Agrometeorological monitoring: Low-Cost and Open-Source - is it possible?

The paper describes the development and application of a low-cost and open-source system for agrometeorological monitoring. The system is based on the Arduino platform and agrometeorological sensors. Data are transmitted using a WiFi Shield and GSM/GPRS Shield. The system is equipped with different agrometeorological sensors: air temperature and relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed, rain gauge, leaf wetness, atmospheric pressure, soil moisture, and a solar panel and battery made it energy self-sufficient. After a testing period in the lab, the field test was conducted in an experimental vineyard of CNR-IBIMET in the summer of 2013. The system has provided excellent results in terms of accuracy and stability of the acquired data from each sensor. This study shows that it is possible to monitor agricultural systems with low-cost devices. The potential of the system is high, as it has proved to be highly flexible to the different needs of the user due to the open-source philosophy, allowing maximum customization in terms of programming and the possibility of adding a wide range of sensors.