Conventional Plant Care Practices and Automated Plant Pot Prototype in

Urban Gardening

Clark S. Basoc, John Flourenz O. Baga, Grean S. Brinque, Kimberly Calderon,

Maica D. Gementiza, Krizsha Marie S. Mateo, Gleanz Rhajyn G. Ombajin, John
Soujie O. Villamor
Mintal Comprehensive High School, Mintal, Davao City, Philippines

Timoteo L. Corpuz Jr., Alex Gabriel Dagatan- Research Adviser

ABSTRACT
This study explored the differences in the plant growth between plants under
conventional plant care and under the automated plant pot prototype
INTRODUCTION
The pandemic has caused a surge of the plantita/plantito. Gardening has

become a common hobby amongst people in the country (Sunga & Advincula,

2021). However, as the country is slowly opening things up and slowly, more and

more companies are requiring employees to report more often, this entails that the

plantitas/plantitos will have a lot more on their plates rather than maintaining the

home gardens. As the years go on, Davao City is aiming to further modernize its

infrastructure. According to the Regional Physical Framework Plan by NEDA XI, the

goal is to fully modernize the city by 2045, with a projected 60% growth in

population. With these predictions, land areas in the city can lessen, hence a growth

in Urban Gardening is expected. Various technologies have made agriculture have

lesser labor work. One of these said systems is the water irrigation system, with this,

various systems that can be done at home have expanded. The accessibility of

Arduino kits has opened the door for automatic water systems that automatically

waters a pot once dry soil moisture is detected. The idea behind an automated

system opens a bigger door for expansion to make home gardening easier. There

are a lot of systems that make automated water irrigation possible, however, the use
of Arduino Uno along with other aspects is easier as well as the cheaper option

(Dhatri P V S et al., 2019), hence this is the route the researchers decided to go into.

However, water is not the only important aspect of plant growth. To grow,

plants need water, the proper nutrients, temperature as well as sunlight. The reason

why water is highly essential since this is the biggest component in plant cells, water

is also one of the most essential compounds in photosynthesis (IFAS Extension

University of Florida, 1997). The temperature however can vary from plant to plant,

especially in native plants. Temperature affects the respiration of the plant, as well

as this, affects the breakdown of sugars in the plant, too little prevents the

breakdown of sugar while too much causes excess that can be very damaging to the

plant (Pennisi, 2020). Liquid fertilizers are easier to incorporate into the soil

especially considering the use of Arduino Uno. Although urban gardens are a great

innovation, it is essential to remember that these types of gardens are so much more

susceptible to climate change. Compared to regular rural gardens, urban gardens

tend to face higher temperatures, about 5 to 11 degrees Celsius. Hence it is more

prone to drought (Lin et al., 2018). Improving agronomic productivity and nutritional

quality of vegetables and fruits grown on urban soils requires long-term soil quality

management. The use of compost, mulch, and other biomass-carbon sources (such

as lawn clippings, leaf litter, and household waste) is essential to improving soil

quality and functionality (R Lal, 2020). With this knowledge, it can be concluded that

urban gardens are hard to maintain. However, knowing that urban gardening is high

maintenance, it is gradually becoming important in agriculture. A study by

Bredenberg (2018) involving the Centaurea jacea showed that the plants placed in

an urban garden environment were able to germinate more in comparison to those

cultivated in the rural areas, with these, the researchers of the said study concluded
that rural areas are more negatively affected when it comes to the reduced

pollination due to increased pesticide use. In addition, during the COVID-19

pandemic, there has been a noticeable disruption in the food supply. A common

cause is the shortage of labor work. With this, households are needed to adapt to a

more resilient food supply, thus, home gardening. In adapting to home-urban

gardening, there is a possibility to improve nutritional security (Lal, 2020). During the

peak of lockdown in the Philippines, disruption of the food supply is also noticeable,

which can also be combated with urban gardening, which can increase opportunities

for increasing resilience in the local food supply (NICOLA et al., 2020). Although it is

called urban gardening, there is still a requirement for an efficient space. An

observation was made in Urumqi, Western China, from 1999 to 2019, which

concluded that in densely populated areas, urban garden spaces are highly

overlooked and not as accessible due to the scarcity of resources to make urban

gardens easily possible (Shi et al., 2020). The question remains how to make this

more accessible for people, especially for regular homeowners. There are already

multiple studies of automatic water irrigation systems that utilize a microcontroller,

