Our Ancient Techniques 

Hello all in today's blog we'll get to know more  about our ancient techniques which our ancestors followed. We'll see about the methods followed in the southern region and during the Chola period.

Ancient South Indian Agriculture

The agriculture scene of South India was equally bright in Ancient India. The Tamil people cultivated a wide range of crops such as rice, sugarcane, millets, black pepper, various grains, coconuts, beans, cotton, plantain, tamarind and sandalwood, Jackfruit, coconut, palm, areca and plantain trees etc. 

Systematic ploughing, manuring, weeding, irrigation and crop protection was practiced for sustained agriculture in South India. 

Water storage systems were designed during this period. Kallanai (1st-2nd century AD), a dam built on river Kaveri, is considered the as one of the oldest water-regulation structures in the world that is still in use.

Ancient Indian Agriculture in Chola Period

The agrarian society in South India during the Chola Empire (875-1279) reveals that collective holding of land slowly gave way to individual plots, each with their own irrigation system during Chola rule.

The Cholas also had bureaucrats which oversaw the distribution of water, particularly the distribution of water by tank-and-channel networks to the drier areas. The growth of individual disposition of farming may have led to a decrease in areas of dry cultivation.

                             ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF USING FERTILIZERS

1. WATER :

Agricultural run-off is a major contributor to the EUTROPHICATION of fresh water bodies. The main contributor to eutrophication is phosphate, which is normally a limiting nutrient; high concentrations promote the growth of cyanobacteria and algae, the demise of which consumes oxygen. Cyanobacteria blooms ('algal blooms') can also produce harmful toxins that can accumulate in the food chain, and can be harmful to humans.

The nitrogen-rich compounds found in fertilizer runoff are the primary cause of serious oxygen depletion in many parts of oceans, especially in coastal zones, lakes and rivers. The resulting lack of dissolved oxygen greatly reduces the ability of these areas to sustain oceanic fauna.The number of oceanic dead zones near inhabited coastlines are increasing.

2. NITRATE POLLUTION :

Only a fraction of the nitrogen-based fertilizers is converted to produce and other plant matter. The remainder accumulates in the soil or lost as run-off. High application rates of nitrogen-containing fertilizers combined with the high water solubility of nitrate leads to increased runoff into surface water as well as leaching into groundwater, thereby causing GROUNDWATER POLLUTION.The excessive use of nitrogen-containing fertilizers (be they synthetic or natural) is particularly damaging, as much of the nitrogen that is not taken up by plants is transformed into nitrate which is easily leached.

3.CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATIC CHANGE :

The greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are produced during the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizer. The effects can be combined into an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. The amount varies according to the efficiency of the process. Nitrogen fertilizer can be converted by soil bacteria to nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. Thus giving rise to GLOBAL WARMING. 

4. SOIL IS AFFECTED BY :

Acidification, CHANGE IN SOIL BIOLOGY, accumulation of toxic elements like cadmium, fluoride, radioactive elements etc.

              WHAT IS AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE ?

Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic 

Agriculture, agricultural science, and agronomy

The three terms are often confused. However, they cover different concepts:

• Agriculture is the set of activities that transform the environment for the production of animals and plants for human use. Agriculture concerns techniques, including the application of agronomic research.
• Agronomy is research and development related to studying and improving plant-based crops.

Agricultural sciences include research and development on:

• Production techniques (e.g., irrigation management, recommended nitrogen inputs)
• Improving agricultural productivity in terms of quantity and quality (e.g., selection of drought-resistant crops and animals, development of new pesticides, yield-sensing technologies, simulation models of crop growth, in-vitro cell culture techniques)
• Minimizing the effects of pests (weeds, insects, pathogens, nematodes) on crop or animal production systems.
• Transformation of primary products into end-consumer products (e.g., production, preservation, and packaging of dairy products)
• Prevention and correction of adverse environmental effects (e.g., soil degradation, waste management, bioremediation)
• Theoretical production ecology, relating to crop production modeling
• Traditional agricultural systems, sometimes termed subsistence agriculture, which feed most of the poorest people in the world. These systems are of interest as they sometimes retain a level of integration with natural ecological systems greater than that of industrial agriculture, which may be more sustainable than some modern agricultural systems.
• Food production and demand on a global basis, with special attention paid to the major producers, such as China, India, Brazil, the USA and the EU.
• Various sciences relating to agricultural resources and the environment (e.g. soil science, agroclimatology); biology of agricultural crops and animals (e.g. crop science, animal science and their included sciences, e.g. ruminant nutrition, farm animal welfare); such fields as agricultural economics and rural sociology; various disciplines encompassed in agricultural engineering.

