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Watershed Management: Small dams

are built on the rivers and streams in
order to increase the ground levels of

the area. These check-dams prevent

water from flowing away and causing
soil erosion.

Advantages of irrigation:
Irrigation has many advantages over reliance on natural water supplies:

1. Water supplied by irrigation supplies hydrogen and oxygen elements to the crop

plants.
2. Irrigation of crops makes the soil moist, which is required for the germination of

seeds.
3. With irrigation, cultivation can be done round the year and not during the rainy

season alone.
4. Irrigation loosens the soil and thus helps in elongation and growth of roots.

5. The supply of water by irrigation is regular and reliable, whereas rainfall is often

seasonal or unpredictable.
6. Modern multipurpose dams not only provide water for irrigation but also control

floods and generate hydroelectric power.
Cropping Patterns

 Cropping pattern refers to the proportion of land under cultivation of different

crops at different points of time. This indicates the time and arrangement of crops
in a particular land area.

 Any change in the cropping pattern would cause:

 change in the proportion of land under different crops