Chapter - 4
AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION
Land
utilization and reclamation the statement below gives the decennial figures of area [in hectares] of land utilization in the district from 1951 to 1971:
Utilization Purpose |
1951 |
1961 |
1971 |
| Cultivated area | 266235 | 275580 | 282263 |
| Culturable or cultivable area including forests, groves, fallows, etc. | 52138 | 58986 | 62473 |
| Uncultivated area | 115237 | 100401 | 90896 |
| Total area as per district land records | 433610 | 434967 | 435632 |
Cultivated
area
The
statement belo9w gives the figures of net i.e actually cultivated area in the district in
the years 1951-52,1961-62, and 1974-75:
| Year | Cultivated area (hect.) | Percentage of total area |
| 1951-52 | 2,66,202 | 61.4 |
| 1961-62 | 2,75,580 | 63.4 |
| 1974-75 | 2,84,555 | 66.0 |
Cultivable
or Culturable Land
Forests land,groves,follows,waste lands like
pastures and grazing grounds and land generally classified as unculturable or uncultivable
due to high proportion of sand or reh[alkaline ingredient] in the soil or on account of
ravine-scouring or overgrowth of dhak and other pernicious vegetation's,constitute
Culturable land.Some idea of its growth in size may be had from the following table:
| Year | Culturable land (in hect.) |
| 1951-52 | 52,138 |
| 1961-62 | 58,946 |
| 1974-75 | 62-75 |
Such land in 1974-75 included 7,418 hectares of forests,2,432 hectares of groves,18,788
hectares of Culturable waste,2,873 hectares of pastures, besides fallows measuring 31,247
hectares.Barren and Usar land constituted 58,995 hectares and the total area of the land
put to non-agricultural uses,e.g. that under Water, roads,graveyards,etc.accounted for
26,745 hectares.
Precarious
Tracts
The district suffers more from wet seasons than dry ones. in fact it is among the most secure from drought i9n the whole of the State,though there are tracts that are insufficiently protected by irrigation, notably those along the edge of the Yamuna. [In wet years the northern sandy tracts particularly the portion lying north of the Grand Trunk Road, suffers from the overgrowth of kans grass and the cultivated area tends to decline. The Kali Nadi terai especially is liable to the effects of supersaturating . An other tracts liable to evil effects From wet seasons of a groups of villages along the Bhognipur canal in the sirsa Nadi tract of pargana[ Shikohabad,where reh formation is impeding cultivation.The canals which are of immense value to the district have nevertheless processed large quantities of reh.There are some 44 villages in pargana Shikohabad and 25 in tahsil Karhal in which the phenomenon is very manifest,and there are some others along the canals in tahsils Jasrana,Mainpuri and Bhongaon.
The baisuri weed has also seriously interfered with cultivation in 56 villages in the
district,of which 49 lie in the Mustafabad pargana and 7 in Shikohabad pargana,these 56
villages forming one practically continuos group lying south of the Sengar river.Besides
these Fakhrpur in pargana Barnahal and Qutabpur Buzurg, on the Karhal road,north of Karhal
, are seriously infested with baisuri. The weed is a light green bushy plant,25 cm.to 50
cm.high ,with woody stalks and excessively long roots,and comes to maturity in May and
June.During the rains it dries off temporarily,but in dry weather,and particularly in
years of scanty rainfall,overruns fallow land. The Kharif harvests is generally
unaffected,but in the Rabi,it is a serious pest if it is not weeded out very carefully
entailing large expenses. Canal water is the only satisfactory remedy as the plant cannot
withstand copious irrigation and on this account it is not complained of in areas covered
by canals.The weed flourishes in dumat soils only.In pargana Mustafabad in many villages
with brackish or alkaline well water,which is used sparingly,if at all,for irrigation.No
doubt, the spreads of the weed is connected with the brackish water in the `bitter water
tract`,which appears to be a continuation of that in the adjacent Etah and Mathura
districts.Neither the weed nor the alkalinity have been proved to be one the cause of the
other, nor has any scientific local study been conducted into the extent or the causation
of the spread of either, It would appear, how over,both from the traditions of the
villagers and from the records of
Soil conservation : The bed of the river Yamuna in the south of the district is very deep. As a result there are very extensive ravines[behars]in this part which have eaten away large chunks of fertile cultivated area.It is estimated that the total area of such land in the district is about 46,000 hectares. In the extreme north there is a belt of bhur land which can be utilised for intensive cultivation after proper leveling. There are also vast user plains in the district, the reclamation of which has been a challenge to the agriculturists. [The government has taken up soil conservation schemes in the district since 1964-65 and in 1974-75, there were five soil conservation units working at Mainpuri,Shikohabad,Kuraoli,Bewar and Baroli.
