Wireless sensor networks for agriculture: The state-of-the-art in practice and future challenges

The advent of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) spurred a new direction of research in agricultural and farming domain. In recent times, WSNs are widely applied in various agricultural applications. In this paper, we review the potential WSN applications, and the specific issues and challenges associated with deploying WSNs for improved farming. To focus on the specific requirements, the devices, sensors and communication techniques associated with WSNs in agricultural applications are analyzed comprehensively. We present various case studies to thoroughly explore the existing solutions proposed in the literature in various categories according to their design and implementation related parameters. In this regard, the WSN deployments for various farming applications in the Indian as well as global scenario are surveyed. We highlight the prospects and problems of these solutions, while identifying the factors for improvement and future directions of work using the new age technologies. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.