It is a challenge present in virtually all agricultural production across the globe. In scenarios where water penetrates the soil to a point where the root region has insufficient oxygen, there are severe repercussions for crop yields and overall health within a short period. Farming cannot be sustainable, and our future cannot be guaranteed unless farmers understand it.
What is Waterlogging in Agriculture?
Waterlogging in agriculture arises when the rising water table floods the subsurface of crop root zones. Therefore, whilst this water-filled condition is anoxic due to the lack of air circulation, it confines the soil for some time to anaerobiosis.
Waterlogging in agriculture is commonly identified with intense precipitation, poor drainage, or fields situated in floodplains and low-lying areas barely a step from being a swamp. Waterlogging is not water being consistently supplied to crops like in irrigation, but it is superfluous and detrimental. While the lack of water inhibits plant respiration, the accumulated water mass delimits plant roots and decreases their nutrient uptake; hence, waterlogged soil is a long-term soil condition degradation. It is the aftermath of several factors or a single factor.
Causes of Waterlogging in Agriculture
Several factors imply a weighty combination in resulting in the flooding of agricultural fields. Here’s everything required to understand how to avoid these factors and in turn, boost crop output.
Heavy Rainfall
It is often one of the leading sources of agricultural waterlogging in agriculture due to the failure of oxygen to penetrate the roots of crops. Where there is flooding on the field, it is because the rate of precipitation surpasses soil infiltration; hence, such levees often ensure it ends up saturating the root. Considering the typical tropical and monsoon zones, this is a common phenomenon, as seen in Environmental Pollution.
Uncertain Drainage Paces
Unfavorable drainage enhances the tendency of field farming to waterlogged zones. The draining of excess water from the field by a pumped system also involves water passing through the field. In instances when the field is well-thickened downgrading, water is aided. This is frequently how those who reside near the tributary or a low-top region allow the problem accompanied by waterlogging in agriculture to recur.
High Water Levels
An unusually high water table increases the difficulty of agriculture in growing crops, especially in the wet season. When it rains heavily, even a slightly high rise in the amount of groundwater can saturate the soil layer with its presence or change the water.
Soil Types and Texture
Specific kinds of soil are more susceptible to waterlogging in agriculture. For example, soil made up of fine particles, such as clay, has poor drainage and retains water. Conversely, sandy land typically allows water to flow through it quickly, reducing the danger of waterlogging.
Consequences of Waterlogging in Agriculture
There are both immediate and longer-term consequences of waterlogging in agriculture. Farmers who utilize this information properly must simultaneously strive to avoid these situations as much as feasible and reduce the extent of any resultant losses.
Reduced Yields
When waterlogging in agriculture occurs, there is insufficient oxygen available for roots to absorb to maintain respiration. Their ability to take in nutrients also diminishes. Prolonged waterlogging is very detrimental to crops, most notably wheat, maize, and vegetables.
Soil Fertility Decline
Leaching of vital soil nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium, as well as changes in their chemical composition, reduces them into useless compounds. This worsens the soil’s fertility; and this task becomes more difficult over time.
Increased Vulnerability to Diseases
Agriculturally used fields that do not have water flowing across them provide an excellent environment for fungi and bacteria. Roots that have remained in water for more than fifteen minutes are more vulnerable to infection, resulting in reduced productivity.
Degeneration of Soil Structure
When agriculture faces waterlogging in agriculture for long-term, the soil aggregates and compacts poorly. The absolute erosion of soil structure during previous saturation develops a shallow, dense mass. Soil composition is thrown into shambles, making work harder during the upcoming filling and, at the same time, opening spaces for disintegration.
Solutions for Waterlogging in Agriculture
To alleviate the problem of waterlogging in agriculture, both preventive and remedial measures and a combination of multiple solutions are essential. Farmers and promoters may test different techniques to decrease and counteract the impact of waterlogging due to the variety of strategies available.
Improved Drainage Systems
Around urban areas, local waterlogging problems can be solved by improved drainage systems. Other acceptable solutions include conventional or tile ditches that evacuate the water simply, effective when larger canals get silted; it conveys rainwater to be released into the previous without it affecting crops; and assists in soil aeration and decreases crop stress.
Raised Beds and Contour Farming
Raising planting beds above the general field’s surface stops water from accumulating above the basic level where the soil rests. Another effective way to help stop waterlogging in agriculture is to follow the field’s natural rise using the process of plowing and planting.
Soil Management Practices
The long-term solution of this problem, soil structure, can also be solved by adding abundant organic muck and impeccable tillage, while some soils pass through the water swiftly.
Crop Option and Rotation
Planting crops like wheat and maize rotations help improve soil structure and decrease the likelihood of waterlogging in agriculture.
Groundwater Control
To minimize the time when waterlogged and control the groundwater level, it is necessary to use the pumped land irrigation and drainage system and control the groundwater level—measures to be undertaken in the case of naturally high water tables in the region. Measure the water table regularly during the rainy season to ensure that the soil does not get oversaturated.
Conclusion
Experience from different places in the world demonstrates that new technologies along with pre-existing technology are required to curb waterlogging in agriculture. Through waterlogging, farmers are experiencing increasingly poor harvests, and it is proven that we need to look into new water control methods, since the river and lake water and their effects change daily.
For centuries, waterlogging in agriculture has been one of the foremost thorns in the side of the world’s sustainable agriculture. Whether it is triggered by excessive floodwater, low-lying land that can’t percolate away its excess water quickly enough, or particular soil types that become saturated in the rainy season, what causes waterlogging depends on the circumstances you reside in. The impact, however, is identical: decreased food production, extended waits for planting, and an increase in susceptibility to dangerous infection.
Nevertheless, traditional agricultural good practices and advancements in technology such as automated drainage systems, raised-bed farming methods, soil management systems, crop rotation, and soil sensors can render the threat of waterlogging in agriculture neutral. As a result, it not only safeguards the robust growth of crops at each of their stages but also assures that agriculture remains sustainable for the future. At this point, we practically have no option but to comprehend and tackle waterlogging in agriculture. By addressing it, we secure our food supply and farmland from disaster caused by climate-induced waterlogging.
