International Commission on A13

Irrigation and Drainage

1st Asian Regional Conference
Seoul, 2001

SUBSURFACE DRAINAGE IN RICE FIELDS

Sietan Chieng1

Abstract

Land and water are the two primary resources for agriculture. The water management system,
particularly irrigation and drainage, plays a key role in food and fiber production. Irrigated
agriculture, which is much more productive than rain-fed agriculture, contributes nearly 40%
of world food production on 17% of total cultivated land. Without irrigation, much of the
impressive growth in agricultural productivity over the last 50 years could not have been
achieved. However, it faces severe constraints. The foremost constraints are the twin menace,
salinity and waterlogging.

Proper drainage is essential for salinity and waterlogging control. Worldwide, the introduction
of drainage (surface and/or subsurface) systems has conversed or improved millions of
hectares of land for agriculture and other purposes. Although the benefits of using the
subsurface drainage in salinity and waterlogging control are well recognized in most of the
more developed countries in Europe and North America, but its use has been very limited in
the region of Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia.

In Asia, about 1021 million tonnes of cereal was produced from an area of about 680 million
hectares in 1999. Among all the cereal crops, rice is the most important crop grown in this
region. Its production in 1999 reached a total of about 540 million tonnes from a production
area of 138 million hectares. Like other regions in the world, inadequate drainage is rapidly
becoming a major constraint to these lands. At present, it is estimated that only about 4% of
the agricultural land in this region are provided with some form of improved drainage. Some
low level flood protection and a few widely spaced main drains may have been provided but
systematic drainage at farm levels are much less common. Subsurface drainage in paddy field
is virtually non-existence.

Large-scale subsurface drainage was carried out in India under the RAJAD project. Extensive
monitoring of subsurface drainage systems have shown potential benefits of controlling the
waterlogging and salinity in the root zone, increasing crop yields, and improved soil
1
Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, University of British Columbia, Vancouver,
Canada
workability. It appears that subsurface drainage would allow the farmers to achieve a higher
and more secure crop yields by using of better varieties, growing a wide range of crops,
planting early in the season, and improving harvesting practices.

Introduction

It is recognised that the water management system, particularly irrigation and drainage, plays
a key role in food and fiber production. Irrigated agriculture, which is much more productive
than rain-fed agriculture, contributes nearly 40% of world food production on 17% of total
cultivated land (FAO, 1996). Without irrigation, much of the impressive growth in
agricultural productivity over the last 50 years could not have been achieved. However, it
faces severe constraints. The foremost constraints are the twin menace, salinity and
waterlogging. Other constraints including the water shortage (i.e. quantity wise due to other
competitive uses, and quality wise due to point and non-point source pollution), population
growth and land shortage (i.e. more and more cultivable land are being lost to urbanisation
and other use).

Proper drainage is essential for salinity and waterlogging control. Worldwide, the introduction
of drainage (surface and/or subsurface) systems has conversed or improved millions of
hectares of land for agriculture and other purposes (Ritzema and Braun, 1994). Although the
benefits of using the subsurface drainage in salinity and waterlogging control are well
recognized in most of the more developed countries in temperate region, but its use has been
very limited in the region of Asia. During the high rainfall monsoon period, much land
becomes subjected to severe flooding and waterlogging but the need for drainage
development has sofar often been circumvented by adapting the land use to the prevailing
conditions. The acceptability of this approach is nearing its limits in areas where the level of
agricultural and rural development is reaching the state at which further development will
become severely constrained when drainage conditions are not improved (Smedama et al.,
2000). This applies to many countries in Asia, particularly the humid tropical zone of
southeast Asia.

Importance of rice production in Asia

In Asia, it is estimated that an area of 680 million hectares is used to produce the cereal crops.
Total cereal production in 1999 was 1021 million tonnes (FAO, 2000). Among all the cereal
crops, rice is the most important crop grown in this region. Its production in 1999 reached a
total of about 540 million tonnes from a production area of 138 million hectares. This
accounts for 90% of the world's production and consumption of rice because of its favorable
hot and humid climate. In Asia, rice is grown in numerous tiny farms primarily to meet family
needs. Therefore, the marketable surplus is small and prices fluctuate widely with droughts,
floods and monsoon or typhoons. Maintaining self-sufficiency in production and stability in
prices are important political objectives in most Asian countries. Less than five percent of the
rice production is traded in the international market. China, India, and Indonesia account for
three-fourths of the global rice consumption.