Agricultural biotechnology

Agricultural biotechnology is a specific area of agricultural science involving the use of scientific tools and techniques, including genetic engineering, molecular markers, molecular diagnostics, vaccines, and tissue culture, to modify living organisms: plants, animals, and microorganisms.

History of agricultural science

Agricultural science began with Gregor Mendel's genetic work, but in modern terms might be better dated from the chemical fertilizer outputs of plant physiological understanding in 18th-century Germany.In the United States, a scientific revolution in agriculture began with the Hatch Act of 1887, which used the term "agricultural science". The Hatch Act was driven by farmers' interest in knowing the constituents of early artificial fertilizer. The Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 shifted agricultural education back to its vocational roots, but the scientific foundation had been built. After 1906, public expenditures on agricultural research in the US exceeded private expenditures for the next 44 years.

Intensification of agriculture since the 1960s in developed and developing countries, often referred to as the Green Revolution, was closely tied to progress made in selecting and improving crops and animals for high productivity, as well as to developing additional inputs such as artificial fertilizers and phytosanitary products.

As the oldest and largest human intervention in nature, the environmental impact of agriculture in general and more recently intensive agriculture, industrial development, and population growth have raised many questions among agricultural scientists and have led to the development and emergence of new fields. These include technological fields that assume the solution to technological problems lies in better technology, such as integrated pest management, waste treatment technologies, landscape architecture, genomics, and agricultural philosophy fields that include references to food production as something essentially different from non-essential economic 'goods'. In fact, the interaction between these two approaches provide a fertile field for deeper understanding in agricultural science.

New technologies, such as biotechnology and computer science (for data processing and storage), and technological advances have made it possible to develop new research fields, including genetic engineering, agrophysics, improved statistical analysis, and precision farming. Balancing these, as above, are the natural and human sciences of agricultural science that seek to understand the human-nature interactions of traditional agriculture, including interaction of religion and agriculture, and the non-material components of agricultural production systems.and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. 

Agricultural science and agriculture crisis

Agriculture sciences seek to feed the world's population while preventing biosafety problems that may affect human health and the environment. This requires promoting good management of natural resources and respect for the environment, and increasingly concern for the psychological wellbeing of all concerned in the food production and consumption system.

Economic, environmental, and social aspects of agriculture sciences are subjects of ongoing debate. Recent crises (such as avian influenza, mad cow disease and issues such as the use of genetically modified organisms) illustrate the complexity and importance of this debate.

        HOW DOES CLIMATE CHANGES ⛆⛅⛈🌞AFFECT THE AGRICULTURE

Climate change has the potential to affect agriculture through changes in temperature, rainfall (timing and quantity), carbon dioxide, solar radiation and the interaction of these elements. Extreme events, such as droughts and floods, are forecast to increase as climate change takes hold. Agriculture is among sectors most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change; water supply for example, will be critical to sustain agricultural production and provide the increase in food output required to sustain the world's growing population. Fluctuations in the flow of rivers are likely to increase in the twenty-first century. Based on the experience of countries in the Nile river basin (Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan) and other developing countries, depletion of water resources during seasons crucial for agriculture can lead to a decline in yield by up to 50%.Transformational approaches will be needed to manage natural resources in the future. For example, policies, practices and tools promoting climate-smart agriculture will be important, as will better use of scientific information on climate for assessing risks and vulnerability. Planners and policy-makers will need to help create suitable policies that encourage funding for such agricultural transformation.

