Effect of midseason surface drainage on the cracks characteristics of surface soil in paddy fields

To increase productivity of paddy fields, a suitable management of midseason drainage can be considered. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of surface midseason drainage duration in paddy fields of Mazandaran province on surface cracks of soil. The planted rice cultivar was Tarom-Hashemi. A field experiment was done with the six surface drainage duration treatments of 0, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 days and three replications at Haraz Extension and Technology Development Center. Base on the results, the effects of surface midseason drainage duration on length, width and depth of the soil cracks were significant. Maximum width and length of the soil cracks were 7 mm and 10 cm, respectively, which were gained by 13-day drainage duration treatment. Application of the 11 and 13 days drainage duration treatments significantly increased the depth of soil cracks. With considering the maximum of soil crack depth be less than hardpan depth, applying 17-day midseason drainage duration in study area is recommended.