Smart-Hydroponic-Based Framework for Saffron Cultivation: A Precision Smart Agriculture Perspective

Abstract

Saffron, one of the most expensive crops on earth, having a vast domain of applications, has the potential to boost the economy of India. The cultivation of saffron has been immensely affected in the past few years due to the changing climate. Despite the use of different artificial methods for cultivation, hydroponic approaches using the IoT prove to give the best results. The presented study consists of potential artificial approaches used for cultivation and the selection of hydroponics as the best approach out of these based on different parameters. This paper also provides a comparative analysis of six present hydroponic approaches. The research work on different factors of saffron, such as the parameters responsible for growth, reasons for the decline in growth, and different agronomical variables, has been shown graphically. A smart hydroponic system for saffron cultivation has been proposed using the NFT (nutrient film technique) and renewable sources of energy.