Nurturing the soil

Healthy soil gives a good harvest. And soil is alive: it is an ecosystem full of bacteria, fungi, earthworms and insects, along with minerals, humus, water and air.

These living things break down dead plant and animal matter and keep the soil healthy, so it can grow healthy plants. A field is not just dirt with seeds in it.

To keep soil healthy and fertile, farmers use soil conservation — ways of managing soil so it does not get worn out or washed away, and stays productive.

Our ancestors had many clever methods. Crop rotation: grow different crops in the same field in different seasons. Each crop takes different nutrients from the soil, so changing crops stops the soil from running out of any one nutrient.

Multiple cropping: grow several crops in the same field. If pests destroy one crop, the others survive, so the farmer gets at least one harvest — a kind of insurance. The crops were chosen so that something could be harvested from the field at different times.

Contour ploughing: on a hillside, plough along the natural curves of the slope, not straight down it. Each furrow then catches the rainwater instead of letting it rush downhill carrying soil away (soil erosion). Farmers also used organic manure such as cow dung to put nutrients back into the soil.

Panchagavya is a fermented mixture of five cow products: dung, urine, milk, curd and ghee. Recent studies show it works as a biofertiliser: it helps crops grow better and resist disease.

Modern methods help too. Terracing cuts flat steps into hillsides, slowing water and reducing erosion. Afforestation (planting trees) holds soil in place. Old practices like mulching (covering the soil) and ploughing crop leftovers back in are still used. Applying fertiliser very precisely saves it and protects the soil, and drones are now used to check soil moisture.