6/1/24, 10:27 PM Irrigation and Drainage: All You Need to Know About - Agric4Profits

The major sources of excess water that make drainage necessary are:

─ Seepage losses from reservoirs or canals.

─ Deep percolation loss from irrigated lands.

─ Flooding of low lands.

─ Flow of groundwater towards waterlogged lands in the arid region.

Aims of Drainage
The basic aim of field drainage is to assist land to get rid of water from the upper layers of the soil in a manner that will maintain the conditions which
provide aeration, warmth and adequate moisture within the root zone of the crop. The adequate drainage of crop-producing lands requires a general
lowering of shallow water tables.

Ways of lowering the water table:

─ Eliminating or controlling sources of excess water.

─ Improving natural drainage facilities.

─ Providing man-made artificial drainage systems such as open channel drains, covered clay or concrete pipes pumping ground water.

Benefits of drainage
─ Draining cultivatable land promotes a number of environmental conditions in the soil that are favorable to higher plants and the micro flora and fauna.

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─ It improves soil aggregation or granulation and thus encourages aeration, better plant root development, biological activity and nutrient uptake.
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─ Providing more available soil moisture and plant food by increasing the depth of the root zone soil.

─ It decreases losses of soil nitrogen due to denitrification.

─ Decreasing soil erosion by increasing water infiltration into soils.

─ Leaching excess salts from the soil.

─ Assuring higher soil temperatures.

1. Drainage system

There are two main types of drainage systems:

─ Surface.

─ And sub-surface drainage.

1. Surface drainage

Surface drainage involves smoothing the soil surface and creating enough slopes to ensure water run-off.

Lowland areas often receive water from the surrounding uplands. Impermeable soils may be unable to get rid of excess water by downward movement
through the soil profile. Sometimes excess water is applied to a field during irrigation.

In all of these cases, surface drainage is used to dispose of the excess water. Ditches are built of concrete to ensure durability, especially where rapid
water movement occurs. Ditches must be cleaned and weeded periodically.

Disadvantages of surface drainage

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─ Silt and clay sedimentation and the growth of weeds and willows restrict the flow of water.

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─ Surface drains are troublesome to maintain and water distribution interferes with them.

─ Another major disadvantage of surface ditches is that they may interfere with the use of machinery.

2. Sub-surface drainage

i. Mole drains are cut in the soil at a pre- arranged depth, below the main root zone. Mole drains are usually 10-15 cm in diameter, circular or
nearly so in cross section, 50-60 cm deep, and 3-4 m apart. Some cuts are made in the drains.

These cuts assist the passage of water from the surface and through the soil to the drains. Mole drains require not only suitable land but proper grading
of the drains and free outlets at the lower ends, leading into surface cuts of sufficient depth which discharge to main drainage canals or a natural water
course.

ii. Tile drains are formed by hollow cylindrical tiles of 10-25 cm internal diameter. The tiles are made of concrete and are laid in deep trenches cut
at predetermined intervals to a depth of 75 cm or more. When the soil surrounding the tile is saturated with water, the water seeps into the tile and
eventually reaches an outlet where it is discharged.

Advantages of underground drainage

i. Low maintenance costs.

ii. Unobstructed passage of farm implement over them.

iii. Arable land is not sacrificed as is often the case with surface drainage.

iv. They also indirectly help in providing water for irrigation.

v. Assists in protecting the soil from erosion.

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vi. The firmer particles of surface soil carried away in large quantities and deposited in the trenches and main drains are cleaned and reformed after
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some years.

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Related: 4 Steps to help an Orange Tree Produce Sweet Oranges

Maintenance of Drains
─ The maintenance of drainage systems requires the regular removal of soil and vegetation from the drains.

─ To keep closed drains clean, it is essential to destroy the penetrating roots periodically by adding some chemicals to the drain water. To achieve
this, all undesirable vegetation in the field should be killed with chemicals.

Methods of Harvesting Dry Beans

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