No adverse effects on growth of wheat, pea, lentil or fababean were observed. Salinity does not appear to be limiting production. Despite the spectacular results and total reclamation of the field, Centre manager Laurie Tollefson injects a note of caution. And the producer would also have to be prepared to pump a season's worth of water each fall for several years. At present, buried drains are not widely used in western Canada.
Drainage is used to a greater extent in Ontario and Quebec on soils that have poor natural drainage.
In some regions of the world it is an accepted practice, as in the Netherlands where land is scarce and expensive. Drainage is often used to stabilize yields on expensive land where high value crops are grown. We've shown it works, but it's costly and there must be a place for the drain water to go.