Rule-Based Soil Moisture Control for a Compact Automated Greenhouse

Abstract

This paper describes a microcontroller-based irrigation controller for a mini greenhouse used in student agriculture experiments. The system uses threshold rules from soil moisture sensors and ambient temperature readings to schedule pump operation. Over a 30-day basil growth trial, automated control reduced water use by 21% compared with manual watering while maintaining similar plant height and leaf count. The implementation is designed for reproducible deployment in school laboratories.