Irrigation, Egypt MODIFIED DRAINAGE SYSTEM FOR RICE GROWING AREAS: A TOOL FOR WATER SAVING

rice is cultivated annually in about 420,000 ha in the Nile Delta. It is included in summer cropping pattern, which also includes cotton and maize as main summer crops in a two or three year’s crop rotation. Meanwhile the agricultural area is about 3 million ha located mainly in the Nile Delta and the Valley, with cropping intensity of 200%. In order to achieve maximum possible crop production, the Egyptian Government is implementing different development programs. One of these programs deals with land drainage to control water logging and soil salinity in all the old agricultural regions of Egypt. At present, about 2,000,000 ha are already provided with tile drainage in the Nile Delta. Another 700,000 ha will be provided with tile drainage in next 10 years. The tile drainage system implemented in Egypt is a composite of the gridiron type consisting of laterals and main collecto