Thinking of digging a farm pond for kharif protective irrigation. Want sizing and lining advice.
How to make a farm pond and is rainwater harvesting worth it?
MMahaveer Singh10mo ago · 329 views
6 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓10mo ago
A farm pond is one of the best investments in low and erratic rainfall areas because it stores monsoon runoff for protective irrigation during dry spells. Size it to your catchment and need, locate it at a low point where runoff naturally collects, and keep an inlet with a silt trap and a safe spillway so heavy rain does not break the bund. In sandy or porous soil line the pond with plastic film to stop seepage, otherwise the water drains away. Use the stored water through drip or sprinkler for maximum coverage. Farm ponds are supported under watershed and PMKSY programmes and the rural employment scheme, so check with your agriculture department and panchayat for assistance.
BBhanwar Lal9mo ago
In our sandy area an unlined pond emptied in weeks. I put the plastic lining and now water stays till winter. Lining is a must here.
KKishan Meena9mo ago
Got my pond partly funded under MGNREGA work. Use the water only through drip, if you flood from the pond it finishes too fast.
MMool Chand Saini9mo ago
Think about the lining quality. The cheap thin film I first used tore in two seasons from sun and animals walking in. The thicker UV treated film cost more but is still holding after years.
DDevi Singh Rajawat9mo ago
One caution from our village, fence the pond or at least mark it. A calf fell into an open pond and it became a worry with small children too. A simple barbed fence is cheap safety.
SSita Ram Gurjar8mo ago
Size it to what your catchment can actually fill. I dug too big hoping for more storage and it never fills fully in a weak monsoon, just stays half empty. A smaller pond that fills is better than a big dry pit.