2
It is projected (IRRI, 2000) that demand for rice over the next few decades will be high due to
the population growth in this region. The Asian population is still growing at 1.8% per year,
at which rate it is expected to double within a period of 40 years. Although the growth rate
has been decelerating, it is not going to stabilize even by 2025, when the growth rate will
decline to 1.1% per year. China is likely to dominate the population growth in Asia, although
demographers project a relatively slow growth of population in view of its past progress in
population control. Excluding China, the Asian population is expected to increase by 51%
over the next three decades. The lower the level of income of a country, the higher the
projected growth of its population. Most of the additional population will be located in urban
areas. The marketed surplus of rice has to increase substantially to meet the demand from the
inflating urban population. IRRI (2000) projected that over the next 30 years, rice
consumption will increase significantly and Asian rice production must increase to about 840
million tons by year 2025 to meet the demand.

Flood and drought are an annual event in some areas while irrigation and drainage are a major
concern in other parts of the region for sustainable agricultural productivity. Relatively high
population density and fast economic and social developments in Asia require effective on-
farm water management, efficient use of water, and control of water quality related to point
and non-point source pollution. These are the important pending issues for sustainable
agriculture in this region. In this paper, only the subject of drainage, particularly the
subsurface drainage in paddy field, is discussed.

Drainage needs

Asia comprises a wide range of climatic and physiographic regions. Many countries in the
Asia region experience considerable flooding and drainage problems due to its prevailing
hydrological conditions. In this region, the disciplines of flood control and land drainage are
closely linked. The former deals with protecting a particular area against the invasion of
excess water from outside and the latter deals with the removal of excess water from within
the area. The two measures are to a large extent complementary and supplementary and
always need to be taken in conjunction (Smedema and Ochs, 1998). Flood control is a pre-
conditional for effective local drainage measures and is usually applied at the watershed level.
Table 1 shows the flood protected cropped areas in some selected countries in Asia (ICID,
1999). The proportion of area protected varies from 17.7% in case of China to 3.5% in case of
Vietnam. It is expected that flood control development in this area will increase as population
increases and as urban and industrial activities grow. It is beyond the scope of this paper to
detail the flood control issue and the following will focus on drainage at farm level only.

Most of the countries in Asia (particularly the Southeast Asia) experience a typically high
monsoon rainfall pattern of the semi-humid to humid tropical climatic zone. The length of the
rainy season varies from one country to another and from one year to another, but generally it
lasts for about one-third to half of the total period of any given year (Smedama, 2000).
Annual rainfall quantity also varies but mostly range between 1500 and 2500 mm. A
characteristic of the humid tropical zone is also the occurrence of highly intense rainfall
during short periods. A considerable part of the agricultural land in the region does not have
enough natural drainage capacity to cope with these high rainfall amounts and intensities.

3
This especially applies to the densely populated and potentially highly productive river and
coastal plains and other lowland areas. Many of these areas become badly affected by
flooding and waterlogging during much of the monsoon period. When the existing hydraulic
infrastructure in the area can not cope with hydrological regimes, land use can not reach its
full potential. Improved drainage becomes one of the obvious solutions. It would allow the
farmers to achieve a higher and more secure crop yields by using of better varieties, growing a
wide range of crops, planting early in the season, and improving harvesting practices. In some
of the more advanced countries, the trends of mechanisation and land consolidation can be
accelerated (smedama, 2000).

Table 1 Flood protected area in some Asia countries.

Country Cropped area (ha) Protected area (ha) % of area protected

China 97,674 17,330 17.7%
Indonesia 21,107 450 2.1
Korea 2,143 110 5.1
Malaysia 4,375 460 10.5
Myanmar 10,067 930 9.2
Philippines 7,920 710 9.0
Thailand 19,920 750 3.8
Vietnam 6,494 225 3.5

Drainage of rice field in Asia

Drainage development has traditionally been strongly driven by the need for food production.
As most of the main food crops are mesophytic plants which do not grow well under
waterlogged conditions, drainage was already early-on recognized as a tool for raising crop
yields and food production (Smedama et al., 2000). Although rice is a semi-mesophytic type
of plant, it often responds substantially to improve drainage, particularly during the tillering
stage (Koga, 1992).

