Journals and Conferences of repute. He is edito-
rial review board member of various Scopus and SCI Journals includ-
ing IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics. IJISP, IJSSE from IGI Global, USA. He has two sponsored
research project from HPSCSTE & HIMCOSTE, HP Govt., India.

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