With the increase of the agricultural land prices and the demand for alchol/sugar, there have been a tendency to increase productivity and use of new areas for crop production in which drainage may be needed. Therefore, the studies of economic evaluation of agricultural drainage projects for this crop have become important. This work had as objective to evaluate economically the best combination between depth and spacing of open drains, implanted in three soil types, with hydraulic conductivities of 1.0, 0.5 and 0.1 m d-1, with the support of SISDRENA model. The simulated depths varied from 0.20 to 2.0 m, with intervals of 0.05 m, while the spacings varied from 5 to 100 m, with intervals of 5 m. Combinations for the three soils types showed economic viability for the implementation of drainage system. The results also showed that factors such as the water deficit, the cultivated area lost by the opening of drains and the economical return of investment are important aspects and should be considered in the drainage system design.
drainage; modeling; water table