Agriculture in its many forms can both mitigate or worsen global warming. Some of the increase in CO₂ in the atmosphere comes from the decomposition of organic matter in the soil, and much of the methane emitted into the atmosphere is caused by the decomposition of organic matter in wet soils such as rice paddy fields, as well as the normal digestive activities of farm animals. Further, wet or anaerobic soils also lose nitrogen through denitrification, releasing the greenhouse gases nitric oxide and nitrous oxide.Changes in management can reduce the release of these greenhouse gases, and soil can further be used to sequester some of the CO₂ in the atmosphere. Informed by the UNEP, "Agriculture also produces about 58 per cent of global nitrous oxide emissions and about 47 per cent of global methane emissions. Cattle and rice farms release methane, fertilized fields release nitrous oxide, and the cutting down of rain forests to grow crops or raise livestock releases carbon dioxide.Both of these gases have a far greater global warming potential per tonne than carbon dioxide(298 times and 25 times respectively)''

There are several factors within the field of agriculture that contribute to the large amount of carbon dioxide emissions. The diversity of the sources ranges from the production of farming tools to the transport of harvested produce. Approximately 8% of the national carbon footprint is due to agricultural sources. Of that, 75% is of the carbon emissions released from the production of crop assisting chemicals.Factories producing insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers are a major culprit of the greenhouse gas. Productivity on the farm itself and the use of machinery is another source of the carbon emission. Almost all the industrial machines used in modern farming are powered by fossil fuels. These instruments are burning fossil fuels from the beginning of the process to the end. Tractors are the root of this source. The tractor is going to burn fuel and release carbon dioxide just to run. The amount of emissions from the machinery increase with the attachment of different units and need for more power. During the soil preparation stage tillers and plows will be used to disrupt the soil. During growth watering pumps and sprayers are used to keep the crops hydrated. And when the crops are ready for picking a forage or combine harvester is used. These types of machinery all require additional energy which leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions from the basic tractors. The final major contribution to CO2 emissions in agriculture is in the final transport of produce. Local farming suffered a decline over the past century due to large amounts of farm subsidies. The majority of crops are shipped hundreds of miles to various processing plants before ending up in the grocery store. These shipments are made using fossil fuel burning modes of transportation. Inevitably these transport adds to carbon dioxide emissions.

Aloe vera is a plant species of the genus Aloe. It grows wild in tropical climates around the world and is cultivated for agricultural and medicinal uses. Aloe is also used for decorative purposes and grows successfully indoors as a potted plant.

