Diponegoro University Electrical Engineering Students succeeded in creating a “PETIS” (Automatic Watering) system to help the Ponowaren Village Women’s Group (KWT) in Tawangsari sub-district, Sukoharjo Regency in dealing with soil fertility problems on their land. This tool is a form of student service in the Community Service (KKN) of Diponegoro University Team 1 Academic Year 2023/2024.
It is known that the Lahan Rumah Pangan Lestari (Sustainable Food House), owned by KWT “Tani Makmur” Ponowaren Village, has succeeded in entering the village program fostered by the PKK group of Tawangsari District. The plan is that this land will take part in the Tawangsari District Level KWT Park competition, which will be held next April. However, problems arise mainly related to the fertility of plants & vegetables, as well as discipline in monitoring and watering plants periodically.
Seeing the problem, Bernard Kenny Poya, a student of the S-1 Electrical Engineering Study Program at Diponegoro University, took the initiative to design and create an integrated automatic watering system called PETIS (Automatic Watering). Bernard, together with the Community Service Team I of Diponegoro University, Ponowaren Village, built this system from the beginning until it was ready to use.
The PETIS system is made up of two main components. The first part is a panel that contains a combiner box, which connects to a Dual Pump DC pump and an electrical power source that acts as a driving machine. The second part is a water distribution system consisting of a hose, support, and mist nozzle that works as a water sprayer. This system operates by setting the time for periodic watering of the land planted with plants and vegetables. The user can set the watering time with the timer switch inside the panel.
From the test results, it was found that the PETIS system runs smoothly. The successful system is evidenced by the absence of system failure during the three-day trial period. The success of Bernard and the Community Service Team I Diponegoro University at Ponowaren Village in developing the PETIS system received appreciation from the PKK Team of Ponowaren Village. They plan to include PETIS as one of the supporting elements in the assessment of the KWT Park competition, which will take place in April.
Sarmi, the chairman of KWT at Ponowaren Village, expressed her pride in the innovation made by Diponegoro University KKN Team I. She hopes that the PETIS system, designed to monitor the fertility of plants on their land, will continue to be useful for KWT and PKK. She further added that this tool would be beneficial for PKK mothers, particularly Pokja (Work Group) 3 and KWT, in monitoring plants that have been optimized with this automatic watering system.
Sari, the Head of PKK Ponowaren Village, echoed the same sentiments and expressed hope that the implementation of the PETIS system on KWT-owned land will reinforce the assessment of the upcoming KWT Park competition. She believes that the PETIS system will be one of the strengthening factors for PKK in participating in the competition activities in April.
Source: Faculty of Engineering Undip
