Marathwada region is traditionally a drought-prone region. The region receives annual rainfall in the range of 500 to 1100 mm and major area comes under assured rainfall zone. Rainfall is uncertain and erratic and sometimes this region suffers from severe droughts. The productivity of the crops decreases with deficiency of rainfall, its distribution or due to moisture stress during critical growth stages occurs in July and August. Thus, protective irrigation using water harvested in farm pond to rainfed crops particularly during dry spells is very important for assured crop production in drylands. Major crops grown in the region are soybean, cotton, pigeon pea, sorghum, greengram and blackgram during kharif season and gram, rabi sorghum and safflower in rabi season. Based on farmers need, technical interventions were taken up under NICRA (National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture) research project through preparedness. Farmers constructed farm ponds through Government schemes on their field for harvesting of runoff water and farmers procured sprinkler set from the Government schemes. The farmers were advocated to apply farm pond water using sprinklers during dry spells in kharif and critical growth period in rabi season. Rainfall pattern indicated that every year 3 to 4 dry spells were occurred which had created moisture stress condition. Rainfall runoff relationship indicated that approximately 32.50 per cent runoff was produced from the crop seasonal rainfall. Protective irrigationfrom farm pond water during dryspell period to soybean and pigeonpea crop in kharif season resulted in an increase in yield to the tune of 43 to 49 per cent and one supplemental irrigation to gram crop during critical growth stage in rabi season from farm pond using sprinkler resulted in an enhancement of yield by 57 per cent.
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