Arduino. This system has been around since 2010 and has continuously become

more and more accessible throughout the years. A study by Hassan et al. (2018)

showed that an automatic water irrigation system is cost-effective in optimizing water

irrigation in agricultural areas. The prototype built also enables easier tracking of soil

moisture (Hassan et al., 2018). Devika et al. (2014) Have done related work on

automatic plant watering, and the watering object uses a plant grinn on the soil

where the humidity sensor detects the soil moisture level, and the system will

automatically water the plant if the soil is not moist/dry. Using an automated water

system showed that there are lesser water wastes in comparison to manual
watering. Water delivery became more efficient, resulting in an improved general

water irrigation system. (Hassan et al., 2020). However, in creating an optimum

water irrigation system, one needs knowledge of soil conditions. Optimized water

usage is also achievable with an innovative irrigation system (Jain et al., 2017). The

use of Arduino was improved by adding another command which is to add an

automated fertilizer dispenser along with the established water irrigation system that

can be beneficial for those that have busy lifestyles. The high maintenance aspect

of an urban garden can be combated with an automated system. With a

computerized water irrigation system, the proper timing and the correct amount of

water are ensured. In a vegetable like ice cabbage, and any other leafy vegetable

optimum moisture of 21% to 40% (AcuRite Blog, 2018). In-plant growth, the

frequency of watering and sufficient temperature is highly essential (Bual et al.,

2019). In the sight of sustainability in creating automated systems for gardens, a

study that utilized Robotic Process Automation showed that the automatic

hydroponics system is functionally sustainable. The design can also be easily

duplicated and revised (Ramos, 2021). The use of automated or programmed water

irrigation systems specifically in established “smart cities” shows a positive

correlation to the reduction of overwatering, which is healthier for the plants and

better for the environment (Canales-Ide et al., 2019). A study conducted by Canales-

Ide et al. (2021), in which they performed a test on the automated water system

using an Arduino microcontroller, showed that said product showed satisfactory

performance in terms of plant watering. Although there are already these established

designs utilizing the Arduino Uno microcontroller to create an automated water

system, there is still a lack of study that focuses on the affect of an Arduino

microcontroller when it comes to plant growth.

 With these ideas in mind, the prototype plant pot could be a way to expound

efficiency in urban gardening as our country, and the city is moving their way to

urbanization. This research aims to identify the effectiveness and costs of the

automatic plant pot prototype compared to conventional plant care practices. It

specifically seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What is the level of growth of

plants utilizing conventional plant care practices in terms of plant weight, root length,

and plant height? 2. What is the level of growth of plants utilizing automated plant pot

prototype in terms of plant weight root length and plant height? 3. Is there a

significant difference between conventional plant care practices and automated plant

pot prototype in terms of plant weight, root length and plant height? 4. Is there a

significant difference between conventional plant care practices and automated plant

pot prototypes in urban gardening according to cost benefits?

The result and the prototype of this study are relevant to providing an initial

model of convenient and household-friendly plant care where people seek to grow

valuable plant life. The results of this study are also significant in providing a more

convenient plant care method and how this can impact plant growth.

The researchers aim to test the efficiency of the prototype by conducting a

comparison with a similar plant but with manual plant care. Furthermore, this study,

specifically the observation of the trials, will be conducted in the Mateo residence,

Bandera Espanola Street Mintal Davao City, from April 19, 2022, to May 4, 2022.

This study is limited to testing the efficiency of the plant pot prototype in comparison

to conventional plant care.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study is an Experimental Study focused on identifying the difference in

growth rate between plants, specifically, Ice Cabbage (Brassica rapa). Researchers
took an established design of an automated plant watering prototype that uses the

micro-controller Arduino to create their design of a more improved plant prototype

looking at more specific plant needs. To compare the efficiency of the plant growth,

the researchers also prepared a group of plants that will undergo conventional plant

care practices. The study and observation were conducted at the Mateo Residence,

294-A Bandera Espanola Street Mintal, Davao City from April 19 th to May 4th year

2022.

Phase I- Materials and Equipment needed in the study

In conducting this study, the researchers used the for each set-up; one Arduino UNO

Board, 13 F/M pins, one moisture sensor, a meter of copper wire, one breadboard

two relay modules, two submersible pump, three AC/DC adapter, PVC clear tube,

two 1-gallon water container, a gallon of liquid fertilizer (insert ratio here5ml/L) and

10 ice cabbage sprouts. To monitor the growth the researchers used a ruler and a

weighing scale.

