AbstractThe extension of irrigated agriculture is essential to fulfilling the mounting demand for food and fibre from a growing population which is anticipated to reach about 10 billion individuals in 2050. Lacking the necessary drainage, this extension can bring about salinization issues in irrigated regions. Continuous irrigation over many years with no adequate drainage services has led to huge agricultural regions becoming unproductive. Salinization problems linked to poor drainage are widespread in agricultural zones over the world. The aforementioned drainage‐related salinization issues in agricultural land have been solved by using various methods and techniques. This paper presents an assessment of some non‐conventional methods and strategies utilized for dealing with salinization and drainage issues of irrigated land. An indication of the drainage and salinization issues of irrigated areas and the significance of the study are given. Reasoning and foundation of the issues are presented. Numerical and analytical solutions of the problems are described. The drainage water management technique for managing nutrient losses from a drainage system is discussed. The analysis revealed that conjunctive water use with an increased groundwater proportion can to some extent manage the salinization and root‐zone submergence problems of irrigated areas. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.