Runoff farming is the same with water harvesting but for irrigation functions. When the harvested runoff water from uncropped areas is directed to a cropped area, this technique is known as runoff farming. Soil profile acts as a water storage container, but storage in ponds or cisterns is feasible. Factors affecting the capacity of the soil storage are the depth of the soil profile, depth of plant roots, texture, structure, infiltration rate and the water holding capacity of the soil. The catchment to field ratio can vary from 1:1 and from 1: many square kilometers. The higher the aridity of an area, the larger is the necessary catchment area in relation to the cropping area for the same water yield.
What is runoff farming?