The following statement gives the area of land covered under various soil conservation
works till 1974-75:
| Work | Area covered (in hect.) |
| Ravine reclamation | 13,360 |
| Contour bunds | 9,522 |
| Usar reclamation | 931 |
| Dry farming | 1,340 |
| Conservation of soil through adoption of scientific irrigation practices | 641 |
IRRIGATION
The district has ample means of irrigation like canals ,wells,including tube-wells,jhils
and rivers . The rivers are not of much direct use for irrigation ,but there khadir of
tarai ;needs,as a rule ,no further watering for growing good crops. An unsatisfactory
feature of the canals has been that in the years of scanty rain fall ,there is a short
supply of water in them due to the low level of the Ganga and the diversion of water in
the canals to the less favoured districts lower down the doab.The Ram Ganga project,taken
up in 1962 and nearing completion and the Tehri project,to be taken-up in the near feature
are meant not only to augment the supply of the water in the canals but also to increase
the number of branches and distributaries in the area . Wells and tube-wells constitute a
major and more
The statement below gives the
figures of gross irrigated area in the district in 1951-521, 1961-62 and 1974-75
| Year | Gross Area Irrigated (in Hect.) |
| 1951-52 | 1,52,098 |
| 1961-62 | 1,30,156 |
| 1974-75 | 2,21,962 |
Means of irrigation
The statement given below shows the extent or area irrigated from the canals ,wells [including[ tube-wells] and other sources in 1951-52,1961-62 and 1974-75:
| Year | Area irrigated from wells, including tubewells (in hect.) | Area irrigated from canals (in hect.) | Area irrigated from other sources (in hect.) |
| 1951-52 | 68,558 | 77,245 | 6,295 |
| 1961-62 | 52,884 | 59,650 | 5,700 |
| 1974-75 | 1,38,369 | 78,820 | 4,773 |
Wells -Wells continue to be important source of irrigation in the districts .even after the advent of the canals in the district during the close of the last century ,the area irrigated from the wells has not shown any decrease.Formerly the kutcha well were quite numerous ,but there uneconomic nature has resulted in the increase in the number pakka wells .They following figures regarding the number pakka and kutcha wells being used for irrigation in the district are interesting :
| Year | No. of wells | |
| Pakka | Kutcha | |
| 1951-52 | 16,617 | 12,098 |
| 1961-62 | 14,440 | 34 |
| 1974-75 | 14,440 | 34 |
Since the fifties of present century ,the tube bells have given a new ,scientific and more
economic shape to the well irrigation system.besides the government taking up the
programme of constructing state tube bells the cultivators are also provided with liberal
financial assistance by the government and the nationalized banks for installing there own
pumping set and persian[ wheels in the wells . There were 258 state tubewells in the
district in 1975,providing irrigation to an area of 31,700 hectares .The tubewells have
proved most useful and beneficial in the tahsil of Jasrana and Shikohabad .
Under various schemes taken up
in the district since 1951-52 for the installation of private irrigation works ,generally
named as minor irrigation works 12,621 new pakka wells ,were constructed and 26,889 wells
were bored ,14,016 Persian wheels and 19,280 pumping [sets operated by electricity or
diesel oil ]were installed till the year 1974-75 .These sources were capable or providing
irrigation to an area of 1,55,876 hectares.
