ABSTRACT
The study was carried out in an area of the Mangal Company located in the agricultural zone of Teresina - PI, with Tommy Atkins mango cultivated under a drainage system during the rainy seasons of 1997 and 1998. The effect of two envelope materials (coarse sand and polyester) on the drainage efficiency was evaluated in drains 120 m long, 0.10 m diameter and 35 m apart. The parameters for evaluation were: water table depth, rate of water table drawdown and discharge of water from the drains. The water table monitoring was accomplished by four groups of observation wells installed in a line perpendicular to the direction of the drains. Drain discharge was measured by hydrometers. Results showed that higher differences between parameters used to evaluate the envelope material performance were detected during 1997. Higher elevations of water table as a consequence of more intense precipitation were noticed in this year. The use of coarse sand as envelope material resulted in higher drainage efficiency when compared to polyester material.
Key words:
drainage; filter; water table