The document provides a comprehensive overview of indigenous knowledge systems in Sri Lankan agriculture, detailing fundamental features such as climate, soil, and agro-biodiversity. It discusses the impact of the Green Revolution on traditional agricultural systems and highlights various indigenous practices in soil management and irrigation. Additionally, it presents demographic, economic, and environmental data relevant to Sri Lanka's agriculture, with a focus on the importance of ecosystem protection and sustainable land management.

1. Indigenous Knowledge Systems
• Course Code: MS 5208 (02:30/00)
• Saturday 3.30 pm – 5.30 pm
• P.B. Dharmasena
• 0777 - 613234, 0717 – 613234
• dharmasenapb@ymail.com , dharmasenapb@gmail.com
• Links to publications:
https://independent.academia.edu/PunchiBandageDharmasena
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Punchi_Bandage_Dharmasena/contributions
http://www.slideshare.net/DharmasenaPb
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_PFqwl0OqsrxH1wTm_jZeg

2. Indigenous Knowledge Systems
2. Fundamental features of Sri Lankan Agriculture; climate, Soil, Genetic resources, agro
biodiversity (2 hrs)
3. History and the culture of Sri Lankan agriculture sector development (1 hr)
4. Green revolution and its impact on Sri Lankan traditional agricultural system (biodiversity
deterioration, inorganic substances for pest and disease controlling, development of hybrid
varieties etc.) (1hr)
5. Indigenous soil management practices (2hrs)
6. Indigenous Irrigation systems (cascade system, water harvesting concepts) (2hrs)
9. Traditional practices for, weather forecasting, plant nutrient supplementing, pest and
disease control and indigenous agricultural machines and tools (2hrs)
13. Cultural dimensions of Agricultural rituals in Sri Lanka (1 hr)
14. Climate change and Indigenous Agricultural knowledge in Sri Lanka(1 hr)
Total: 12 hours)
List of lectures by P.B. Dharmasena

3. Agriculture sector
• Food crops
• Rice (40%)
• Other crops (22%) Fruits,
Vegetables, Field crops
• Plantation crops (38%)
• Tea, Rubber, Coconut,
Sugarcane, Oil palm
• Ornamental crops
• Livestock
• Fisheries
• Forestry
Lesson 2 - Fundamental features of Sri Lankan Agriculture;
climate, Soil, Genetic resources, Agro biodiversity
FARMER
CONSUMER

4. South Asian Region
 Quarter of the World Population
 Accounts for 3% of global gross domestic product (GDP)
 1.9% of world exports
 1.7% of world foreign direct investment
 Home for 40% of the world poor with
 29.5% population living on less than a dollar a day
This is the region where Sri Lanka is located.
GDP is the final value of the goods and services produced within the
geographic boundaries of a country during a specified period of time,
normally a year. GDP growth rate is an important indicator of the
economic performance of a country.
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, British Indian Ocean Territory,
India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

5. Sri Lanka in a Nutshell
Demographics
Home for 21.5 mn people (0.27% of the World population)
• The population density is 341 per Km2
• The total land area is 62,710 Km2
• 18.4 % of the population is urban
• The median age in Sri Lanka is 34.0 years.
• Life expectancy 77.56 years
Human Development index (2018)
0.782 ranked 72 among 189 countries
.625 (1990) increased to 0.782 (2018)
Poverty Head count reduced from 15.3% in 2006 to 4.1% in
2016
Unemployment – 4.18% (2020)
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical tool used to measure a
country's overall achievement in its social and economic dimensions.

6. Sri Lanka in a Nutshell cont’d….
Economic
GDP 2020 – US$ 82.0 bn
GDP per capita US$ 4065, a middle income economy
GDP growth rate 3.1% (2017), 3.7% (2019), 1.3%
(2020)
Composition of GDP
Agriculture 7.8% from GDP (2017)
Industry 30.5% (2017)
Services 61.7% (est. 2017)
Export revenue – US$ 11.08 bn. (2017)
6
Poverty headcount line - Percentage of the population living
below the national poverty line

7. How climate and soil affect agricultural production ?

8. Earth’s Resources
• A resource is something we can use
to benefit our living.
• The Earth has many resources that
benefit us.
• We call them "Natural Resources."
• Some of the resources we get from
the Earth are:
• water,
• air,
• sunlight,
• soil,
• plants,
• animals,
• rocks and
• minerals,
• fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)

9. Two Broad Categories of Resources
• Natural resources that can be replaced and
reused by nature are termed renewable.
 Air (wind)
 Fresh water
 Soil
 Living organisms (trees)
 Sunlight
• Natural resources that cannot be replaced are
termed nonrenewable.
 Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)
 Diamonds and other precious gems and
minerals
 Types of metals and ores

10. Earth’s Resources Distribution - Water
0.03%

11. Earth’s Resources Distribution - Land
20.6%
10.3%
2.4%

12. Basic factors affecting agricultural production

13. Three topographic zones:
• The central highlands
(South-central part;
750-2500 m)
• The plains (125-750
m),
• The coastal belt (0-
125m)
• Sixteen principal rivers
(longer than 100 km)
• 12 rivers carry about 75 %
of the mean river discharge
of the country
• The longest river:
Mahaweli Ganga (335 km).
CLIMATE

