LECTURE- 5

Soil definition and concept – Historical background- Ancient and medieval systems of soil
classification; Soil management –ancient systems of soil management- Medieval and pre-
modern soil management and its relevance in modern day agriculture

Soil definition and concept

Depending upon the purpose and perception, the word “soil” has different meanings for
different people. In the Oxford Dictionary, “soil” as a noun connotes the upper layer of the earth
in which plants grow. In reverence for this natural resource and to make the term convey
dynamism, “soil” is considered as “Soul of infinite life.” In Indian native perception, soil is
considered the origin of life. From the point of view of agricultural use, soil is the loose earth
surface that supports vegetation, its quality determining the type and density of vegetation.
Farmers through the ages have treated soil as a living entity.

Soil serves six functions : (i)produces biomass; (ii)performs filtering, buffering, and
transformation reactions; (iii)is a source of biodiversity; (iv)supports infrastructural development
(roads, railways, waterways, homestead/farmstead, etc.); (v)supplies geogenic/pedogenic raw
materials; and (vi) preserve cultural heritages of landform/soilscape.

Historical background

 Since time immemorial, soil has been regarded as nourishing all animates, moving and
static.
 The importance of soil is summed up in a 1500 year old Sanskrit text “Upon this handful
of soil our survival depends. Husband it and it will grow our food, our field and our
shelter and surround us with beauty. Otherwise, the soil will collapse”.
 Jhoom cultivation (slash-and burn existing vegetation to gain soil for agriculture and after
two or three cropping cycles leave it for regeneration of original vegetation) is a typical
example of that faith which signifies a fit between man’s needs and soil’s health.
 The ancient treatment of soils in India describes it (synonymous with earth and land) as
one of the five elements of life, the other four being air, water, fire and sky. Soil has been
described as the “mother” and human beings as her “children”.
 The Mother Earth, referred to as “soil” is rich in energy.
 In his treatise on agriculture, Kashyapiyakrishisukti (ca.700-800 AD) Kashyapa pointed
out that a good soil should have substantial mass and be devoid of bones and stones;
plastic clay with reddish and black hue; not too deep or shallow; conducive to speedy
seeding emergence; easy for ploughing and other operations; and capable of easily
absorbing moisture and being inhabited by beneficial living creatures.
 Inconsistent ability of diverse soils to sustain plant growth and yields is found in a
Biblical arable, which states, “Once there was a man who went out to sow some corn. As
 he scattered the seeds in the field , some of it fell along the path and the birds came and
ate it up. Some of it fell on the rocky ground where there was little soil. The seeds soon
 sprouted because the soil was not deep. But when the sun came up it burnt the young
plants; and because the roots has not grown enough, the plants soon dried up. Some of the
seed fell among thorny bushes, which grew up and choked the plants. But some seed fell
in the good soil and the plants produced corn; some produced a hundred grains, other
sixty and others thirty.

5.3 Ancient and medieval systems of soil classification

Ancient systems of soil classification

Soil-use and color-based classification

In ancient and medieval India, soil was classified based on its color and crop
yielding ability. Soil fertility was vital to the concept of soil classification. In the Vedas
(Atharva Deda 12.1.12), epithets were used to describe the color and qualities of earth
(soil), bhabhru (soil of brownish colour and of intensive bearing capacity), Krishna (soils
of black colour and plowable) and rohini (soils of reddish colour, which enable
everything to grow and rise).

Climate based classification

Three traditional kinds of soils guided primarily by climate: (i)Jangala (barren) (ii)Anupa
(moist) –(iii)Sadharana (ordinary)

5.4 Medieval systems of classification

Medieval systems of classification essentially centered on the following :

Economic classification, based on crop and irrigation. For example, forest soils, rice
soils, irrigated soils.

Physical classification, based on texture of soil particles. For example; khaddar soils,
gravelly lands.

Chemical classification, based on some chemical propertie. For example calcareous soils,
saline soils, alkaline soils.

Geological classification, based primarily on the mode of soil material transport; For
example alluvia soils (water-borne) and Aeolian (wind-transported) soils.
 Physiographic classification, based mainly on landscape characteristics. For example;
basin soils, hilly soils, upland soils, lowland soils.

