Patent ID: 8219254

Claim:
An adaptive control for controlling an irrigation system for irrigating soil in an irrigated region, comprising: a weather based control having a programmable memory for storing user set parameters related to the environment and plant life to provide a desired moisture level in the soil in the irrigated region; a connector connecting said weather based controller to the irrigation system for watering the soil in an irrigated region in accordance with said user set parameters; a moisture sensor located in the soil in the irrigated region for sensing an actual moisture level in the soil in the irrigated region; a sensor based controller connected to said moisture sensor for sensing an actual moisture level in the soil in the irrigated region; a comparator for comparing said actual moisture level in the soil of the irrigated region from said sensor based controller with said desired moisture level provided by said user set parameters; a tolerance control having an input enabling a user to enter a tolerance range of said desired moisture level in the soil in the irrigated region establishing a user acceptable limit of variation between said desired moisture level of said weather based controller and the actual moisture level as measured by the moisture sensor; said tolerance control connected to said comparator for maintaining said parameters stored in said programmable memory of said weather based control when the moisture in the soil in the irrigated region is within said user acceptable limit of variation between said desired moisture level of said weather based controller and the actual moisture level as measured by the moisture sensor; and an adjustment in the comparator for modifying said parameters stored in said programmable memory of said weather based control when the moisture in the soil in the irrigated region exceeds said user acceptable limit of variation between said desired moisture level of said weather based controller and the actual moisture level as measured by the moisture sensor.