Subsurface drainage pilot area experiences in three irrigated project commands of Andhra Pradesh in India

摘要

The introduction of irrigated agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions of India has resulted in the development of the twin problems of waterlogging and soil salinization, as a result of which considerable areas of canal commands have either gone out of production or experienced reduced crop yields. It has been estimated that an area of 8.0 million ha is affected by soil salinity and alkalinity in India, of which about 0.8 million ha of waterlogged saline area is distributed in the irrigation canal commands in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The waterlogging and salinity problems not only cause severe physiological crop damage, but also increase costs of cultivation, severely affecting the livelihoods of small and marginal farmers because of reduced income. The ever-increasing need for arable land demands that these waterlogged saline areas are reclaimed for sustainable agriculture. This paper presents the experiences in three irrigation projects using subsurface drainage in five pilot areas with soils varying from sandy loam to heavy clay located in Andhra Pradesh state. The local farmers were stimulated to share the operational costs of the drainage systems, and actively participate in monitoring and managing these systems. Copyright pb 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.