Ancient and medieval Soil Management and its relevance in modern day agriculture

Ancient systems of soil management and its relevance in modern day agriculture

 Practices of good soil husbandry are as old as the art and science of agriculture itself. In
ancient times, when there was more land and less dependent population to support, soil
management was based on area-extensive practices. Land clearing, shaping, fallowing,
shifting cultivation and choice of individual crops and/or their combinations as per
perceived suitability of soil for different soils were the key strategies of soil management.
 “Be it then at the level of the surface of the earth, of the low lying hills, of the high or
middle mountains and of the snow-clad mountains, or be it abundant in rocks that are full
of gravel, common earth or sandstone what makes it richer is its preparation in a proper
way. Only such soils can be called “Gold-bearing’ or ‘Gold-crested.’
 Since soil was considered one of the five cosmic elements constituting life, its interaction
with and interdependence on others for sustaining life was understood and appreciated.
The concept known a “holism” recognized that the outcome from the use of soil was
influenced by the position and health of the remaining four elements of life. With this
perception, ancient man looked for auspicious times of cultivation and seeding of crops to
derive maximum benefit from the position of other celestial bodies.
 A verse from Krsi-Samgraha states, “Rain is essential for cultivation and also essential
for life. So one should first acquire the knowledge about rainfall.”
 The beneficial effect of adding ash to the soil at the conclusion of the “Yagna” and its
positive influence on crop growth was perhaps the starting point supporting use of cattle
dung and organic manures. The role and significance of organic matter in soil
management finds mentioned in the epic Ramayana, where it is stated, “All dead things –
rotting corpse or stinking garbage – returned to earth are transformed into wholesome
things that nourish life”. Such is the alchemy of mother earth. In addition to organic
farming, use of amendments to restore the quality of acid soils finds mention in a quote
by Varro (116-28 BC). “They manured their fields with a white chalk which they dug
out of the field. In addition to soil fertility maintenance , ancient literature also presented
a holistic picture on different aspects of soil quality and its management.
 An ancient Tamil saying states, “No fodder, no cow; no cow “ and “No manure; no
manure, no crop”. Deep in the heart of this indigenous knowledge lies the concern for
good soil husbandry dependent on use of organic manures and its influence on
sustainability of agriculture.
  “The ancient texts prescribe different decoctions and mixtures for manuring plants.
These require the use of animal excreta, fish and fish washings, beef and bone, milk, and
extracts of cereals, pulses, green leaves and plants. As there does not seem to have been
any acute shortage of land in early times, there was not much urgency for the manures.

Medieval and pre- modern soil management and its relevance in modern day agriculture

Like the farmers of ancient times, those of medieval times were aware of the usefulness of
organic manures for sustainable crop production.

 Use of cowdung as manure was a common practice.

 A 17th century text mentions the use of a wide variety of manures across crops and soils.
Crop specific manure combinations and their method of application received particularly
elaborate treatment.

Examples: The dung, salt, and niter were suggested for soil application in case of palm trees;
niter and vine sap were recommended as foliar application for vines; rotten eggs were considered
useful as soil dressing for fig; dung application to soil for olive; pig’s dung and human urine as
soil application for pomegranate; night soil, animal dung, and sheep’s blood for soil application
to guava; and cow dung for carrots.

Animal wastes were not the only manures known. There also existed a deep knowledge on the
use of green plants and their residues for sustaining soil productivity.

The Holy Quran exhorts farmers to return one-third of the harvest to soils . This commandment
signifies sustenance of soil quality through recycling of crop residues. Today we know that
ignoring the return of crop residues to soils after harvest is a prime cause of loss of soil quality;
falling soil fertility, rising compactability, and spreading erodibility.

Mollison (1901) stated that the two most common crops grown in Mughal India were horse gram
and Bombay hemp (sunnhemp). He traced their widespread cultivation to sustain soil fertility,
stating, “By the decay of their roots, stems and leaves, leave the surface soil much richer organic
matter, in nitrogen, and to a less extent in the other elements of nutrition than before their
growth.” Mollison went on the add that the farmers of medieval India had practical knowledge of
the benefits of crop rotations, as they raised mixed crops year after year on the same field
without the help of chemical fertilizers.

The Persian manuscript, Irshadu’z Zaraa’t while dealing with the topic of wheat and barley
cultivation, mentions that, “Grass (residue) on the land may be burn and then the burnt grass may
be left on the land as fertilizer.”
The beneficial effects of legumes in maintaining soil fertility were known during the medieval
period.

Regular use of organic manures is a guarantee against widening micronutrient deficiencies.

Then, besides being a direct source of nutrients, breakdown products of organic manures also
influence nutrient availability and produce other non-nutrient benefits, e.g., by

 Increasing availability of soil P;

 Accelerating availability of Fe and Mn;
 Raising availability of micro-nutrients through complexation by organic ligands or
decrease in their toxicity;
 Falling loss through ammonia volatilization, leading to increase in fertilizer-use
efficiency; and
 Buffering of soil pH, improvement in soil structure, buildup of useful soil biology, and
increase in soil stability and resilience.