There is provided a smart drip irrigation emitter to provide intelligent features including on-demand watering, sensors and communication links. The emitters can be activated by a wireless signal to power and/or control water delivery from the emitter. The emitter also may include sensors that gather data pertaining to an individual plant. Based on the data received by the sensors, the emitter intelligently determines whether to water the plan. The smart emitter can form a communication network with other smart emitters.