Arduino Set-Up

In setting up the prototype itself, the researchers needed the following

materials; Arduino Uno board, bead board, F/M wires, and relay modules; these

materials are the basic requirements for the actual Arduino set-up to function. In

setting up the automatic watering system, the researchers used a soil moisture

sensor along with a 5V submersible pump to connect to the Arduino set-up, the

researchers also used a 5mm tubing to connect to the pump in order to disperse the

water. The process is that once the sensor detects that soil moisture is below 20%, it

will disperse water and then stop once 40% soil moisture is achieved (See Fig. 1). In

order to create the liquid fertilizer dispenser, the researchers used the same concept

as the watering system, using 5V Submersible pump and another set of 5mm tubing,
however, the signal for this to automate is not through a sensor, rather was placed

under a timed loop, which in this case is every 3 days, or every 4,320,000 counts in

the Arduino system (see fig 2).

Input: Soil
Moisture

Water from Soil Moisture

storage goes below
20%

Water Stops
Dispensing Output: Water

Soil Moisture
gets to 40%

Figure 1: Automated water dispensing process

Counter hits
Input: Timer
4,320,000
(≈ 3 days)

Liquid
Fertilizer from
storage

Fertilizer
Stops Output: Liquid
Dispensing Fertilizer
Counter hits
5000
(≈ 5 seconds)

Figure 2: Liquid Fertilizer Dispensing

Conventional Plant Care

 Plot A will undergo a conventional plant care which would only involve daily

watering every morning for the span of seven days, identical to the time frame for

Plot B which will utilize the automated plant pot prototype. To ensure that the same

amount of water is being consumed by both the Arduino prototype as well as the

conventional plant care on day 1, the researchers took a pilot test got how much the

Arduino extracts from 20% moisture to reach 40%, the amount of water extracted

from this pilot is what will be used as the regular amount to water the plants under

conventional care, which showed an average of 190mL. During the early stages of

ice cabbage, it is suggested to water for only 2-3 times per week, or as the need

arises for the perceived moisture that can be detected by the human senses

(Medellina, 2021). As for the fertilizer, the researchers tested a pilot with the protype

set-up in order to conclude the mL per second extracted, which was 18.5mLs per

second; this would then be taken into consideration in putting in the fertilizer

conventionally.

Phase II- Conduct of the Experiment

In order to see if the plant pot prototype improves the growth rate of the plant,

the researchers had three trials; two trials were done consecutively, 4 sets of 5 of

Brassica rapa (common name: Ice Cabbage) in its early stages and planted them

under identical conditions; two pots (Plot A and C) was watered and monitored

manually while another two pots (Plot B and D) were not monitored, but was under

the plant pot prototype. Both growths were monitored for one week, measuring the

sprout height every other day. At the end of one week, the plant growth was

measured along with the root length, and it was weighed in grams. Another 2 sets

with the same set-up were conducted the following week, Plot E was under

conventional plant care while Plot F was under the plant pot prototype, at the end of
the week, the plants were measured for their height, and root length and weight. It is

to be noted that samples in Plot A, B, C and D started at 4.5cm without any

treatment while Plot E and F started at 3cm.

Phase III - Data Collection and Analysis

The data gathered regarding the plant growth for all three trials were tested

through a t-test in order to compare the growth of the plants in Plot A, C and E with

the plant growth of the plants in Plot B, D and F. To get the raw data for plant growth

involved weighing the plant, measuring the shoot and the root (Buddies, 2021). With

this data we are able to differentiate the maturity level as well as the shoot to root

ratio. In order to analyze the economic factors, the water tank used by the

researchers’ labelled with measuring units, and the manual watering will also be

measured daily in order to compare both water consumptions. Another way that the

researchers measured the economic factors is by observing the amount of fertilizer

used within the span of one week. To ensure the reliability of the data collected, the

researchers performed three trials with the same set-up. The average of the growth

from every plot for each trial was taken and compared in order to arrive at the final

result.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

This chapter presents and discusses the data gathered from all three trials and the

analysis performed on the data in order to obtain the final result. The findings of the

data proceeds to answer the statements of the problem. Specifically, to analyze the

plant growth in terms of weight in grams, root length in cm and lastly, shoot height in

grams. This chapter also discusses the water consumption and fertilizer

consumption from both controlled and experimental.

Level of Plant Growth According to Weight (g)

This table shows the weight of each five samples from each three trials for both the

control and the experimental growth. The average for each trial was also computed

along with the standard deviation.

Table 1: The weight in grams of the ice cabbage samples from both experimental

and controlled samples after one week.