Canals: The Ganga canals originating from the river Ganga
at haridwar was for the first time opened in 1854 and its two branches ,the Kanpur and the
Etawah ones ,traversed the district.The amount of irrigation obtained from the canals was
very limited,so it was decided by the government to remodel and supplement the supply of
the water by a new canal taken out of the Ganga at a lower point . A new canal named the
lower Ganga canal,was taken out of the Ganga at Narora in Aligarh district and feeding the
Kanpur and Etawah branches by a supply channel ,it finally terminates in the Isan Nadi in
this district
As briefly mentioned in the opening chapter of this gazetteer,the natural drainage lines
of the district have been to a great extent interfered with by the canals,and resort
has,therefore,been had to artificial channels.It will be most convenient to consider them
in connection with the various canals.In the central tract,where the Kanpur branch follows
the watershed of the Isan and Arind,several artificial channels have been made to induce
thew obstructed drainage to fall into one or thew other of these rivers. To left bank of
the canal; are cuts at Bharera[in Etah], Sathni Dalippur, Nagla Golal[Kuraoli],Nagla
Galabi, Raihar, Pusaina, Bhanwant,Singhpur and Ajitgunj,leading into the Isan.on the other
bank,drains have been dug at Pachawar, Rustampur, Kasardh, Chinari, Nagla Sujanpur
[Bhanwant]and Sathgawan leading into the Arind,which has been widened near Gopalpur and
Uresar in connection with the Arind Nadi improvement.There are two syphones under the
Tarha distributory,ands along the Etawah branch,especially in its south-eastern portion
where a considerable amount of artificial drainage has been found necessary . There are
drainage cuts at Jodhpur,Patikara ,kusiari,Jarsi[kosma] Dibrauli Sikandarpur patara and
gangsi into the Arind ,and at Kosnn Jawapur agarpur ,urthan nitaoli begumpur and karhal
into the Sengar . There are also numerous syphones on the distributories of this branch
.The Bhognipur branch ;below Jera [Eka] crosses by siphon the Sengar at Yaghmurpur patrai
,the Senhar at Dihuli and the sirsa at the araunj near
Shikohabad l. Near Raisin ;the Sengar has-been improved and two cuts on either side
of the canal join the river at its crossing . The Bhognipur and Fatehpur katena drainage
is siphoned under the canal at the twelfth mile and flows north ward into the Sengar there
is a small drain at Chhichhamai near Shikohabad,falling into the sirsa on its right bank
and on the left bank is the Nagla balua drain. The Aonri and dundiamai drains fall into
the nandia ravine at Siarmau ramble and the Kesri drain meets same ravine in Fatehpur
karkha ,from where their drainage falls into the Yamuna,cutting with disastrous effect
through the fertile bhagna of Punchha. From Bhandri eastwards the country along the main
canal suffered severely from water-logging in the wet period and numerous drains have been
dug to give relief and prevent the growth of reh. which seems to have been unknown prior
to the construction if this canal.On the north of the canal are the
Surajpur,Ahmadpur,Chirhaoli and Bachhemai drainage cuts flowing into the Sirsa, and on the
south flowing into the Pastui Nala are the Pastui, Ujrai, Jahemai, Amhar, Rajapura,
Bachhemai,Nagla Tal, Alampur, Jhapta, Lahtai and Machhela drains.There are syphones under
the Ahmadpur ,Surajpur,Khonrai Bhadan,Ujrai,Ubti,Nain and Hanwantkhera distributories and
a syphonunder the main canal at Aswa. On the Bewar branch there are drains into the Kali
Nadi at Panwahi in connection with the Saraiya [Sarai Latif]escape,
Walipur,Sirsa,Lehras,Bilon,Rajwana,Chaumajhi Bewer, Sakat Bewar,Bajhera,Todarpur and
janaur. On the right bank of the the Bewar branch flowing into the Isan or its
distributories are cuts at Rampura [flowing into the Kali, Sultanganj, flowing the
Chhachha Nala], Bajhera and Arjunpur. The lower Ganga [canal has a drainage cut at
Sarabpur draining Eka,Uresar and the neighborhood,syphoning under the canal at Sarabpur
and joining the Arind between Uresar and Eka. In Mainpuri town there are two drains
carrying the water from two depressions near the police lines into the Isan ,and a third
drain connects with these two on the Bhongaon road.
Agriculture Including Horticulture
Land and Soils: The
present material of the soils of the district if generally calcareous.They are neutral to moderately alkaline and have sometimes well
developed clay accumulation horizon in the subsoils. The organic matter and nitrogen
reserve is low as a general rule and they have low to medium levels of phosphorus and
potassium contents.
There are three main soil tracts, the
northern sand tract between the Isan and Kali, the central loam tract between the Isan and
the kak Nadi on the north and the Sirsa on the south and the southern mixed tract between
the Sirsa and the Yamuna.
Of the four natural soils, matiyar is
stiff,unyielding clay of a dark colour, shrinking and cracking in dry weather into a
network of fissures, but expanding when
moistened into a sticky clayey mass. In favorable circumstances matiyar yields good crops
of rice and can also be utilized for the rabi.But its worst quality ,known as matiyar or
kabar is a miserable soil capable of producing only poor rice and a scanty crop of barley.
