PARASHARA (400 BC)

Quotations

 Farming is blessed and sacred.

 Farming wholly depends on rainfall; hence
one should acquire the knowledge of rainfall.
 Origin of plentiful yield is seed.
 Crops grown without manure will not give
good yield.
 PARASHARA (400 BC)

Quotations

 Uniform seeds produce excellent results.

Hence every effort should be made to produce
uniform seeds.
 Even a well-grown crops does not yield full
returns if grasses are not weeded out. Grasses
reduced the yield of crops.
Authors: Kautilya (321-296 BC), Manu (200 BC),
Tiruvalluvar (125 AD), Varahamihira (600 AD),
Kashyapa (800 AD) and Surapala (1000 AD)
mentioned importance of Agriculture,
Agriculture Practices and customs prevailed.

Documents available are:

 Rigveda 3700BC
 Atharva veda 2000BC
 Ramayana 2000BC
Mahabharata 1400BC
 Krishi- Parasara 400BC
 Kauthilya’s Arta Satra 300 BC
 Amarasimha’s Amarkosha 200BC
 Patanjali’s Mahabhasys
 Sangam literarures 200-100BC
Agnipurana 400?
 Varamihir’s Brhat Sambita 500 AD
 Kashyapiyakrishisukti 800AD
 Surpala’s Vrikshayurveda 1000 AD
 Lokopakaram –by Chavundaraya 1025 AD
 Stages of Agriculture Development

12000 – 9500 Years Ago

• Hunters and food gathered

• Stone implements Indian Sub continent
• Domestication of Dog (Iraq)
• Earliest Agriculture Vegetative Propagation
(banana, sugar cane, sago, palms and ginger)

9500 – 7500 Years Ago

 Wild ancestors – wheat, barley, goat, sheep,

pig and cattle.
 Stages of Agriculture Development

7500 – 5000 Years Ago

• Invention of plough, irrigated farming, use of

wheel and metallurgy
• Egypt – seed dibbling

5000 – 4000 Years Ago

 Harrapan culture – wheat, barley and cotton;

plough agriculture. Bullocks for drought. Indus
Valley – cotton.
 wheel carts – commonly used in Indus Valley
 Not only Cotton cultivation Harrapa’s methods
for ginning and spinning/weaving
 Stages of Agriculture Development

4000 – 2000 Years Ago

• In North Arcot, bone/stone tools were found
• In Nevasa (MH), copper and polished stone
axes were used. First evidence – presence of
silk.
• Navdatoli on Narmada river (Nemar, MP)
Sickles with stone teeth for cutting crop stalks
• In Eastern India rice, bananas and sugar cane
cultivation
1000 – 1500 Years Ago
• Tank irrigation
•Greek and Romans – trade with south India;
paper, cloth, sandal wood imported by Romans.
 Era of Civilization

Man – 1.7million years ago

Man – monkey = Homo erectus/Java man/Peking man

Java man Cro- Magnon Modern man

Homo sapiens

Homo= Continuous
Sapiens = Learning Habit

Primitive man Neanderthal man (Europe &Asia)

Archaeologists initially classified the stages

A. Stone age (2,50,000 BC TO 3500 BC)

B. Bronze age (3000-3700 BC)
C. Iron age

Later scholars split stone age to

a. Palaeolithic Period (Old stone age)

b. Mesolithic age (Middle stone age)
c. Neolithic age ( New stone age)
 Present Status of Farmers in India

 Every day, 47 farmers commit suicides. Women

die.
 Every day, on average300 farmers attempt
suicides.
 Every day, 2150 farmers quit farming, from 1991-
2011, 8million farmers quit farming.
 Every day 3100 children dies are admitted in
hospital – malnutrition
 In India, GOI reports 28% farmers are under below
Poverty line, other independent reports states that
50%
 Suresh Tendulkar Committee states that 42%
 ADVICE BY SGAE TO KINGS
Kautiliya’s Advice

 Lands may be confiscated back

 Cultivators paying taxes easily - free cattle,
grains and money will be favoured
 Offering facilities for cattle breeding and
commerce, construct roads by road and water to set
up markets
 Sambhuya setubhandit. Can have a share, but no
profits
 Ownership resides in king after the completion of
reservoirs, lakes, ferrying and trading vegetables.
He protects the agriculture fields and farmers from
all kinds of problems
 ADVICE BY SGAE TO KINGS
KASHYAPA Advice
 Support is required in identifying land for
agriculture, building canals and wells, making seeds
available, donations of land and subsidies to the
weaker people etc.,

 Happiness can be felt only after food is secured.

