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A History of Agriculture in India v1.c35.s10: Crops

A History of Agriculture in India v1.c35.s10

Language
English

Crops

v1.c35.s10.1

A number of crops were grown during this period, such as rice, wheat, barley, peas, lentil, pulses, spices and vegetables. Kalidasa in his *Raghu-vamsa* refers to paddy being grown in the fields of Bengal. The varieties of rice grown included *sali, kamala, nivara, unccha-paddy* and *syamaka-paddy*, red rice, yellow rice and hog's rice.... *Sali*-paddy was grown by transplanting seedlings. This means that the technique of transplanting was known to the cultivators. Wheat was grown in the Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, central India and Rajasthan as a winter crop. Of the vegetables grown, the *Amarakosha* mentions cucumber, onion, pumpkin and gourd. Sugarcane was grown in fields close to rice fields, and harvested in winter. Cotton was grown mainly in Saurashtra or Kathiawar. The cultivation of silk-cotton, flax and hemp was also known. Pepper and cardamom were grown principally in the southern parts of India, particularly in the valleys of the Nilgiris. The other spices grown included mustard, cloves, ginger and turmeric. Saffron, betel-nut, tamarind, sesamum, linseed, *priyangu*, aloe, indigo were also grown. Of the number of fruits grown, mango was the most popular. Coconut was extensively cultivated in the coastal areas of Bengal, Orissa and Madras.⁴

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⁴ *A Concise History of Science in India*, pp. 358, 359, 360, 361 and 362

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The Bṛhatsaṃhita mentions the names of some plants and method of their propagaion. ‘Kathal (Jack-fruit tree), Asoka, Kadali (plantain), Jambu, Lakoocha, Dadima, Drakshya, Palivata, Vijapura (Matulanga), Atimukhtaka—these are the plants to be propagated by means of cuttings besmeared with cowdung.’

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Bose, D.M. and others *A Concise History of Science in India*, INSA, New Delhi, 1971 Burton, Sir R. and Arbuthnot, F.F. (Trans.), *The Kamasutra of Vatsyayana*, London, 1963 Dodwell, H.H. (Ed.). *The Cambridge Shorter History of India*, Cambridge, 1943 Garratt, G.T. (Ed.). *The Legacy of India*, Oxford, 1937 Gode, P.K. *Studies in Indian Cultural History*, Vol. I Majumdar, R.C. *History and Culture of the Indian People*, Vol. III, Bombay, 1970 Reginald Le May. *The Culture of South-East Asia*, New Delhi, 1962 Sastri, K.A.N. *Advanced History of India*, New Delhi, 1970

Cites (3)