Reshaping Wi-Fi Wireless Mesh Sensor Networks to Enable Irrigation Automation and Advanced Sensors in Broadacre Farming

Irrigation automation and IoT smart sensing improve water management and reduce labor in broadacre farming. This work investigates the feasibility of an innovative Wi-Fi Wireless Mesh Sensor Network (WMSN) architecture to provide large-scale coverage (up to ∼900 ha) and assesses its performance against the influence of crop canopy development. The study, conducted on two commercial rice farms, demonstrated the WMSN's effectiveness in providing stable coverage with 98.89% message success after one retransmission. The network maintained a signal strength (RSSI) above the −85 dBm operational threshold within 800 meters of a communication pod, with a stable mesh link established between pods up to 853 m apart. Results showed a strong negative linear correlation between rice canopy height and RSSI, with attenuation indices ranging from 2.34 to 2.88. Positioning the equipment 1.5 m above the canopy effectively mitigated the attenuation, achieving near free-space conditions.