Seeds and Seed Storage Management in Krishi Parashara:
Applied Botany in Krishi Parashara: 3
Applied Botany in Smriti, Niti Shastra, Samhita, Dharma Shastra and Purana
Botany History in Smriti, Niti Shastra, Samhita Dharma Shastra, Purana etc. 12
BOTANY History of Indian Subcontinent –81
By: Bhishma Kukreti M.Sc. {(Botany), B.Sc. (Honours in Botany), Medical Tourism Historian)
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There are three major parts of Krishi Parashara: 1- Preface(importance of food and Agriculture) 2- Vrishtikhand (Formulas about rain and rain forecasting, , Soil management 3- Krishikhand ( Ploughing etc. Seeds , Sowing etc.)
Krishikhand is second important part of Krishi Parashara important for Botanists and historians interested in.
Importance of Agriculture management in Krishi Parashara: (KP)
In Krishikhand:, Parashara starts stating that the crop is looked after well by farmer generate wealth and if there is no look after management the farming brings poverty (KP 3.1) .
From 2nd verse to 76th verse is about domestic animals and their management; compost and generating compost manure and manure management; ploughing , construction of plough , ploughing management and Soil , Soil Health Management .
From verse number 77th of Krishi Khand: of Krishi Parashara: it is about Seeds and Seed management,
The 77th verse states that Seeds should be collected in Magha and Falguna (November December) and should be dried well on sun; and should not be kept on ground .
The seeds should be kept in bag (Thaili) with husk, without husk the seeds will degenerate. (KP, 3.78)
The equal sized seeds give better result in cropping (germination), Therefore, equal sized seeds should be store sin a bag or store (KP 3.79)
Seeds should not be stores in where White Ant are found, where women deliver the children, cow yard, and where childless woman lives. (KP 3.81)
The women experiencing mensuration period, pregnant and mother of newly born child should not touch the seeds (KP 3. 82)
The farmer by any chance should not put Ghee, oil, butter milk (curd), salt and earthen lamp on seeds (not even by mistake) (KP 3.83)
The seeds spoiled by earthen lamp flame , fire, smoke, and spoiled by rain and by keeping in diytch should not be sown at all (KP 3.84)
Even by mistake , the farmer should not sow the seeds kept in ditches (inside earth) as those seeds are equal to infertile ones or as good as husk (KP.3..85)
If seeds become sterile//infertile, the manure, farmer, field, bulls, and rain can’t bring cropping or germination. Or they all become failure.(KP 3.86)
All crops come by seeds only there, attention should be paid on seeds and seed storing (KP3 87)
The above stanzas are good enough to tell that at that period and before (Krishi Parashara: creation), Indian were having good knowledge of applied botany.
References
1-Pandeya, R. 2002, Krishi Parashara, Motilal Banarasi Das , Delhi page 48- 50
Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti, bckukreti@gmail.com , Mumbai India,
History of Plant Science / Indian Botany in Smriti, Niti Shastra, Krishi Parashar, Krishi Kashaypa and Purana , Applied Botany in Krishi Parashara will be continued, agriculture science in Krishi Parashara will be continued in next chapter