The second natural soil is bhur,which is in
all respects the opposite of matiyar ,being loose and sandy and quite incapable of
retaining moisture .Bhur can be ploughed at all seasons with little labour and rapidly
absorbs the rainfall ,allowing it to drain to the subsoil beneath.Puth is the name given
to the bhur where it runs in even ridges above the level of the surrounding country. In
the sandy circles of pargana Kuraoli,there is a
For revenue purposes the soils are
classified on the basis of there situation in relation to the village site. The belt
immediately surrounding the village site which is always well-mannered and highly
cultivated,is known as gauhan or bara the pays the highest revenue. The next strip which
shares to a less degree in the same advantages, is called manjha, of which the outlying
land are termed barha.Soils are also classified according to their position in relation to
the rivers and their levels or
altittude.They are the bangar or upland and
terai or the low-lying alluvial strip along the river valleys. In the Yamuna ravine tract
there is a further local subdivision, the uparhar or the land on the land on the plateau
level, the behar or ravine proper where are found some inferior soils known as jhori and
dands; and the kachhar and tir soils side the streams and the bhagna or old bed of river.
Cultivation
Since about the close of the last century when the
canals were opened for irrigation , a marked change in the technique and pattern of
cultivation has been noticeable in the district. The Krishi Sabha, a voluntary
organisation ,established in 1908, with the collaboration of the agriculture department
commenced educating the farmers in the use of new implements, better seeds and improved
cultural practices. From 1950 onwards, with a further increase in irrigation facilities provided by the state
tube-wells and other private minor irrigation works, considerable progress in the farming
pattern has been achieved , particularly in the extension, of the double-cropped
[dofasli]area and also in the crops themselves , the more valuable and high-yielding
staples having largely taken the place of the indigenous verities that constituted the
principal products in the district till the fifties of the present century.
Harvests:
The agricultural year is divided into the three generally recognized seasons of harvests which here also go by the usual names of kharif,rabi,and zaid.The last named is very little importance and consists of melons,kakri,khira,vegetables, spices, tobacco,legumes and a number of low grade cereals. The cucurbitaceae are mostly grown in the khadirs and along the sandy banks of the rivers.The kharif crops are shown in Asadha-Saravana and reaped in Asvina-Kartika after the cessation of the rains useally well before the preparation of the fields for the rabi sowings, which begin in october-nevember i.c. Kartika-Agrahayana and are harvested in April-may [Chaitra-Vaisakha-Jyaistha].The relative figures of the area covered by the kharif,rabi and dofasli crops in the district are given below:
| Year | Area under kharif (in hect.) |
Area under rabi (in hect.) |
dofasli area (in hect.) |
| 1951-52 | 1,55,153 | 1,81,110 | 51,140 |
| 1961-62 | 1,80,934 | 1,79,659 | 86,934 |
| 1974-75 | 1,75,074 | 2,12,263 | 1,04,702 |
Kharif- Jowar,Bajara and Maize were the main kharif harvests in the district till the beginning of the
present century . In the intervening period,mainly because of the extension of the
irrigation facilities, the cropping pattern has much changed in the district.The area
under jowar has now very mach decreased and rice and maize have very appreciably gained in
area. Now the main kharif cereals in the
district in order of the area they cover are, maize, bajra,and rice.Among the kharif
pulses urd ,moong and month are main crops though they occupy very small areas .
The following statement gives
some details about the areas under the main kharif cereals [[[and there yield in the
district in 1971-72
| Kharif crops | Area sown (in hect.) |
Total production (tonnes) |
Average yield per hectare in district (quintals) | Average yield per hectare in State (quintals) |
| Maize | 48,070 | 34,635 | 7.21 | 5.65 |
| Bajra | 42,512 | 31,025 | 7.29 | 5.58 |
| Rice | 39,002 | 33,829 | 8.67 | 7.98 |
| Jowar | 6,917 | 3,149 | 4.62 | 3.67 |
| Urd | 464 | 73 | 1.58 | 1,86 |
| Moong | 25 | 5 | 1.92 | 1.55 |
| Moth | 112 | 34 | 3.05 | 3.05 |
Rabi- In the rabi the lead is taken by wheat, which is the most valuable of all the food-grains.
It is sown alone as well as mixed with barley ,gram,pea or mustard . The area under pure
wheat has no doubt increased in recent years, but the old practice of sowing it mixed with
other crops has not altogether disappeared.Barley was a favorite rabi crop in the past and
it maintained its hold till fifties of the present century when it occupied more than
20,234 hectares in the district.Thereafter its area continued to decline and by 1971-72 it
had gone down to a mere 11,757 hectares.Other important
rabi cereals are gram and pea. Of the pulses only arhar and masur are important.An
interesting feature of arhar is that is sown with the main kharif crops and harvested
after most of the rabi crops.Thi9s is perhaps Why it is hardly ever sown as a single
crop,being usually combined bajara or Jowar which are harvested by Nove3mber leaving it
standing alone in the field. It surpasses masur in point of area sown with it .
