Research Progress Report 159
		    December, 1964

Surface Drainage on Clermont Silt Loam

by Donald R. Sisson and H. M. Galloway, Agricultural Engineering and Agronomy Departments

Summary
A five year field study compared two surface drainage systems on Clermont silt loam. The land smoothing system of surface drainage was installed on a 25 acre field in 1959. Along one side of the field a three acre area was left in the "bedding" system as it had been farmed for the last 15 years.
The land smoothing system was superior to the bedding system in most every respect. The land smoothing system was economical to install and maintain. The land smoothing system gave more complete and uniform drainage, greater stands and more uniform crop growth and yield. The land smoothing system showed an average annual corn yield increase of 11 bushels per acre. The land smoothing system was more convenient to farm. Because of these advantages, landowners with difficult-to-drain soils needing surface drainage should consider the land smoothing system, along with other good management practices, to obtain optimum returns from crop production.
Introduction
On nearly two-thirds of Indiana cropland, wet years mean poor yields unless proper farm drainage systems are installed
and maintained. A system of surface drainage is highly recommended on soils that have a permeable surface but low subsoil permeability caused by natural cemented pan or high clay subsoils. Surface drainage is also highly recommended for low permeability clay loam and clay soils. More than 10 percent of the wet soils in Indiana--about 1.6 million acres--are of these two kinds. (See Figure 1).
To help solve the drainage problems of these soils, a method of plowing called "lands" or "bedding" has been widely used since these lands were first cleared for cropland (Figure 2). In recent years a system of surface drainage involving land smoothing and collection drains has been used with apparent success. This method has been termed the land smoothing system of surface drainage. 1/
The purpose of the field study reported here was to compare the land smoothing system with the bedding system of surface drainage onCler-

The authors wish to thank and acknowledge the help and cooperation of Fred Duennes, farmer and landowner, and the Decatur County Extension Service, in carrying out the field research.
1/ "Land Smoothing System of Surface Drainage, "Mimeo AE-60,Purdue University, Cooperative Extension Service, 1961.