MANAGING GROUNDWATER FOR IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE: The Relevance of Biodrainage Model

Farmers loose precious cultivable land due to waterlogging and salinity. To overcome this problem, the groundwater table is required to be managed and kept at a safe depth below the ground surface. The practice of providing sub-surface drainage through pipes and drains pollutes water bodies into which the saline drainage water is discharged. It is, therefore, necessary to find alternative methods that are environment-friendly. Biodrainage through tree plantations can be an option to achieve this.

This book describes the prevailing conditions and status of irrigation across the globe. It also presents the relevant aspects of groundwater salinity, plant physiology, and uptake of water and minerals by crops and trees. Besides recent research studies in India, it also incorporates a few case studies from different regions of the world.

The book would be useful for irrigation/drainage engineers, soil scientists, groundwater managers, agro-forestry and ecology planners, researchers in the field of water and land management, universities and institutes imparting education on irrigation, drainage, groundwater and land management, NGOs etc.

A.S. Kapoor, graduated in Civil Engineering from the University of Roorkee, India, received training at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Army Corps of Engineers and also pursued post-graduate courses on advanced soil mechanics and applied hydrology at the University of Colorado. He published many papers and has also received several awards.
Besides working extensively on the Rajasthan Canal Project, he also provided consultancy services in the field of irrigation and drainage in many countries as well as to the World Bank, the FAO and the USAID.