Title: Drainage and No-drainage Cycles for Salinity Management in Irrigated Areas
Abstract: A new design and management system that introduces the concepts of drainage and no-drainage cycles is presented and applied to a hypothetical farm representative of the field conditions in the San Joaquin Valley of California over eight growing seasons. The objective is to reduce subsurface drainage while maintaining an acceptable salt balance. The no-drainage cycle is an extended period that may span several growing seasons in which drains are not operated and no drainage releases are allowed. The drainage cycle is a limited period during the off season in which drains are opened to relieve excessive water table and salinity buildups and restore the suitability of the soil for growing crops. The new system reduced drainage approximately 50 to 58% compared to a traditionally managed system. The corresponding reduction in salt load is approximately 15 to 29% indicating improvement in the efficiency of the drains to intercept more salt per unit volume of water. Despite the significant reduction in drainage volume, the new system is able to approximate the salt balance of a traditionally managed system. The irrigation requirement is reduced by about 145 mm/growing season without any apparent reduction in crop yield.
Publication Year: 1996
Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 1
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot