A model for optimal irrigation scheduling with saline water

Abstract

The paper presents a dynamic programing model for optimal scheduling of irrigation with water of varying salinity levels and soil salinity parameters explicitly considered. The system underlying the model is characterized by two discrete state variables, soil moisture and the salinity level of the soil solution, which are updated on a day‐by‐day basis. Transformation functions from one state to another in response to irrigation decisions and a crop response function to soil moisture and salinity are the other elements of the model, with the objective being maximization of income derived from the irrigated crop. An application to the irrigation of sorghum in the southern semiarid area of Israel is presented and evaluated.