Conservation of water:

• Steps of water conservation are as follows:

i) Reduced runoff: Reduction of runoff can be done by leveling, bunding, terracing, contour tillage, breaking the hardpan, deep ploughing etc.

ii) Reduce water loss through evaporation: Prevention of water loss through evaporation can be achieved through mulching. There are two types of mulch i.e. organic (straw, stubble, FYM, saw dust, rice husk etc) and synthetic (petroleum product like ESSO or ENCAP form thin layer on soil surface, polythene mulch etc).

iii) Reduce water loss through transpiration: Use of anti-transpirants like:

a) Light reflecting chemicals e.g kaolin, kaolinite (chalk like substances) which are able to reflect the light if spread over the surface of leaf and reduce the leaf temperature and transpiration.

b) Film forming chemicals: Emulsions of plastics, wax, latex which form a film over green surface. This films over green surface check the escape of water.

c) Stomata closing chemicals: Stomata are closed due to reduced turger pressure of gourd cell. Size of the stomata is reduced by spraying chemicals like phenylmercuric acetate @ 40 gm in 1000 liters of water.

iv) Water harvesting

Where rainfall is not sufficient to grow crops in all the areas, water from upper elevation (donor area) to lower elevation (recipient area) can be collected and grow crops easily. To induce the runoff from the donor area to recipient area, various materials like asphalt’s spray, plastic film or water repellents like sodium methyl silicanolate can be used. These chemicals have dispersion capacity of rainfall water.