Development of Scientific Agriculture in India PDF

DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE IN WORLD AND INDIA, GREEN REVOLUTION IN INDIA, REVOLUTIONS RELATED TO AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED ACTIVITIES Scientific agriculture began in India when sugarcane, cotton and tobacco were grown for export purposes. It got the...

DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE IN WORLD AND INDIA, GREEN REVOLUTION IN INDIA, REVOLUTIONS RELATED TO AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED ACTIVITIES Scientific agriculture began in India when sugarcane, cotton and tobacco were grown for export purposes. It got the momentum in the 19th century. Indian land tax was levied in the middle of the 19th century. In 1887, 1878, 1889, 1892, 1897, 1900 population decreased due to continuous famines. Due ot these famines Britishers started various development programmes like railways, telegraph and postal departments (1848- 1856 during Lord Dalhousie) He constructed “Upper Bari Doab Canal” in Punjab; laid roads and established PWD. Improvement of Agriculture started in his period. Lord Curzon‟s period (1898-1905) the “Great Canal System” of Western Punjab was constructed. During his period Imperial Agricultural Research Institute was started at Pusa, Samstipur district in Bihar in 1903. His period is called as golden period in Agriculture. During his period Department of Agriculture and Agricultural Colleges for provinces were started at Coimbatore, Poona, Kanpur, Nagpur, Lylipur in 1906. Sugarcane Breeding Institute established in 1912 at Coimbatore. Due to earthquake IARI was shifted to New Delhi in 1936. In 1926 Royal Commission on Agriculture was setup and was responsible for giving recommendation to dug canal, lay roads etc. Based on the recommendation of Royal Commission, ICAR-Imperial Council of Agricultural Research was started in 1929 with objective to conduct Agriculture Research. Later it was named as Indian Council of Agriculture after Independence. State Agriculture Universities were started after 1960s. ICAR had also started research institutes of its own in different centers in India for various crops. After 1947, ICAR totally adapted to Land Grant Colleges. In 1962 a Land Grant College was started at Pantnagar (UP). It is the first University with 16,000 acres. 1942- Department of Food was created to cope up with the difficult food situation 1945- Indian Meteorological Department was established for weather services for agriculture1950- Planning commission was set up 1951- First V year plan implemented 1965-67- Green Revolution due to introduction of HYV in wheat, rice, use of fertilizers, construction of dams and use of pesticides. 1970 – Joint department of Agriculture, revenue and commerce were established 1877 and 1978 – Famine 1880 – Famine Commission appointed and recommended for separate DOA and DOA wasestablished Important events in the history of Agriculture Period Event 10,000B.C. -Hunting, gathering 8700 B.C. -Domestication of sheep 7700 B.C. -Domestication if goat 7500 B.C. -Cultivation of crops (Wheat and barley) 6000 B.C. -Domestication of cattle and pigs 4400 B.C. -Cultivation of maize 3500 B.C. -cultivation of potato 3400 B.C. -Wheel was invented 3000 B.C. -Bronze was used to make tools 2900 B.C. -Plough was invented. Irrigated farming started. 2700 B.C. -Silk moth domesticated in China 2300 B.C. -Cultivation of chickpea, pear, sarson and cotton -Domesticated of fowl, buffalo, and elephant. Cultivation of 2200 B.C. rice 1800 B.C. -Cultivation of finger millet (Ragi) 1725 B.C. -Cultivation of sorghum 1700 B.C -Taming if horses 1500 B.C. -Cultivation of sugarcane. Irrigation from wells. 1400 B.C. -Use if iron 15 Century -Cultivation of Sweet orange, sour orange, wild brinjal, A.D. pomegranate 16 Century -Introduction of several crops into India by Portuguese. They A.D. are potato, sweet potato, arrow root, cassava, tomato chilies, pumpkin, papaya, pineapple, guava, custard apple, groundnut, cashewnut, tobacco, American cotton, rubber. Some of the ancient literature that explain about the agriculture are 1. Brahat Samhita (500 AD) by Varahamihira 2. Agnipurana (500-700 AD) 3. Krishi Sangraha of Parashara (500-1000 AD) 4. Shukraniti 5. Upavana-vinod (1220-1330) 6. Artha-shastra (Koutilya) 7. Krishi sukti by Kashyapa  8. Vishava vallabha by Chakrapani 9. Mahabharata 10. Rigveda 11. Atharva Veda. Agriculture in Ancient IndiaLand and Soil Agriculturists in ancient India were quite conscious of the soil and its relation to the production of a specific crop of economic importance. The vast knowledge acquired by experience has been handed over from generation to generation. The information is very intelligently and ably moulded in the form of maxims, proverbs etc. Soil: According to fertility, soil is mainly divided into Urvara (fertile) and Anurvara (sterile). Further, Urvara mruttike is divided into different kinds according to their peculiar fitness for cultivation of different kinds of crops. Yavya (barley), til (sesamun), vrihi (rice) etc. Anurvara mruttike: Usara (salt ground) and maru (desert).The exact chemical composition of different kinds of soils might not have been known but by observations the ancient Indians had gathered knowledge eg. Clayey soils are suitable for jute, potato, thrives well if cultivated by the side of a bamboo grove. Lands that are beaten by foam ie river banks are suitable for pumpkin, gourd etc lands frequently overflown with water for long pepper, grapes and sugarcane In Krishi Sukti: a comprehensive book on agriculture (attributed to Kasyapa) classified the land into a. Wet lands for paddy fields named shuli bhumi, Jala Bhumi or Sasya Bhumi b. Dry lands called Adhaka Bhumi In Upavana Vinod: The land is described as of 3 kinds ie arid, wet and moderate. Each of these is divided further depending upon the. Colour: Black, pale, dark red, white and yellow. Taste: Sweet, sour, salt, pungent, bitter, astringent. It was specified which type of crop or tree was suitable to which type of soil. Citron, Punnaga, Champaka, Amra, pomegranate grown on moderate land which is neither too wet nor too dry. Irrigation and Drainage Reference to irrigation are numerous and scattered in the whole of the ancient literature of India. In the Rigveda we find many references to irrigation. The word well occurs many times. Water was raised from the wells by means of a wheel, a strap and water pails. Also by buckets tied by rope to one end of a long wooden pole working about a fulcrum near the other end that carried a heavy weight. It is still in use in parts of India. Another method was by a small canoe ( sanna doni ) tied by four strings and worked between two men standing on a wooden platform. The canoe is swung toand fro. In AtharvaVeda also, such references are common. In Mahabharata also in „Sabhaparva‟ mention is made of irrigation. In historical period- Megasthenes wrote „Greater part of the soil is under irrigation and consequently grows two crops in a year‟. In Gupta dynasty Lake Sudarsana was excavated during the regime of Chandra Gupta whose canals of irrigation was completed by Ashoka shows the importance attached to irrigation. Ruins of many reservoirs in West Bengal also point to the importance to irrigation. Remains of canals are also seen in Hampi. Location of water table for wells is described for normal condition, in arid areas, in marshy lands, in mountaneous country etc. by Chakrapani from Mathura. He further describes construction of reservoirs also in his book “Vishva Vallabha”.