Remote Scheduling System for Drip Irrigation System Using Geographic Information System

Abstract

The Internet is widely accessible in Tanzania. Most of the technologies used in different organizations have changed to address their functions using web based information systems. In this paper, attempt is made to design software system using geographical information system (GIS) for the spatial and temporal distribution of irrigation supply for large-scale drip irrigation systems in Tanzania. Map based information system has gained popularity after evolution of simple tools to present spatial information using Internet. Due to water scarcity, it is envisioned that by 2050 the world won’t have enough water for communities, industries and agriculture. Web based precision irrigation system refers to deployment of remotely precision irrigation services using the application interface that connects to the Internet. Hence, this study presents the GIS in the context of precision farming to achieve precision irrigation strategy with special reference to precision farming of tea in Tanzania. The GIS-based irrigation scheduling system was designed for the scheduling daily drip irrigation water deliveries and regular monitoring of irrigation delivery performance for maximum yield. The “Scheduling” program computes the right amount of irrigation deliveries based on tea water requirements. The “Monitoring” program gives information on the uniformity of water distribution and the shortfall or excess.