Abstract
Artificial drainage of agricultural lands has been practiced for centuries. Earlier techniques devised were open ditches to drain the excess water. The widescale development of subsurface tile drains began with the production and availability of clay tiles. Today, corrugated plastic pipe is the most popular and efficient way to install subsurface drainage lines. The objective of agricultural soil drainage is the removal and disposal of excess water from the rooting zone in order to improve soil productivity. The 1971 Soil Conservation Service (SCS) handbook estimated that 130 million acres or about one-third of all crop land in the United States is artificially drained.
The reason that some soils do not drain water adequately through the soil profile is usually related to the presence of naturally or artificially compacted layers in the soil profile which are restrictive to water movement. In all such cases the soil has a layer, or layers, of low permeability which does not allow the water to penetrate downward, causing the development of a water table.
inadequate drainage can cause many problems for agricultural use. The two most critical problems are an inadequate oxygen supply for normal root growth, causing injury and sometimes death to the crop. The second and third problems are the possibility of late planting and harvesting due to wet land.
Publication Date
1989
Volume
10
Number
9
Repository Citation
Haszler, Gerald R., "Effectiveness of Tile Drainage on Karnak Silty Clay Soil" (1989). Soil Science News and Views. 56.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/pss_views/56
