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Science of Soil and Manure in Ancient India.

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Dr.S.M.Misra
Senior Soil Scientist, Div. of Seed Technology, Indian Grassland & Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi.

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Agriculturists in ancient India were quite conscious of the nature of soil and its relation to the production of a specific crops of economic importance. The vast knowledge aquired by experience has been handed over from generation to generation. It is very intelligently and ably moulded in the form of maxims, proverbs etc. which are some sort of guidance to the peasants. Our peasants were experienced enough for the choice of a particular soil for a particular crop and they were conversant with the principles of crop husbandry. The exact chemical composition of different kinds of soils might not have been known to thc ancient authors but from the typical maxims of Khana, traditionally known as the wife of Mihira, the famous ancient astronomer, it becomes clear that they made extensive experimental observations about Soil and obtained a masterly knowledge regarding its characteristic suitability for the cultivation of different kinds of crops. In the Arthsastra, we find an enumeration of the suitability of different lands for the cultivation of different crops. The ancient Indian cultivators also possessed a fair knowledge of different crops, different kinds of manures and practices of manuring. Indeed, one will be filled with astonishment and admiration if he cares only to look into the elaborate injunctions as are found in theArthsastra, the Brhat-Samhita and Agnipurana regarding the selection and treatment of seeds and the use of animal excreta, fish and bones, beef and fish-washing, minute fish and various kinds of mixtures and decoctions as fertilizers. Except what is given in Khana's maxims, thc ancient agricultural precepts are now no longer known, and it is only too evident that agricultural methods known to people in ancient India were forgotten with the lapse of time. Foundations of modern agriculture, therefore, must be laid on ancient findings to make the results more fruitful.