Most of the rice is grown during the rainy or monsoon season. Heavy rainfall in this region
generally leads to the flooding of paddy. The submergence of paddy in flood water for a
prolong period or at some of its grow-stages leads to poor growth and reduces yields. Table 2
shows the reduction of rice yield under different duration of submergence in muddy and clear
waters (Koga, 1992). It clearly indicates the needs of drainage to remove the excess water to
avoid the excessive submergence of paddy.

Surface drainage is considered to be the most effective means of removing the surface water.
Generally, about 10cm of ponded water in paddy field is considered to be adequate. Any

4
excess ponding (i.e. above the 10cm depth)) is considered to be excessive and to be drained in
1 to 2 days to avoid the adverse effects of submergence on paddy yield. Subsurface drainage
is used to reduce the waterlogging condition in the root zone. Under paddy cultivation,
significant amount of water percolates to the groundwater reservoir and establishes a higher
level of water table. Unless adequate subsurface drainage measures are introduced,
waterlogged areas are formed and salts in subsoils and groundwaters may be brought to the
root zone. As there will always be some salt dissolved in the water, gradual salinization of the
rice land is inevitable if adequate subsurface drainage is not provided. Even with good
quality water containing only 200 mg/l of soluble salts, the amount added per year, if 1000
mm of irrigation water is used, is about 2 tonnes per hectare.

Table 2 Submergence of paddy and yield reduction (%)

_____________________________________________________________
Paddy submergence in muddy water
Stage of growth 1 to 2 days 3 to 4 days 5 to 7 days > 7 days
_____________________________________________________________
Panicles booting stage 70 80 90 100
Heading stage 30 70 85 100
Tillering stage 20 50 90 100
Maturity stage 5 20 30 30
_____________________________________________________________
Paddy submergence in clear water
1 to 2 days 3 to 4 days 5 to 7 days > 7 days
Panicles booting stage 25 45 85 100
Heading stage 15 25 40 70
Tillering stage 10 20 32 35
Maturity stage 0 12 20 20
______________________________________________________________

Subsurface drainage (SSD) has been widely used in the temperate region which covers most
of Europe and North America that the practice of SSD was developed. It has been proven to
be an effective means to remove excess water and salts from the soil profile. This removal
has proven beneficial effects both in terms of crop growth and water quality. However, there
is no systematic use of SSD for waterlogging or salinity control in the humid tropical region
(i.e. most of the Southeast Asia countries). Large-scale subsurface drainage in paddy field is
virtually non-existence.

Subsurface drainage in rice fields

The Rajasthan Agricultural Drainage Research Project (RAJAD), fund by CIDA (Canadian
International Development Agency) was the first large scale SSD project carried out in Asia
for waterlogging and salinity control. The project area, located in the State of Rajasthan of
India has a dual growing periods with distinct weather characteristics: dry (or irrigation) and

5
wet (or monsoon) seasons. The two main crops grown in the monsoon season are soybean
and paddy. Wheat is the main crop, among others, grown in the irrigation season.

The original aim of RAJAD was to arrest the waterlogged saline soil by using the subsurface
drainage system to leach the excess salts out from the root zone. While there is insufficient
water for irrigation during the irrigation season, there is excess monsoon rain during the
monsoon period. RAJAD adopted a unique approach to leach the salt through SSD system by
using the excess rainfall during the monsoon period. Because of this, the performance of SSD
in the paddy field became one of the research focuses in its research program.

RAJAD carried out its large-scale field research program in twelve test sites ranging in size
from 50 to 180 hectares. SSD systems with drain spacings at 15, 30, 40, 60 and 75m were
installed at depth of 1.0 to 1.3 m in all test sites. Within each of the test sites, numerous
replicates for each of the five drain spacings were established. Large volume of field data was
collected under the RAJAD’s extensive monitoring program from 1991 to 1999. It is beyond
the length of this paper to present the details of the project. Details of RAJAD can be found in
RAJAD (1995). Additional information is given in RAJAD special reports (2000a, b, c and
d) and Chieng and Visvanatha (1996). The following are some relevant findings related to the
performance of SSD in paddy fields.

