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MART-AZR Project Research Report 40: Catchment Basin Water Harvesting as a Means of Improving the Productivity of Rainfed Land in Upland Baluchistan

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Title MART-AZR Project Research Report 40: Catchment Basin Water Harvesting as a Means of Improving the Productivity of Rainfed Land in Upland Baluchistan
 
Creator Rees, D. J.
 
Contributor QURESHI, Z.A.
Mehmood, S.
Rehman, Fahbma
Reza, S.H.
 
Subject mart-azr
baluchistan
 
Description Small catchment basins of different sizes were prepared
within bunded fields on gently sloping silty valley bottom
soils in upland Balochistan from 1985 to 1988. The ratios
of catchment area to cropped area were 1:1 or 2:1. Seasonal
rainfalls were 282, 102 and 239 mm in 1986/87, 1987/88
and 1988/89 seasons, respectively.,
Increased water storage in the cropped areas of 55%. and
43%. of the rain falling on the catchments were observed in
the 1:1 and 2:1 treatment. Yields were considerably
increased on a cropped area basis by the water harvesting
treatments, but not always sufficient to compensate for the
loss of cropped land. The 2:1 treatment suffered from
water-logging damage, even in the low rainfall year.
The cost of catchment set-up was low compared to the
reduced seed and ploughing costs in the water harvesting
treatments, resulting in 21 and 34% reductions in overall
costs for the 1:1 and 2:1 treatments. Net benefits were 33%.
higher than the control for the 1:1 treatment overall, but
27%. lower for the 2:1 treatment. Labour inputs were less
for the water harvesting treatments, with the result that
returns to labour were more than doubled by water harvesting.
Within-field water harvesting with a 1:1 crop: catchment
ratio thus reduced risk by reducing investments in seed,
animal draft and labour, whilst maintaining yields,
suggesting that it could be of considerable benefit to
farmers in an environment with a high risk of crop failure.
The potential for forming catchments on adjacent unused land,
and further research aimed at reducing water-logging damage,
could both lead to further improvements in farmer
circumstances in upland Balochistan.
 
Date 2022-04-29T20:21:56Z
2022-04-29T20:21:56Z
 
Type Internal Report
 
Identifier https://mel.cgiar.org/reporting/download/hash/c8f6fa62654adc962079b3ec5550804f
D. J. Rees, Z. A. QURESHI, S. Mehmood, Fahbma Rehman, S. H. Reza. (17/8/1989). MART-AZR Project Research Report 40: Catchment Basin Water Harvesting as a Means of Improving the Productivity of Rainfed Land in Upland Baluchistan. Beirut, Lebanon: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11766/67409
Open access
 
Language en
 
Rights CC-BY-SA-4.0
 
Format PDF
 
Publisher International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)