The following statement gives some particulars about the areas under the principal rabi cereals and their yields in the district in 1971-72. The district averages surpass the state average for all the major rabi cereals:
| Ravi crops | Area Sown (hect.) | Total production (tonnes) | Average yield per hect. in distinct (quintals) | Average yield per hect. in State (quintals) |
| Wheat | 1,24,953 | 1,61,487 | 12.92 | 12.66 |
| Gram | 17,466 | 18,379 | 10.52 | 7.88 |
| Barley | 11,757 | 17,797 | 15.14 | 10.41 |
| Peas | 16,213 | 21,071 | 13.00 | 8.30 |
| Arhar | 5,844 | 10,360 | 17.74 | 12.81 |
| Masur | 61 | 42 | 6.86 | 6.35 |
Non-food Crops:
Sugarcane, oil-Seeds like ground-nut,Mustard,sesame,rapeseed and linseed, vegetables and fruits, sunn-hemp, jute, cotton and tobacco are the non-food crops in the district. The district has never been a sugarcane producing area. Cotton ,indigo and tobacco were flourishing cash crops in the district till the early years of the present century. But their cultivation has very much declined and now indigo has totally disappeared from the district and cotton and tobacco cover very insignificant areas. The district is an important ground-nut and oil seed growing areas and stood second in the Agra Division in 1971-72, For the areas under them and their total yield. Vegetables,though they occupy a small area in the district,specially around the towns and,large villages, constitute valuable crops. Potato in one of the most important of these and covers the largest area of all the vegetables. The district was first in point of area and total yield of potato in the whole of the Agra division in 1971-72. The statement given below provides information about the areas under important cash crops and their yields in the district in 1971-72:
| Crops | Area Sown (hect.) | Total production (tonnes) | Average yield per hect. in district | Average yield per hect. in State |
| Sugarcane | 1,965 | 59,946 | 305.07 | 387.35 |
| Ground nut | 10,559 | 305.07 | 4.53 | 5.59 |
| Mustard and rape-seed | 778 | 3,219 | 3.67 | 3.76 |
| Til | 668 | 128 | 1.92 | 1.30 |
| Cotton | 95 | 52 | 0.99 | 0.93 |
| Sunn-hemp | 244 | 94 | 3.85 | 3.85 |
| Tobacco | 96 | 92 | 9.58 | 9.81 |
| Potato | 6,565 | 62,955 | 95.89 | 95.89 |
Improvement
of Agriculture
The ever-increasing demand for
food-grains necessitated farreaching improvements and
changes in the pattern and technique of agriculture. After the achievement of independence
the development of agriculture has been given an important place in the countries
Five-year Plans . Scientific methods of growing crops by proper tillage sufficient and
timely manuring land watering sowing of seeds of improved and high-yielding varieties and
protection of crops against pests and diseases have been popularized among the cultivators
through publicity and demonstrations in the
fields. Seed Supply .
Seed Supply
The most common high-yielding
varieties of seeds of cereals are the exotic paddy and millets hybrid maize, Mexican
wheat, U.P. wheat U.P. maize and Hybrid bajra.
Seeds are supplied by the
government through the seed stores maintained by the agriculture department and the
Pradeshik Co-operative Federation . There
were 60 such seed stores in the district in 1974-75 and they distributed nearly 18,166
quintals of seeds of kharif and rabi crops in that year. The seed stores however meet only
a small fraction of the total demand of the farmers for them the bulk being supplied by
the local dealers who obtained them from the National Seeds Corporation and Tarai Seed
Development Corporation pantnagar,and other agencies or through mutual exchange.The two
government
Soil
Nutrients
The traditional manures are cattle dung, farm rufuse and stable litter. The usefulness of
green manure crops, such as lobia,guar,dhaincha,sanai and moong which provide nitrogenous
matter to the soil and increase its fertility is being increasingly realised by the
cultivators. The seed stores distributed more than 1,000 quintals of seeds of green manure
crops and a total area of 27,465 hectares was covered by such crops in 1974-75. The
application of chemical fertilizers, has become quite popular among the cultivators. The
nitrogenous,phosphatic and potassic fertilizers are the most widely used ones. The seed
stores meet a small part of the total requirement of fertilizers, the bulk being obtained
by the cultivators from licensed dealers. The total quantity of fertilizers distributed by
the government and various private agencies in 1971-72 was 8,250 tonnes. The seed stores
of the agriculture department supplied 3,080 tonnes of chemical fertilizers to the
cultivators in 1974-75. The government also distributed taqavi and loans amounting to Rs.