WEIGHT IN GRAMS
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
Control Experimental
6 5 0.1 14 14 0.3
12 8 0.2 11 12 0.3
6 12 0.2 19 25 0.5
8 5 0.1 17 15 0.5
5 11 0.1 17 11 0.2
Mea
n 7.4 8.2 0.14 15.6 15.4 0.36
SD 2.7928 3.27108 0.05477 3.13049 5.5946 0.13416
5 5 2 5 4 4
Plant weight is one of the easiest ways to compare plant growth (Beadle, 1985). For

the controlled group or the samples under the conventional plant care showed the

following results; the weight of all five samples for trial averaged to 7.4 grams with a

standard deviation of 2.80. Trial two showed a mean on 8.2 grams while the 3 rd trial

had a mean of 0.14 grams. Both had a standard deviation of 3.27 and

0.055respectively. As for experimental group, or the samples under the prototype

showed the following results; the weight for the 1 st trial showed an average of 15.6

grams with a standard deviation of 3.13, for trial 2, the average weight in grams of

the 5 plant samples is 15.4 grams with a standard deviation of 5.60 and for the last

trial, the mean of the weight was 0.36 grams while the standard deviation is 0.13. It

is to be noted that the weight is the fresh weight of the ice cabbages.

Level of Plant Growth According to Root Length (cm)

This table shows the root length of each five samples from every three trials for both

the control and the experimental growth. The average for each trial was also

computed along with the standard deviation.

Table 2: The root length in centimeters of the ice cabbage samples from both

experimental and controlled samples after one week.

ROOT LENGTH IN CM
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
Control Experimental
9 8 4 4 4.5 3
7 7 2.5 6 7 2.5
6 7 2.5 6 5 3
7 10 4 6 4.5 4
9 7 4.5 6 7 3.5
Mea
7.6 7.8 3.5 5.6 5.6 3.2
n
SD 1.3416 1.3038 0.93541 0.89442 1.29421 0.57008
4 4 4 7 8 8

Trial 2 Experimental Group Trial 2 Controlled Group

Root length in plants is highly dependent on the soil quality (Koç Koyun N., Acar, R.,

2015). Most nutrients are seen in the topsoil, and as moisture and nutrients lessen it

moves to the bottom, with this the root of the plant tends to chase for the moisture

and nutrients, resulting in a longer, yet less dense root (Hunter A.S., Kelley, O.J.,

1946). The results from the three trials under the conventional plant care are the

following; the first trial yielded an average of 7.6 cm with a standard deviation of

1.34, the 2nd trial showed an average of 7.8 cm with a standard deviation of 1.30 and

the last trials for the controlled group yield a mean of 3.5 cm with a standard

deviation of 0.94. The samples from the group under the prototype presented the

following; both 1st and 2nd trials yielded a mean of 5.6 cm; however, the standard

deviation for trial one is 0.90 while the 2nd trial’s standard deviation is 1.30. 3rd trial

presented a mean of 3.2 cm with a standard deviation of 0.57

Level of Plant Growth According to Plant Height (cm)

This table shows the root length of each five samples from every three trials for both

the control and the experimental growth. The average for each trial was also

computed along with the standard deviation.

Table 3: The plant height in centimeters of the ice cabbage samples from both

experimental and controlled samples after one week.

PLANT HEIGHT IN CM
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
Control Experimental
11 6 6 15 12.5 6.5
15 9 9 11.5 11.5 6.5
11 15 6 14.5 15 7
5 8 7 11 13.5 9
9 9.5 7 12 10 7
10.2 9.5 7 12.8 12.5 7.2
3.633 3.3541 1.2247 1.8234 1.9039 1.0368
18 02 45 58 43 22
Along with soil nutrition, plant height gets affected by the sunlight, as they depend on

sunlight to photosynthesize. Light quality is one of the few environmental aspects

that affect plant growth, specifically, its height. Other than light, a plant’s height is

also affected by water and nutrition. (VanDerZanden, 2022), with this being said the

shoot height from the 3 trials under the controlled group yielded the following; for the

1st trial the shoot height average is 10.2 cm with a standard deviation of 3.63, and the

2nd trial showed a mean of 9.5 cm with a standard deviation of 3.35 and lastly, the

trial 3 presented an average of 7 cm and its standard deviation is 1.22. As for the

experimental group, the first trial had an average of 12.8 cm and a respective

standard deviation is 1.82, the 2nd trial showed a mean of 12.5 cm and a standard

deviation is 1.9, and finally, the 3rd trial yielded an average of 7.2 cm while the

standard deviation is 1.04.

Difference between conventional plant care practices and automated plant pot

prototypes in terms of plant weight, root length and plant height.

A comparison of means using an independent-samples t-test was conducted to

analyze the significant difference in the level of plant growth in terms of weight in

grams, root length and plant height.