HOW ALOE VERA CAN BE GROWN FAST AT HOME

1. Know when to transplant. Aloe plants have relatively short roots and heavy leaves, so they are commonly moved to a heavier pot when they become top-heavy and tip over. If Aloe vera runs out of space for its roots to grow, it may start to produce "pups" that can be moved to their own pot (see the Propagating section). If you are more interested in the adult plant growing than producing new plants, transplant it to a larger pot before the roots begin to circle the walls of its container.If you wish to transplant a young plant growing at the base of an older one, see the Propagating section instead. ; 2.Give the plant adequate sunlight and warmth. Aloe vera plants prefer 8–10 hours of sunlight a day. While they grow best in warm or hot temperatures, they are capable of surviving cooler seasons in a more dormant state. However, they may suffer harm if exposed to temperatures below 25ºF (-4ºC).Hardiness zones 9, 10, and 11 are most suitable for keeping Aloe vera outdoors year round. If you live in another zone, you may wish to keep your Aloe vera outdoors most of the year, and bring it indoors before the frost.The sunniest windows are those facing west or south if you live in the northern hemisphere, or those facing west or north if you live in the southern hemisphere.Despite the plant's adaptations that allow it to thrive in hot conditions, it is still possible to burn the plant. Move it to an area of light shade if the leaves begin to turn brown. ; 3.Plant the Aloe vera in well draining soil. Aloe vera plants are adapted for survival in dry conditions, and may rot if planted in soil that collects standing water. Use a cactus potting mix, or create your own mix using equal parts soil, sand, and gravel.If planting Aloe vera in a container, make sure the container has a hole in the base for water to drain through. ; 4.When planting, cover the root ball but do not let the leaves touch the soil. Place the Aloe vera root ball just below the soil surface. If any of the thick, green leaves are partially buried or touch the soil, they may rot. ; 5.Cover the surface of the soil with gravel or pebbles  Place a layer of small rocks around the base of the aloe plant to keep the soil in place and reduce evaporation. This is not required for your aloe plant to thrive, so you may leave the soil exposed if you prefer the appearance.White stones will reflect warmth from the sun to the base of the plant, which can be a good idea if you do not live in a hot climate. ; 6.Do not water for the first few days after planting. Before you start watering, give the aloe plant a few days to repair any roots that may have been damaged during planting.Watering damaged roots increases the chance of root rot. Aloe plants store plenty of water in their leaves, and should not be harmed by the lack of water during this time. Give it a light watering the first one or two times you water if you would like to be extra safe.For watering instructions in day to day care, see Providing Daily Care. ; 7.During the growing season, water whenever the soil is dry. During summer, or any time the weather is warm and sunny, aloe plants will grow fastest with regular watering. However, it is much easier to overwater aloe plants than to dry them out, so do not water until the soil has dried out to a depth of 3 inches (7.5 cm). ; 8.During the cold season, water infrequently. Aloe plants often go dormant during winter, or when the weather is cold for a prolonged period of time. Unless you are keeping them in a heated room year round, you should only water them once or twice a month during this period. ; 9.Fertilize once a year or never. Aloe plants do not require fertilizer, and overuse can harm the plant or cause it to grow in an unhealthy manner. If you wish to encourage growth, use a low nitrogen, high phosphorous, low potassium fertilizer, such as a 10:40:10 or 15:30:15. Apply once a year in late spring, at the start of the growing season. ; 10.Clear weeds carefully. The soil around the aloe plant should be free of grass and weeds. Remove these regularly if the plant is outdoors, but do so carefully. Because good aloe soil is loose and sandy, it is easy to damage the roots with vigorous weed-pulling. ; 11.If the leaves are growing flat and low, increase sunlight. Aloe vera leaves should grow upward or outward at an angle, toward the sunlight. If they are low to the ground or growing flat outward, the plant is probably not receiving enough sun. Move it to a sunnier area. If it is indoors, consider keeping it outdoors during daylight hours. ; 12.If the leaves turn brown, decrease sunlight. While aloe is hardier than most plants when it comes to sun exposure, it is still possible to burn the leaves. If the aloe plant turns brown, move it to an area that receives shade during the early afternoon. ; 13.If the leaves are thin and curled, increase water. The thick, fleshy leaves store water that the plant uses in times of drought. If the leaves are looking thin or curling, water the aloe plant more frequently. Be careful not to overcompensate: water should drain quickly through the soil to prevent root rot, which is difficult to stop. ; 14.If the leaves turn yellow or fall apart, stop watering. Yellowed or "melting" leaves are suffering due to excess water. Stop watering altogether for the next week (or two weeks during the dormant season), and water less frequently once you resume. You may remove any discolored leaves from the plant without much chance of harm, although it is best to use a disinfected knife. ; 15.Let your adult aloe plant grow to fill its container. While any healthy aloe plant has a chance to produce younger plants, or "pups", this is most likely to happen when the adult plant has reached the boundaries of its container. ; 16.Wait until young plants emerge. Your Aloe vera plant should start to produce "pups", which are clones of itself that share some of the mother plant's root system and may be attached to the base as well. These will sometimes grow out of the drainage hole of the container, or even from roots snaking over to neighboring containers! Pups tend to be a lighter green than the adult plant's leaves, and when first emerging do not have the same spiny leaf edges as the adult. ; 17.Let the young plants grow to sufficient size. The young plants will do best if you wait until they are a little larger and mature enough to have a few roots of their own. While this size varies with subspecies and individual plants, a good rule of thumb is that the young plant should be at least 3 inches (7.5 cm) tall, and preferably 5 inches (12.5 cm).If the container has sufficient space, wait until the young plant is 1/5 the size of the adult and has several sets of "true leaves" that look like the adult's. ; 18.Use a sharp, clean knife to remove the young plant. Sanitize your knife first to reduce the chance of infection. Clear away the dirt at the base of the pup to see whether it is attached to the mother plant. If it is, cut it away, making sure to keep the young plant attached to its roots if any are present. The presence of its own roots will increase the odds of success, but they may not be easy to find before you remove the pup. ; 19.Leave cut plants in the air for a couple days. Instead of planting the new aloe immediately, you may wish to allow the plant to form a callus over the knife cut. Placing the cut surface of the plant directly against soil increases the odds of infection. ; 20.Plant in its own container and support. Place the young plant on top of well-draining soil, without burying the leaves. Because the root system is likely to be small (or even nonexistent), you may need to prop up the plant with a layer of pebbles and lean it against another object. The root system should grow large enough to support the plant within a few weeks.More detailed information can be found in the Planting section, which applies to young plants as well as mature ones. ; 21.Water sparingly to begin with. Aloe plants can last a long time without water, and if you water the plant before its roots are extensive enough, the water could pool and rot the plant. Wait at least a couple weeks for a pup to grow its own roots before watering. If the pup already has its own root system, you may instead get the roots to set by giving it one watering and leaving it in the shade for 2 to 3 weeks. ; 22.Care for as an adult plant. Once the plant is in its container and has grown roots, it can be treated as an adult plant. Follow the instructions in the section on Providing Daily Care.