2,50,000 for the purchase of chemical fertilizers, seeds and improved agricultural
implements in the same year.
Agricultural
Implements and Machines.
The
farmers make their own arrangement for the purpose of implements,which are also through
the agriculture department and the State Agro-industrial Corporation. In the five year
period from 1970-71 to 1974-75 a total sum of Rs. 5,83,,89,200 was distributed in the
district as taqavi and loans for agricultural purposes.
Ritation Of Crops and Mixed Cropping:
The practice of leaving the fields fallow for at least one season was considered necessary
to allow land time to recuperate its fertility. But of late practice is being abandoned as
the system of rotation of crops and mixed cropping more beneficial by giving increased
yields and also reliving soil exhaustion. The agriculture department , agricultural
universities and research centers are evolving better and more scientific rotations and
mixtures of crops and propagating them among the farmers. The most common rotations being
practised in the district are maize-wheat,maize potato-tobacco, paddy -wheat,maize early potato -late potato,bajra-wheat,ground-nut-wheat
and green manure wheat. The system of mixed cultivation of land gives as additional
harvest increasing the overall yield and making for the maximum utilization of the
nutrients and other imputs. Almost always arhar is sown mixed with jowar, urd,til or
g[round-nut;bajra with urd, arhar or ground nut,wheat with gram,pen or mustered; barley
with gram or pea; maize with urd, and cotton with urd. Potato is sown mixed with
Methi[fenugreek] or onion, sugar-cane with moong and rainy season vegetables and late
paddy with coriander or fenugreek. Agricultural Co-operatives.
The practice of cultivation the land jointly [sajha] is very old. Forest and pasture lands
are still used in common. Farmers of ten poll their implements,bullocks,and labour for a
season or two. Costly implements and machines like tractors and threshers are also usually
owned or hired jointly and used in rotation.
In recent times co-operative societies have been formed in the villages for farming,
distribution of seeds,loans, fertilizers,implements,cattle breeding,marketing,etc. In
1974-75 there were in the district, 30 seed stores,4 agricultural marketing societies at
Mainpuri,Bewarm, Shikohabad and Ghiror, 455 co operative credit societies and 30
co-operative farming societies.
Horticulture:
The district is will-wooded on the whole,expect the comparatively bare user plains. In
addition to the tree jungle it is abduntly provided with groves of fruit and timber-trees.
The total area of groves and fruit orchards in the district was 2,432 hectares in 1974-75
tahsil Bhongaon having the largest such area 1,546 hectares.For the most part the groves
consist of mango ,jamun,tamarind,guava and ber trees and papaya and banana plants. The
horticultural needs of the district are met by the government nursery Mainpuri and the
horticulture garden at Agra.In 1974-75,government supplied in the district, 26,810 fruit
plants, 12,00,000 seedlings of vegetables and 25 quintals of seeds of vegetables, flowers
and other commercial crops.
Agricultural Pests and Diseases:
The most common weeds which charm the crops are the hiran,khuri,baisuri,doob abd
bathua.Weeding and interculturing are the usual methods that are adopted by the
cultivators to destroy them.
Being near the desert area in Rajasthan the
district is susceptible to locust invasions.They do immense harm to the standing crops
when they visit and settle down in any area, the loss to crops ranging from 80 to 90
per-cent.