Table 4: Independent samples t-test of plant growth

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3
Mean Mean Mean
 
t p Differen t p Differen t p Differen
ce ce ce
Weig 0.00 0.03 0.009
-4.35 -8.2 -2.48 -7.2 -3.39 -0.22
ht (g) 238 786 43
Root
Lengt 0.02 0.02 0.557
2.77 2.77 2.38 2.22 -0.61 -0.3
h 417 802 29
(cm)
Plant
Heig 0.28 0.12 0.787
-1.14 -22.6 -1.74 -3 -0.28 -0.2
ht 572 017 55
(cm)
Note: p-value > 0.05 - no significant difference, p-value ≤.05 has significant difference
Table 4 shows the statistical significance of the plant growth from the three trials

regarding weight, root length and plant height.

Trial one in terms of weight shows a p-value of 0.002, trial two yielded a p-value of

0.038 and the third trial resulted in a p-value of 0.009; all are way under the

significance level of 0.05. Thus, there is a significant difference in plant weight in

grams between the samples under the conventional plant care and plant pot

prototype for all three trials. Root length, however, shows a different result. 1 st trial

shows a p-value of 0.024 while trial two has a p-value of 0.028, both being lesser

than 0.05, but the 3rd trial concluded with a p-value of 0.557 which is greater than

0.05. Hence, the first 2 trials showed a significant difference but the 3 rd trial did not.

Lastly, the statistical difference for the plant height; all three trials did not show any

significant difference between the samples under the conventional plant care and

plant pot prototype. The 1st trial has a p-value of 0.286, trial two – 0.120 and trial

three – 0.788.

These results indicate that the area that shows the total difference in plant growth

between conventional plant care and plant pot prototype is the weight, as weight is

the easiest to measure as well as the factor that manifests the earliest in a plant’s

growing process starting from seed germination along with an increase in cell

number (National Council of Educational Research and Training, 2020). For the root

length, there is still a significant difference between the two groups for the first 2

trials, however, there isn’t any significant difference for the 3 rd trial, this is because of

the level of maturity of the last trial, as in comparison to the first 2 trials which started

at 4.5 cm, the 3rd trial started at 3 cm. The samples were not able to mature enough

in 1 week for the researchers to garner a significant difference between the root

length. The results also show that there is no significant difference between the plant
heights in all three trials. As what VanDerZanden (2022) indicated, the light quality is

a big factor in a plant’s height. The samples were placed under a roof outside to

ensure that water content will not get affected by possible rain, hence, direct sunlight

is limited.

Water and Fertilizer Consumption

Water Consumption

Table 5: Water Consumption

Water Usage
Controlled Experimental
Trial 1 1.3L 830mL
Trial 2 1.3L 840mL
Trial 3 1.3L 720mL
All samples started with 5L of water in a container, after the seven-day observation,

all the water usage from the controlled group was only up to 1.3L. However, as the

experimental group depended on the soil moisture, trial one only consumed 830mL

while trial 2 only consumed 840mL. Trial three was conducted separately from the

first 2 trials, with also the start of a lot of rain and lesser sun. Due to this the soil from

the plots did not dry out as often in compared to the previous two trials, hence, it only

consumed up to 720mL.

Fertilizer Usage

Fertilizer usage from all six plots, three trials under the controlled group as well as

the other three trials under the experimental group consumed up to 277.5mL of

water. This is because of the Arduino program set by the researcher was designed

to release fertilizer for 5000 counts or approximately 5 seconds, which would yield

92.5mL of water each time. With this idea in mind, the researchers also added

92.5mL of fertilizer through the conventional plant care.

CONCLUSION

From the findings of this study, the following conclusions are drawn:

It can be concluded that the usage of the plant pot prototype is able to

improve the growth of the plants, this is as seen from the significant difference

between the plant just after a week of observation. The shorter root hairs from the

experimental group also shows that the nutrients and moisture stayed on topsoil,

making it easier for the plant to mature. It is also valuable to mention that the root

hairs for the experimental group, which indicates a more efficient nutrient absorption

during early stages (Wang et al., 2016). Because of the time constraint, the

researchers were only able to have a short observation period, as a result, the plant

height was not able to present any significant difference. However, it can be

observed (table 3) that the plant height from the experimental group is taller in

comparison to the controlled group, showing sign of better maturity. The plant pot

prototype water consumption is also smaller compared to that of the controlled

group.

Recommendations

Based on the findings and conclusions of the study, the following recommendations

are drawn that may provide a clearer idea of the plant growth comparison between

conventional plant care and plants under the Arduino plant pot prototype.

In order to garner a better idea of the effect in plant growth, the researchers suggest

a longer observation period, at least another one or two weeks of observation would

give plants more time to mature providing a better data.