14. Weather vs. Climate
Weather and Climate
are not the same
• Weather - The
conditions of the
atmosphere at a
particular place and
time.
• Climate - Average
conditions of a
certain place over a
long period of time

15. Climatic Seasons in Sri Lanka
• First Inter-Monsoon (FIM) – March & April
• Southwest Monsoon (SWM)- May – September
• Second Inter-Monsoon (SIM)- October &
November
• Northeast Monsoon (NEM) – December - February

16. Climatic zones of Sri Lanka
Rainfall
below 1,750 mm - Dry zone
1,750 - 2,500 mm - Inter mediate zone
above 2,500 mm - Wet zone

17. Agro-Ecological Zones of Sri Lanka
• 24 agro-ecological zones
(RF & Altitude),
combined with effects of
soil, land form and land
use (agricultural
activities)
• 49 sub-zones
• WZ – 16
• IZ – 20
• DZ - 13
DRY
ZONE
INTERMEDIATE
ZONE
WET
ZONE

18. Sub zoning
• Each AER is denoted by a 4-character code consisting of letters and a number; (eg:.DL1a)
• Three major rainfall zones are indicated by the first upper case letter of the code (W, I
and D);
• Three categories of elevation are noted by the second upper case letter of the code (L, M
and U);
• The numerical character in the third place of the code represents the degree of wetness
on the scale of 1  5 where 1 represents the most favorable
• The lower case letter in the fourth place indicates a sub-region as determined by rainfall
and other physical environmental factors. The degree of wetness decreases from a  f .

19. WL1a
WL1b
WL2a
WL2b
WL3
WM1a
WM1b
WM2a
WM2b
WM3a
WM3b
WU1
WU2a
WU2b
WU3
WET ZONE CLIMATE

20. IL1a
IL1b
IL1c
IL2
IL3
IM1a
IM1b
IM1c
IM2a
IM2b
IM3a
IM3b
IM3c
IU1
IU2
IU3a
IU3b
IU3c
IU3d
IU3e
INTERMEDIATE ZONE CLIMATE

21. DL1a
DL1b
DL1c
DL1d
DL1e
DL1f
DL2&DL3
DL2a
DL2b
DL3
DL3&DL4
DL4
DL5
DRY ZONE CLIMATE

22. Effect of soil factors on agricultural production

23. Reddish Brown Earths & Low Humic Gley
Red Yellow Podzolic
Alluvial soils
Red & Yellow Latasols
Soil Map of Sri Lanka
Non-Calcic Brown soils

24. General crops for some soils in Sri Lanka
1. Reddish Brown Earth – Maize / Grain legumes
2. Low Humic Gley – Paddy
3. Red-Yellow Podzolic – Plantation crops
4. Non Calcic Brown – Big onion / Red onion
5. Red Yellow Latasols – Cashew
6. Sandy Regosols – Coconut
7. Alluvial – Paddy
8. Grumusols – Paddy
9. Immature Brown Loam – Home garden

25. RBE (Rhodustalfs)
 Largest extent of the land in the dry zone
 Characteristic reddish brown colour
 Series: Medawachchiya, Aluthwewa, Anamaduwa,
Ranorawa, Thadarathu, Siyambalanduwa, Ranna,
Nonagama, Kotawehera mankada, Walawe, Ulhitiya
 Soil catenary sequence
Well Drained Imperfectly Drained Poorly Drained
RBE
LHG

26. Characteristics of RBE Soils
Physical Properties
Soil Depth - Moderate (60 cm – 150 cm)
Texture - Sandy clay loam
Structure - Strong sub angular blocky
Infiltration - 3 – 9 cm in 4 hours
Available Moisture 130 – 170 mm/m
Consistency - Hard when dry
Slightly friable when moist
Very sticky when wet

27. RBE (Rhodustalfs)

28. Low Humic Gley Soils (Tropaqualfs)
 Third most extensive soil group in Sri Lanka
 Located at the foot slopes of the undulating landscape
 Characterized by the wetness or gleying through the
profile
 Availability of calcite concretions
Physical Properties
Texture - Sandy clay to clay
Structure - Sub angular blocky to massive
WHC - Fairly good

29. Low Humic Gley Soils (Tropaqualfs)

30. Red – Yellow Podzolic soils (Tropudult)
 Second most extensive soil group in Sri Lanka
 Modal soil of the wet zone of Sri Lanka
 Mostly known as Lateritic soils
 Majority found in the hilly part of the country
 Colour varies from strong brown to yellowish brown
 Series: Minuwangoda, Galigamuwa, Pallegoda, Homagama,
Boralu, Agalawatta, Dodangoda, malaboda, Mattakele, Horton,
Nuwara Eliya, Maskeliya, Weddagala

31. Red – Yellow Podzolic soils
• Deeply developed soil
profile
• Higher structural stability
and better response to
management
• Moderate CEC
• Low pH
• Prone to erosion due to
steep topography (in the mid
and up country)

