On‐farm management of saline drainage water in arid and semi‐arid regions

Abstract

The irrigated arid and semi-arid zones in India face twin problems of overall water scarcity and waterlogging accompanied by salinity. Subsurface drainage has proved successful in the rehabilitation and conservation of waterlogged saline soils. Drainage water from subsurface drainage systems seems to be an important source of water in the next millennium to tide us over the anticipated water scarcity problem in agriculture. However, the drainage waters from subsurface drainage systems are often saline and in the absence of a natural outlet, their disposal creates a problem. Various possible options have been discussed to mitigate the environmental threat posed by low quality drainage waters. Issues relating to potential reuse of low quality drainage waters along with management practices are addressed. Effects of factors influencing the long-term sustainable use of saline drainage waters are presented and it is emphasized that special management practices have to be followed/evolved for sitespecific water quality, soil, crop and climatic conditions. However, the extent of salt leaching and crop establishment will depend on the total amount of monsoon rains and adequate subsurface drainage. It has been concluded that the use of a part of the saline drainage water in the post-reclamation phase will not only augment the water supply but also minimize effluent disposal requirements.

Experimental Study on the Potential Use of Bundled Crop Straws as Subsurface Drainage Material in the Newly Reclaimed Coastal Land in Eastern China

“…The ADR and LF of HPD were significantly lower than that of MSD and RSD in terms of the magnitude of drainage events regardless of the irrigation volume (Figure 5a,b). Higher ADR and LF indicate that the drainage system can discharge more water through the subsurface drains, and consequently leach more salts from the soil profile [41,42]. The higher value in ADR and LF with straw drainage may due to the beneficial effects of the multiple flow paths along the bundled maize stalks or rice straws, resulting in improved soil water transmission along the straw drainage line [43,44].…”

MODIS-Derived Boundary Conditions for a Mesoscale Climate Model: Application to Irrigated Agriculture in the Euphrates Basin

“…1). Some accumulation of water was observed in the bottom soil layer over the length of the growing season, but this is not unrealistic for flood irrigation as it is traditionally practiced (e.g., Sharma and Tyagi 2004).…”

Review: Computer-based models for managing the water-resource problems of irrigated agriculture

“…The continuous expansion of the irrigation system, seepage from unlined canal networks, percolation from irrigation fields, under-utilization of poor quality groundwater, rolling topography, low-lying areas, inadequate drainage, and poor water management practices are the major factors contributing to this phenomenon (Shah 1988;Brahmabhatt et al 2000;Hillel 2000;Hodgson et al 2002;Alam and Bhutta 2004;Manjunatha et al 2004;Guganesharajah et al 2007;Ritzema et al 2008;Wang et al 2008;Quan et al 2010;Singh 2011). Waterlogging and salinization reduce the quality of soils and associated crop productivity (Swamee et al 2000;Dai and Labadie 2001;Upadhyaya and Chauhan 2002;Oster and Wichelns 2003;Sharma and Tyagi 2004), affect groundwater quality, and also limit the use of groundwater for agriculture and community supply (Nulsen 1989;Kirchner et al 1997).…”