Field Surface Drainage and Agricultural Drainage

Field Surface Drainage and Agricultural Drainage

Field Surface Drainage:

Comprise of removal of excess surface and ground water from agricultural land. Drainage and irrigation are complementary processes which together have the end goal, of creating a soil moisture regime and salt balance in the soil root zone for optimum growth of crops plants and trees and for sustaining them without adverse effect on the environment and ecology.

Excess soil moisture affects crop growth mainly because of deficient aeration.

The drainage is one of the most critical requirement on which management of land and water resources and maintenance of irrigated agricultural production depends. The function of a drainage system is to remove excess water and salts form the soil profile in the root zone of the crops.

It is well known that when an area is irrigated exclusively over an extended period of time, the ground water level rises. When it reaches a height which is equal to the capillary rise, the soil moisture is brought to the surface where It evaporates; leaving the salt at the surface. Salt which are originally present in the irrigation water, or which were dissolved in the soil water, are thus concentrated on the land surface. This may cause the soil salinity and some times alkalinity, which adversely affect the plant growth.

Rapid development of irrigation in the past has brought in its wake the twin problems of water logging and land deterioration by the salinization and correspondingly the need of remedial measures to over come them. A simple and effective way is to provide adequate drainage facility.

Agricultural Drainage:

Removal of excess water, known as free water or gravitational water from the surface or below the surface of land so as to create favourable soil conditions for plant growth.