Design equation

In the design, the commonly used drain spacing equations, both steady and transient state
equations, were used. Extensive examinations on the applicability of the existing drain
spacing equations that were developed in temperate regions (i.e. Europe and North American)
to the arid monsoonal and tropical areas were conducted. By using the field data collected
(i.e. drain depth, installed drain spacing, water table height above drain, drain flow rate, soil
hydraulic conductivity and drainable porosity), back calculations were carried out to evaluate
the system performance. The results indicate that drain spacing equations based on transient
state approach [such as Glover-Dumn with 4th degree parabola initial water table and Uziak-
Chieng with ellipse initial water table] are most appropriate.

Drain flow and water table

Field data showed that SSD with narrower drain-spacing (i.e. less than 40 m) have the widest
variance of SSD flow rates ranging from 1.5 to 8 mm/day when the water table midway
between the drains fluctuated within the top 60cm of the soil profile. Some abnormally high
flow rates were observed under the ponded water condition.

Majority of observed SSD flow rates in areas with wider drain spacings (i.e. greater than 40m)
varied from 0.5 to 6 mm/day. Most of the high flow rate (> 5 mm/d) occurred when the water
table fluctuated within the top 20 cm of the soil profile. More than 90% of the flow rates
observed from SSD areas with spacings of 60 and 75m were less than 2 mm/day. Some
abnormally high flow rates (10 to 15 mm/day) were also observed under a ponding depth of
about 20cm on the paddy fields.

6
On average, the surface runoff from the SSD areas was 28% of the excess rainfall as
compared to 35% in the non-SSD areas. During some heavy rainstorm events, surface runoff
from SSD area was about 15% less than that from non-SSD area. Field data showed that
subsurface drainage flow was about 5~10% of the irrigation water applied.

Nutrient losses

Among all the nutrients applied, the loss of nitrogen through subsurface drainage system has
been a major concern. Nitrate is a highly soluble ion and one of the key factors in surface water
eutrophication. Nitrate can also becomes toxic when reduce to nitrite. On the average, the
transport of nitrate and nitrite through the SSD system was found to be in the range of 1.8 to 8.2
kg/ha for the entire growing season. Analysis of SSD effluent indicated absence of ammonia-
nitrogen and traces of soluble phosphorus. The concentration of nitrate and nitrite presence in
the drainage effluent varied up to 16 ppm.

Soil workability

The improvement of soil physical properties in terms of hydraulic conductivity and infiltration
was found in SSD areas. Advancement of trafficability conditions in SSD areas following
irrigation or rainfall event was realised. The soil trafficable conditions were advanced by 6 to 10
days in SSD fields compared to non-SSD areas (SewaRam et al., 2000). This provides good
tilth conditions for seedbed preparation for second crop. Improved trafficability also reduced
some difficulties in carrying out other cultural practices such as the application of agro-
chemicals and harvesting operations.

Crop responses

Crop yields in SSD and non-SSD areas were monitored. Paddy was only one of the many crops
grown in the project area. Field data showed that, in general, crop yields for all dry-foot crops
(i.e. wheat, mustard) grown in the dry season and paddy and soybean grown in the monsoon
season responded positively to subsurface drainage. The average increase in the crop yield in
SSD areas compared with non-SSD areas was about 50% for wheat (dry season crop) and 50%
for soybean (monsoon season crop). Yield increase for paddy (up to 10%) observed was
considered to be not conclusive due to the interaction of soil salinity improvement in addition to
waterlogging control. However, field data showed a significant increase (about 20%) in
cropping intensity during the monsoon season in SSD areas. Severe submergence conditions of
paddy during and after the heavy rainfall events were significantly reduced. This could be the
key reason in obtaining a higher paddy yield.

Summary and conclusions

The water management system, particularly irrigation and drainage, plays a key role in food
and fiber production system. Many countries in the Asia region experience considerable
flooding and drainage problems due to its prevailing hydrological conditions. Proper drainage
is essential for salinity and waterlogging control. Worldwide, the introduction of drainage

7
(surface and/or subsurface) systems has conversed or improved millions of hectares of land
for agriculture and other purposes. Although the benefits of using the subsurface drainage in
salinity and waterlogging control are well recognized in most of the more developed countries
in Europe and North America, its use has been very limited in the region of Asia.

