A heuristic closed‐loop controller for water distribution in complex irrigation systems

The paper deals with the problem of finding an optimal, closed‐loop control strategy for water distribution among crops grown in an irrigation system. The proposed approach yields a strategy that allows the utilization of prior “soft” information. The control strategy is then optimized using a mixed simulation‐optimization method. The results which are illustrated by a Saudi Arabian case study show that it is possible to improve the crops' annual yields, both in terms of their expected value as well as in terms of their temporal distribution over the planning horizon.