Water conservation techniques viz. contour trenches, Gradoni and V-shaped micro-catchments were compared with conventional method of planting on four species viz. Eucalyptus camaldulensis. Leucaena leucocephala, Acacia nilotica and Acacia modesta at Kharian. Data on survival and growth of these species were recorded.

The survival under different water conservation techniques i.e. contour trenches, micro-catchment and Gradoni was 79%, 78% and 82% respectively while in simple pits it was only 70%. The average highest survival percentage of three water conservation techniques was in E. camaldulensis (92%) and minimum with Acacia modesta (57%). The average height growth after 8 years of age of four tree species in contour trenches, micro-catchment, gradoni and simple pit was 4.74 m, 5.45 m, 5.30 m and 3.89 m respectively. Maximum positive response to the conservation techniques was observed with E. camaldulensis which gained almost two times more height (8.28 m) in 3 conservation techniques as compared to simple pit (4.63 m).