In Asia, about 1021 million tonnes of cereal was produced from an area of about 680 million
hectares in 1999. Among all the cereal crops, rice is the most important crop grown in this
region. Its production in 1999 reached a total of about 540 million tonnes from a production
area of 138 million hectares. The Asian population is growing at 1.8% per year, at which rate
it is expected to double within a period of 40 years. It is projected that, over the next 30
years, rice consumption will increase significantly and Asian rice production must increase to
about 840 million tonnes by year 2025 from its current production level to meet the demand.
Like other regions in the world, lack of adequate drainage is rapidly becoming a major
constraint to these lands. At present, it is estimated that only about 4% of the agricultural land
in this region are provided with some form of improved drainage. Some low level flood
protection and a few widely spaced main drains may have been provided but systematic
drainage at farm levels are much less common. Large-scale subsurface drainage in paddy
field is virtually non-existence.

RAJAD project was the first large-scale subsurface drainage carried out in monsoonal
irrigated area. Extensive monitoring of subsurface drainage systems (SSD) has shown the
benefits of controlling the waterlogging and salinity in the root zone, increasing crop yields,
and improving soil workability. Average increase in the crop yield in SSD areas compared with
non-SSD areas was about 50% for wheat and 50% for soybean. Data on yield increase for
paddy (up to 10%) was not conclusive due to the interaction of soil salinity interaction in
addition to waterlogging control. However, a significant increase in cropping intensity during
the monsoon season in SSD areas was observed. Severe submergence conditions of paddy
during and after the heavy rainfall events were significantly reduced. Based on RAJAD’s
experience, it appears that properly designed subsurface drainage can be adapted for drainage
improvement for crop production (both dry foot crop and paddy) under the Asia conditions. For
some of the more advanced countries in this region, the time may be ripe for investment of
subsurface drainage projects.

Reference

Chieng, S.T. and N.A. Visanatha. 1996. Drainage and performance of subsurface drainage in
monsoonal irrigated areas. ICID 16th Congress Drainage Workshop Proceedings, p193-202.
FAO. 1996. Food production: the critical role of water. FAO of United Nations.
ICID. 1999. Water for food and rural development: East Asia Consultation for Sector Vision.
1st draft of an approach paper. Kula Lumpur, Malaysia, May 1999.
IRRI. 2000. Supply, demand and production potential of rice in Asia. IRRI Web Site.
Koya,, K. 1992. Introduction to paddy field engineering. AIT, Bangkok, Thailand.

8
RAJAD. 1995. Analysis of design criteria for subsurface drainage. RAJAD, Kota, Rajasthan,
India.
RAJAD. 2000a. RAJAD STR#8: Estimation of soil hydrologic parameter using data collected
from experimental test sites of Chambal Command Area. RAJAD, Kota, Rajasthan, India.
______ 2000b. RAJAD STR#9: Performance assessment of subsurface drainage systems.
RAJAD, Kota, Rajasthan, India.
______ 2000c. RAJAD STR#10: Environmental analysis of SSD systems. RAJAD, Kota,
Rajasthan, India.
______ 2000d. RAJAD STR#11: Impact of SSD on salinity reclamation in Chambal Command
Area. RAJAD, Kota, Rajasthan, India.
Ritzema, H.P. and H.M.H. Braun. 1994. Drainage Principles and Applications. (ed. By H.P.
Ritzema), ILLI Publications 16. Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Sewa Ram, K.V.G.K. Rao and N.A. Visvanatha. 2000. Impact of subsurface drainage in the
management of saline soils of Chambal Command. 8th ICID Drainage Workshop Proceedings.
Smedama, L.K. and W.J. Ochs. 1998. Needs and prospects of improved drainage in the
developing countries. Irrigation and Drainage Systems 13: 359-369.
Smedama, L.K., S. Abdel-Dayem and W.J. Ochs. 2000. Drainage and agricultural
development. Irrigation and Drainage Systems 14: 223-235.