Computer Model for Sizing Farm Pond : Importance and Methodology

Today climate change is posing a major challenge for agriculture especially rain-fed agriculture.Due to erratic and uneven distribution of rainfall, the crops often suffer from water stress resulting in low crop production and poor quality of produce. to reduce the impact of water stress, there is an urgent need to collect and store rain water for efficient use. Farm ponds constructed at proper locations, collect and store surface and sub surface flow of rain water for future use. They are able to stabilize agriculture and facilitate multiple use of stored water.The common practice for design of farm ponds is use of some mathematical equations or thumb rule without considering catchment area,cropping pattern etc or a fixed sizes of farm ponds are being constructed, which results in wastage of time and money.This book explains the importance and methodology for design of farm pond using a computer model. In this book various components such as climatic function,water supply function, soil water balance function and reservoir water balance function etc are taken into consideration for design.This book will be serve as a guide for teachers, development advisors and project planners.