Historical events in Agriculture

 

 

Domestication & Early Agriculture

First domesticated animal: Dog (10,000 BC, Iraq)
Second domesticated animal: Sheep (8700 BC, Iraq)
Third domesticated animal: Goat (7700 BC, Iraq)
First cultivated crops in the world: Wheat & Barley (7500 BC, Middle East)
Cattle and pig domesticated: 6000 BC, Middle East
Maize cultivation: 4400 BC, Mexico
Potato cultivation: 3500 BC, South America
Silk moth domestication: 2700 BC, China
Chickpea, mustard (sarson), cotton cultivation: 2300 BC
Poultry, buffalo, elephant domestication: 2300 BC, Indus Valley
Rice cultivation: 2200 BC, India
Finger millet cultivation: 1800 BC, Karnataka, India
Sorghum cultivation: 1725 BC, Rajasthan, India
Green gram & black gram: 1500 BC, Madhya Pradesh, India
Barley & sugarcane: 1500 BC, India

Technological Advances

Wheel invention: 3400 BC
Bronze tools usage: 3000 BC, Middle East
Plough usage: 2900 BC, Middle East
Iron ploughs usage: 1000–1600 BC
Tractor introduced in India: 1920
First tractor manufactured in India: Eicher (1960)
First MB plough made in India: 1920

Brown manuring initiated: Australia

Biotechnology & Genetics

First crop with genome decoded: Rice
First transgenic crop in world: Tobacco > Tomato (1983)
First GM crop in India: Bt Cotton
First bioherbicide (mycoherbicide): Devine (1981)

First bio-insecticide commercial: Sporeine

Chemicals & Fertilizers

Urea separated from urine by: H.M. Rouelle (1773)
Urea first synthesized by: F. Wohler (1828)
First fertilizer used: Calcium Nitrate
First fertilizer manufactured in India: SSP (1906)
First nitrogenous fertilizer in India: Ammonium Sulphate
First complex fertilizer in India: Ammonium Phosphate Sulphate
First slow-release nitrogen fertilizer (SRNF): Urea formaldehyde
First systemic fungicide: Carboxin
First organic fungicide: Dithiocarbamate
First contact herbicide: DNOC (1932)
First systemic herbicide: 2,4-D (1942)

First organophosphate compound: Parathion

Diseases

First identified viral disease: Leaf Curl of Tobacco
First nematode disease: Anguina tritici in wheat
First bacterial disease: Fire Blight of Apple

Institutions, Research & Infrastructure

First Agricultural Magazine in India: Indian Farming (1940, ICAR)
First Agricultural University in India: G.B. Pant University, 1960
First KVK (Krishi Vigyan Kendra): Pondicherry, 1974
First AICRP (All India Coordinated Research Project): Maize (1957)
India’s first satellite: Aryabhata (1975)
First Indian Remote Sensing Satellite: IRS-1A (1988)

First color television in India: 1982

Notable Individuals in Indian Agriculture

First Indian DG of ICAR: Dr. B.P. Paul
First President of ICAR: M. Habibullah
First Agriculture Minister of Independent India: Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
First Indian Director of IARI: B. Vishwanath
First Entomologist: Nionelde Nicevelli
Second Entomologist: H.M. Lefroy
First laureate to receive World Food Prize: Dr. M.S. Swaminathan
First Nobel Prize related to agriculture (Peace): Dr. Norman E. Borlaug

International Contributions

First country to introduce zero tillage and conservation tillage: USA
Crops introduced by Portuguese in India (16th century):Potato, Sweet Potato, Cassava, Tomato, Chilli, Pumpkin, Papaya, Pineapple, Guava, Custard Apple, Groundnut, Cashew Nut, Tobacco, American Cotton, Rubber

Policy & Infrastructure

First Irrigation Commission in India: 1901
Second Irrigation Commission: 1969 or 1972
India’s first cotton mill: Bombay (1854)