Subirrigation: Water Table Management

Water table management (subirrigation) is accomplished by controlling the water table, usually through a subsurface drainage system. The crop is subirrigated with water being furnished directly to the root system by capillary action from the saturated portion of the soil profile referred to as the water table or perched water table, or by wetting the soil by quickly raising and lowering the water table. The applicability is normally in humid areas where drainage of the soil profile for adequate root development is necessary or beneficial for crop production or when drainage is economically beneficial from a trafficability standpoint for crop production or harvesting. This chapter examines water table management.