Investigation for determining suitable type of drainage system for salt affected area of Muzaffarpur district of Bihar
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53550/Keywords:
Drainage, Infiltration, Permeability, Saline soilAbstract
The salt affected soils in the state of Bihar are widespread in the northern flood plain of the Ganges covering parts of East and West Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Saharsa districts. Proper drainage systems are very useful for such areas. In the present study, the salt-affected area located in Muzaffarpur district was selected to study soil parameters in relation to drainage and to investigate whether surface or subsurface drainage is suitable for the area. Three sites with different features were selected from the salt-affected fields. Physical properties such as bulk density, texture, moisture content, porosity, infiltration characteristics and permeability; and chemical properties such as pH, EC, and organic content were determined. After determining pH and EC, the class of salt-affected soil was decided. The results indicated that the bulk density of the soils of all the three sites -1 is high (>1.50 gm cc ) which results in reduction in pore space. The soils are found to be saline- alkali to alkali in nature. The values of pH are more than 8.5 indicating high ESP which adversely affects the physical properties of soils. The high values of pH throughout the soil depth coupled with high bulk density resulted in reduction in water transmission characteristics of soil viz., permeability and infiltration of the soils. The study infers that a surface drainage system is suitable for the selected salt-affected area.
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