33. Land Resource
• The total land area of Sri Lanka
besides the area occupied by inland
waters is only 6.44 million ha.
• The land–man ratio is low, which is
only 0.37 ha/person,
• Only about 2.5 million ha (nearly 39
%) is available for further settlements
and agricultural production.
• Thus, the per capita extent of
croplands is as small as 0.14 ha.
• The major land use sectors in the
country are agriculture (paddy, tea,
rubber, coconut and other perennials,
non-perennial crops), close canopy
and sparse forests, home gardens and
others

34. Tea 3.4% Rubber 1.8% Coconut 6.0 %
Other perennials
11.0%
Paddy
8.8 %
Other non-
perennials
1.5 %
Closed canopy
natural forests
22.4 %
Sparse forests
7.2 %
Forest plantations
1.4 %
Other land
uses 21.5%
Home gardens
14.8 %
Use of Land Resource

35. Manifestations of Land Degradation in Sri Lanka
• Heavy soil losses;
• High sediment yields;
• Soil fertility decline and
reduction in crop yields;
• Marginalization of
agricultural land;
• Salinization;
• Land slides and
• Deforestation and
forest degradation.

36. Land degradation & Sustainable Land Management
• Land degradation is the depletion of its physical, chemical and biological
productivity
• To maintain the long-term productivity of land sustainable land
management is required
• Sustainable land management means ‘use of the land to meet human
needs, while ensuring long-term production potential and maintaining
ecological functions’
• Here the land includes soil, water, flora and fauna
• Therefore, the land means the whole ecosystem in more practical way
• That means ‘land degradation is long-term depletion of the production
potential and function of the ecosystem’
• So, sustainable land management is maintenance of production potential
and functions of the ecosystem

37. Ecosystems in Sri Lanka
• Forest and related ecosystems -
tropical forest types, riverine dry
forest, grasslands etc.
• Inland wetland ecosystems - flood
plains, swamps, reservoirs, wet villus
• Coastal and marine ecosystems -
mangroves, salt marshes, sand
dunes and beaches, lagoons and
estuaries, coral reefs
• Agricultural ecosystems - paddy land,
fruit cultivations, small crop holdings
or other field crops, vegetables,
export crop plantations, home
gardens, chena lands

38. Why we need to protect our ecosystems?
1. Supporting services
(that help maintain the
conditions for life on
earth):
• Soil formation and
retention;
• Nutrient cycling;
• Primary production;
pollination;
• Seed dispersal;
• Production of O2;
• Provision of habitats.

39. Why we need to protect our ecosystems?
2. Regulatory services (i.e.
benefits from regulation of
ecosystem processes):
• Air quality maintenance;
• Climate and water regulation;
• Flood and erosion control;
• Water purification;
• Waste treatment;
• Detoxification;
• Human disease control;
• Biological control of agricultural
and livestock pests and disease;
• Storm protection.

40. Why we need to protect our ecosystems?
3. Provisioning processes (i.e.
products obtained from
ecosystems):
• Food, fruit, vegetables;
• Wood fuel;
• Fibre;
• Bio-chemicals;
• Natural medicines;
• Genetic resources;
• Ornamental resources;
• Freshwater;
• Minerals,
• Sand and other non-living
resources.

41. Why we need to protect our ecosystems?
4. Cultural services (i.e. non-
material benefits obtained from
ecosystems):
• Cultural diversity and identify;
• Spiritual and religious values;
• Knowledge systems;
• Educational and aesthetic
values;
• Social relations;
• Sense of place;
• Cultural heritage;
• Recreation and ecotourism;
• Communal;
• Symbolic.

43. Plant genetic resource of Sri Lanka
• About 7 500 plant species constitute the flora of Sri Lanka.
• Flowering plants constituted about 3 360 species, belonged
to 1 350 genera and 200 families.
• The flora contains by about 830 endemic species.
• The low-country wet zone and mountainous areas in
Southwest harbour 90 percent of endemic species.
• Over 600 species have been used as medicinal plants.
• A number of cultivated food plants have their wild relatives:
• Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jackfruit),
• A. Incisus (Breadfruit),
• Citrus,
• Mangifera zeylanica (etamba), and Yams.
• Black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon have their wild relatives in the
wet zone forests.
• Wild species of rice (Oryza
rufipogon), Rhynchosia, Dunbaria, Viscosa
• Wild relatives of Cajanus Cajan) – pegionpea

44. Biodiversity
• Wide range of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems which carry a high
biodiversity.
• One of the global biodiversity hotspots in the Asia–Pacific region
• The ecosystem diversity extends from forest ecosystems to coastal and
marine ecosystems.
• Terrestrial ecosystems include tropical lowland rain forests, where 90
% of the endemic woody plants and 75 % of the endemic animals are
found

45. Biodiversity
• In terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems: fresh water crabs (98 %),
amphibians (85 %) and land snails (83 %) show the highest
endemism.
• The conserved biodiversity would provide a wide range of ecosystem
services :
• proving fresh water, improving the climate, reducing soil erosion,
regulating surface runoff and providing bio-resources

46. Agro-biodiversity

52. Managing Agro-ecosystem Biodiversity