Investigating Water Storage Losses from Dugout Type Farm Ponds on Farmer’s Field in Vidarbha Region of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Water is one of the most vital requirements for economic and social development. Human population of Indian subcontinent is ever increasing thereby increasing demand for water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use. To satisfy this demand, fresh resources of water supply must be tapped, and serious thought is being given towards adoption of different methods of conservation of water. Farm ponds are the most common technique of rainwater harvesting and recycling in rolling topography areas. In Maharashtra the total cultivable land is 18.5 M ha and gross cropped area is 22.66 M ha out of which 4.04 M ha is the gross irrigated area and the percentage of gross irrigated area to gross cropped area comes as 17.8, which is quite below the national average of 27 percent. Rainwater is the most vital and a critical input for agricultural production in rainfed farming areas in Maharashtra state. At Ghusar village in Akola taluka of Akola district in saline tract area, dugout type farm ponds water level losses recorded in four consecutive years (2019-20 to 2022-23).It was observed that the storage losses due to evaporation from dugout type farm ponds with bund in Akola taluka, having inlet and outlet closed by net or growing barrier of cotton crop around the farm pond reduces in the range of 23.67 to 27.97 per cent compared to pond without bund and without any vegetative barrier.