          THE TOP 3 EXPENSIVE SPICES IN THE WORLD 

TOP 3 : CARDAMOM 

The cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world. Cardamom is the common name for Elletaria cardomomum whose aromatic seeds are used as spice. They are small seed pods, triangular in cross-section, spindle shaped with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds. It is native to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia and Nepal. It is cultivated in India, Guatemala, China, Vietnam and Laos. There are 2 types of cardamom, one is true or green cardamom and another is black cardamom. The active principles present in the essential oil of cardamom seeds are cineole, teripinyl acetate, pinene, sabinene  and porneol. Cardamom sometimes may be sold in the market cheaply after the extraction of essential oils. These are expensive because of labour intensive harvesting process.

TOP 2: VANILLA

Vanilla is the top 2 expensive spice in the world. It belongs to Vanilla planifolia. In India, Western ghats region of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are having ideal agro climatic conditions for Vanilla cultivation. The plant is a climbing orchid from Central America. The active principle in vanilla is Vanillin. Synthetic vanilla is much cheaper than that of the natural product. It imparts the flavour and it is used in ice creams, custards, puddings and cakes. It is so expensive because the flowers have to be artificially hand pollinated and once ripened, the fruits also have to be hand picked. This is a labour intensive process and requires daily harvesting. 

TOP 1: SAFFRON

Saffron is the first expensive spice in the world. Crocus sativas is cultivated mostly in the dry land of Kashmir valley. It is expensive because 1700 flowers are needed to make 18 g of pure saffron. Each filament can colour 700 times its own weight in water. The colour of the saffron is due to crocin, picro crocin, beta carotene and glycosides. 

                                                          

             HOW TO PLANT AND GROW GARLIC IN POT

                                                                 

PREPARATION

1.Choose a pot that is at least 8 inches (20 cm) deep and has holes for drainage ; 2. Obtain a garlic bulb suitable for growing ; 3. Put on your gardening gloves ; 4. Mix the potting soil with the gardening sand ; 5. Fill the container with soil, leaving an inch (2.54 cm) of space from the top ; 6. Take the garlic bulbs and separate the cloves

                                                      

PLANTING THE GARLIC CLOVES

1. Push each clove 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) into the soil ; 2. Plant the garlic cloves 4 inches (10 cm) away from each other ; 3. Place the pot so that it receives approximately 8 hours of direct sunlight per day   

                                                       

CARING FOR GROWING GARLIC

1. Place the container of garlic in a sink, bathtub or another place that will allow water to drain ; 2. Be sure to water the growing garlic enough to keep the soil moist, but not too wet ; 3. Watch the garlic as it starts to sprout chive-like green leaves ; 4. Clip off the flowers at the base when they begin to sprout

                                            

HARVESTING AND USING THE GARLIC

1. Harvest your garlic 8 to 10 months later when the leaves begin to die and turn brown ; 2. Hang the harvested garlic in a cool, dry place, like a garage ; 3. Eat or cook with the dried garlic

                 ENJOY GARLIC PLANTING ............. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!