Patent ID: 7469707

Claim:
An irrigation control valve, comprising: a conduit having an inlet and an outlet; a moisture sensitive element adapted to be placed in contact with the soil, the moisture sensitive element being expansible as a function of the amount of moisture adjacent the moisture sensitive element; a movable moisture controlled member coupled to the moisture sensitive element and configured to variably restrict the cross section of the conduit between the inlet and the outlet dependent on the moisture adjacent the moisture sensitive element, the cross section of the conduit at the moisture sensitive element decreasing with increasing moisture adjacent the moisture sensitive element and increasing with decreasing moisture adjacent the moisture sensitive element; an electronically controlled actuator connected to an electronic controller; and a movable electronically controlled member coupled to the electronically controlled actuator, the electronically controlled member located at the conduit adjacent the moisture controlled member and cooperating with the moisture controlled member to define the shut-off position of the moisture controlled member.