The king should appoint officers to search and
acquire land suitable for cultivation by examining
soil conditions.

 Constructing water reservoirs for horticultural

crops.
 King should take care on prevention of diseases
and alleviation of any danger from fire.
 ANCIENT ERA
VEDIC AGE
Land was classified as
 Urvara (Cultivable land)
 Khila (Barren land)
 Dhnava (waste land)
 Aranya (Forest)
AMARAKOSHA
Land was grouped based on fertility, physical
composition and situation as given below
 Urvara (fertile land)
 Usara (barren land)
 Maru (desert land)
 Aprhata (fallow land)
 Saadvala (grassy land)
 Pankila ( muddy land)
 ANCIENT ERA
 Jlapraayamanupam (wet land)
 Nadimaatraka ( land watered by river)
 Devamaatraka (land watered by rains)
 Kachcha (land contiguous to water)
 Sarkara ( land full of pebbles)
 Sakeavati (sandy land)

Kasyapa classified
Arable land into two categories
a. Dryland requiring water
b. Wetland requiring less water for cultivation
 ANCIENT ERA

Based on suitability of soils for specific crops soils

were classified into different groups
 Vraiheyyam (rice and corn)
 Shaleyam (rice)
 Yavyam (awned barley)
 Yavakyam (awn less barley)
 Tilyam (sesame)
 Mashyam (black gram)
 Mauginam (mung bean)
Pasture lands around the villages were held
common under the ownership of state
• Further sub divided into black, red, white, pale, dark
red and yellow based on color.
• Based on taste sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and
astringent.
•Samanya land was considered suitable for all kinds of
trees.
• In India raised beds – cucurbits since Kautilya
• Rigveda – appreciated value of manures
• Atharva veda – earliest reference of manures
• But elaborate instructions were given in Bhart Samhita
(500AD), Agnipurana (500-700AD), Krishi Sangraha of
Prassana (500-1000AD)
Sangam literature (200BC to 100AD)
Tholkappiyam – Tholkappier (200BC)
Mentioned four types of land
 Mullai (forest)
 Kuringi (hills)
 Karudham (cultivable)
 Neithal ( coastal land)

Surpala’s Vrikshayurveda mentioned three types of

land
 Jangala (arid)
 Anupa (marshy)
 Samanya (ordinary)
 MIDDLE ERA
 Natural fertility of soil by travellers prior to 20th century
 Abundant supply of manures for organic enrichment
 Dung was used in gardens, crops and mostly it was
used for fuel
 Little use of bones was and use of fish as manure in
some coastal areas
 Persian manuscripts – droppings of birds and animal
stools as manure
Use of green leaves as manure – observed in writings
of Francis Buchanan
 MIDDLE ERA
 Report on 6th June 1805, East India Company –
undisputed fact that the produce of soil is definitely
below
 Additional taxes can be enriched if yields are higher
 Report ended with a proposal that set up
experimental farms for better farm management and
improvement of cattle herd
 Scientific knowledge on soil during British colonial rule
was initiated in 1806 by Buchanan. Red honey-
combined mass of earth in Malabar coast in India
“Latretite” = brick making
 PRE - INDEPENDENCE ERA
 Dependence on empirical methods was common in
western countries.
 This led to establishment of Rothamsted Research
station in 1843 followed by opening 1st agriculture
college in England at Cirecester in 1845
 Establishment of special department on agriculture in
India due to famines.
 Dr. Voelcker a consultant Soil chemist was adviced by
Royal Agriculture Society to improve Agriculture in India
 Dr. JW Leather 1892 marked the begining of soil
anaylsis
 PRE - INDEPENDENCE ERA
 Dr. Leather initiated permanent manorial experiments
for critically evaluating soil productivity on long term
basis.
 first manorial experiment was established in Knapur,
UP in 1885
 Two more units were set up atPusa (Bihar),
Coimbatore (TN)
 Experimental results showed that yields can improved
by remarkably with balanced use of NPK fertilizers
 PRE - INDEPENDENCE ERA
 Dr. Leather observed four major soil groups :
Alluvial soils of Indo-Gangetic plains,
Black cotton soils of Deccan Plateau
Red and Laterite soils in Peninsular and East India
 The Royal Commission on Agriculture (1929)
appointed in 1926 – examine Indian Agriculture and rural
economy in British India and to make recommendations
for improvement in report in 1928
POST - INDEPENDENCE ERA
POST - INDEPENDENCE ERA