Drainage criteria for soil workability.

Abstract

Drainage requirements for workability are formulated on the basis of the soil moisture content at the lower plastic limit, and the relationship of the latter value to field capacity is investigated. Current drainage design criteria are analysed with respect to soil workability requirements; it is concluded that there is little technical and even less economic scope for improving soil workability by adopting stricter criteria, leading to narrower drain spacings. However, a case can be made for increasing the drain depth in medium and heavy textured soils beyond the commonly applied depth of about 100 cm, in the Netherlands. The effects of soil management on soil workability are briefly discussed. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)