Animal
Husbandry And Fisheries
There are no peculiar breeds of domestic cattle in the district,and the animals are for the most[ part of the ordinary type. In the early years of the present century some attempts were made to improve the breed. Stud bulls were imported from Hissar,two of them a cross between a Nagor bull and a Hariyana cow. There was a great demand for their services and the experiment was a success.Two bulls, one each of Khairigarh and Kosi breed were also later brought in and stationed at Baroli and Arjunpur at Sirsaganj,Ghiror,Karhal, Ganga Jamuni, Shikohabad, Lakhraspur and Bhongaon in the district are held important cattle fair. The climate of the district is too dry and grazing too scanty for successful horse breeding. The common country ponies are if small size and of poor stock. The live-stock population of the district,according to the live-stock censuses of 1961-1965 was as follows:
| Live-stock | 1961 | 1966 |
| Cattle | 2,34,511 | 2,54,673 |
| Buffaloes | 3,27,060 | 3,73,282 |
| Goats | 82,343 | 95,259 |
| Sheep | 38,155 | 66,223 |
| Pigs | 15,434 | 1,729 |
Development
Of Live-Stock-
Considerable progress has been made in recent years in improving the breed of the cattle
through selective breeding ,culling,undesirable animals and upgrading indigenous cattle by
improved bulls of well known and tried Indian breeds, distribution of seed of improved
varieties of fodder and cattle feed at moderate prices.Artificial insemination service for
breeding cows and buffaloes has been started in
the district and there were 12 centers for this purpose in 1974-75. More than 1,36,456
cows and buffaloes were served with
artificial insemination at these centres in the years 1973-74 and 1974-75. Loans are also[ given by the government to breeders for
the purchase of cows and buffaloes of improved stock. An amount of Rs. 7.200 was distributed for this purpose in the
aforementioned two years.
For improving the breed of sheep and goats pedigree stud rams and bucks of Barbari and
Jamunapari stock are stationed at the veterinary hospitals and are also distributed among
the breeders.
Poultry
Development
Poultry farming is rapidly gaining ground with the increasing demand for animal
protein.According to the live-stock census of 1966 the total number of poultry birds in
the district was 37,078.To encourage poultry farming as a subsidiary industry in the rural
areas, the government supplies birds of improved breeds. There was one poultry farm with
400 birds at Mainpuri in 1975 .Nearly 31,552 birds were distributed by the government in
the district in the two years 1973-74 and 1974-75.l
Cattle Diseases and Treatment:
The common cattle diseases are rinderpest[pokna] malignant sorethroat[galaghontu],
black-quarter [padsuja], anthrax [tilsuja], dysentry pechis,foot-and mouth diseases khurha
and haemorrhagic septicemia. there is a live-stock officer who is is charge of the animal
husbandry department in the district. To help him there is a veterinary officer,who looks
after the schemes related to improving the breed of live stock through artificial
insemination. There were 19 veterinary hospitals and 24 stockman centres in the district
in 1975;During the last two years [1973-74 and 1974-75] the total numbers of animals
treated, vaccinated and castrated at these dispensaries and centres were 2,52,524 and
1,37,451 and 43,839, respectively.
Housing
and Feeding
Domestic animals are generally housed in thatched kutcha sheds,pakka and well-ventilated
byres with roofs of iron or asbestos sheets are to be seen only in the government farms
and farms owned by big cultivators.Government provides monetary help to the cultivators
for constructing community cattle -sheds.
Grazing facilities
for the cattle are available in the forests, waste lands,groves and harvested or fallow
fields. On the canal banks and within the precincts of the railways, cattle are allowed to
graze under stipulated condition . In 1974-75, the total area covered by Culturable waste
land,pastures,forests and fallow land was 59,863 hectares. Barren user and unculturable
land measured 85,740 hectares in the same year.
The crops
which provide cattle fodder are maize,jowar,bajra,barseem,lobia and guar. The husk and
dried and crushed stalks of wheat,barley,arhar,urd,moong,pea,gram and paddy are also used
by the farmers to feed the cattle.
Forestry
A considerable area of the barren land in the district is covered with dhak jungle, the
remains of the extensive belt of dhak which formerly ran through this district from Etawah
in the south to Etah,Aligarh and Bulandshahr . At ureser and Eka in the north of Mustfabad
there are patches of such jungle.Stretches of the same jungle are noticed near
Rasemar,Jawapur,Bidhuna and Pundri also while near Saman and Sauj, in the south-east of
the district,there is besides dhak, a great deal of waste land covered with the
coarse-grass known locally as ganra[gandar] or sinkh. It is used for thatching and for
making ropes and mats. The lower pointed leaves are known as patel and are used for
thatching,the leaves close to the stalks are called munj and used for making ropes, the
stalks are called sirki or senta. The babul grows in large clumps on the usar plains,it is
indeed the only tree which flourishes there. That is why its plantation has been
encouraged in the district. Its timber which is hard
and close-grained is useful for building purpose,fuel,and charcoal. Its bark is
used in tanning and its gum in medicine and in dying.The roadside and canal avenues abound
in plantations of mango,jamun guava,neem and shisham.
The total area of the forests in the
district in 1974-75 was 6,960 hectares,of which an area of 4,709 hectares was under the
forest department and the remaining area was under the management of the goan panchayats.
