Advantages of drainage for crop plants

No matter how you look at it, the bottom line is that a well-functioning drainage system always leads to better conditions for growth of crops and cultivated plants. The reasons are obvious:

Better soil aeration
Plants breathe through their leaves and through their network of roots. For this reason, plant roots require a well-aerated soil that can allow them to take up oxygen.
Since too much moisture in the soil always leads to poor aeration, crops do poorer in soil that is wet and deficient of air and oxygen than they do in normal conditions. Instead, the formation of crumbles and drying out of the soil structure improves soil aeration – and hence also the conditions for growth.

Increased oxygen capacity
In addition to light, warmth, nutrients and water, air is an important element for growth of plants; their oxygen content is about 20%. Oxygen is also found in the soil, at about the same amount. But here the oxygen content can still go up: the less water in the soil, the more the oxygen content in better aerated soil.

Warmer soils
Wet soil is also cold soil. This delays cultivation in the spring and thus shortens the growing season. Drainage equalises the annual temperatures of the upper levels of soil.

Higher nutrient content
Soil bacteria and microorganisms can propagate much better in warmer soils. They are also much more active in warm soils and produce more valuable nutrients than they do in cold soil. That works very well for plants and therefore drainage makes higher quality product!

The advantages of drainage in a glance