Famines
There are no records of the famines which
afflicted the district in the eighteenth century of before it,but there is little room for
doubt that the district must have shared in the great droughts that devastated the
northern parts of the country in 1770 and 1783 and unprotected as it then was by the
canals, it must have suffered from the full violence of those visitations,During the early years of the nineteenth century a
succession of droughts and famines afflicted the whole doab.In early 1803, the crops were
much injured by hail-storms and the failure of rains resulted in almost total loss of the
kharif, a clamity = followed by the failure of the winter rains and consequent
partial loss of the rabi.The distress was great and widespread,and, though to some extent
relieved by large suspensions of revenue and fair harvests in 1805-06 left the country in
no position to face another untimely cessation of the monsoon in August 1806, and the
consequent
Drought also visited the district in a number of years between 1814 and 1837 but that of
the latter year caused a really severe famine.Cultivation was in a very bad shape and the
condition of cultivators and their cattle was pitiable.The famine of 1860-61 found the
district authorities better prepared to meet it. As a relief measure the construction of the Shikohabad road was taken up and an amount
of Rs. 29,665 was spent on providing relief to the famine striken people.Government
distributed an advance of Rs. 20,113 To the
In 1896,the rainfall was deficient but
by this time the district was no longer dependent on rainfall alone.Four main branches of the lower Ganga canal now protected it, nearly
fifty percent of the kharif was saved.Barnahal and Shikohabad were the only parganas in which the scarcity was at all severely
felt, and to them assistance was provided in various ways. Advances were given for the
construction of wells. Two poor-houses,one each at Mainpuri and Shikohabad,were opened and
improvement work on the Shikohabad-Batesar
road was under taken as a relief measure. The fam9ine of 1906-07 scarcely affected the
district at all and in the following year it was nearly as fortunate. In 1913 and 1918 the
rains were deficient and ceased prematurely,adversely affecting the kharif. The years from
1928 to 1932 were of general distress in this part of the country.Droughts and hail-storms
Floods-
Records of the rainfall in the district available from 1844, exhibit very notification
fluctuations. The average rainfall during the six years ending 1849-50 was only 502
mm.,but between 1860 and 1873, it has risen to 815 mm. The decade 1881-90 was decidedly
wet one and was exceedingly disastrous on account of the floods and water-logging which it
brought, and the average rainfall came to be 887 mm., exceeding 1,016 mm. in four of the
years. In 1885 in which the Nadrai aqueduct was overtaken by disaster, the Bhongaon tahsil
received no less than 1,421 mm. of rainfall. After the turn of the century the turn of the
century the Isan was in heavy floods in October-Nevember 1910. heavy rains continued for
17 hours between October 30 and November 1. Water entered the town of Mainpuri at several
places and was about a metro deep.
In the statement given below are mentioned some details about the calamities which befell this district during the last 25
years. It would be seen that floods and
water-logging have been almost an annual feature of the district variegated only by their extent and intensity.
| Year | Calamity | Area or number of villages affected | Amount spent on relief measures (in rupees) | Amount of land revenue remitted (in Rs.) |
| 1955-56 | Floods and water logging | 2,986 Hect. | - | - |
| 1956-57 | do | 14,344 Hect. | - | - |
| 1957-58 | do | 28,100 Hect. | - | - |
| 1958-59 | do | 1,40,000 Hect. | - | - |
| 1960-61 | do | 84,644 Hect. | - | - |
| Hail - Storm | 15,665 Hect. | 3,27,120 | - | |
| Fires | 39 Villages | - | - | |
| 1961-62 | Floods and water logging | 531 Villages | - | - |
| Hail - Storm | 152 Villages | 1,10,000 | 3,83,027 | |
| Fires | 39 Villages | - | - | |
| 1962-63 | Floods and water logging | 1,128 Villages | - | - |
| Forest | 198 Villages | - | - | |
| Hail - Storm | 41 Villages | - | - | |
| Fires | 23 Villages | - | - | |
| 1963-64 | Water logging,Forest,Hail - Storm and fires | 180 Villages | - | - |
| 1964-65 | Water logging, drought,Hail - Storm and fires | 1,640 Villages | - | - |
| 1965-66 | Water logging, drought,Hail - Storm and fires | 1,530 Villages | - | 225 |
| 1966-67 | Water logging, Hail - Storm, frost and fires | 1,598 Villages | - | 1,420 |
| 1967-68 | Drought,Hail - Storm and fire | 1,440 Villages |
- | - |
| 1968-69 | Water logging,Hail - Storm frost and fires | 260 Villages |
- | - |