Due to mindless exploitation of nature and its resources, the soil of the planet earth has been degrading dangerously

As per the ancient Indian knowledge, everything living or non-living in the universe is made up of five basic elements, known as panch-tatva: Water, air, space, fire and earth (soil). Earth is one of the basic elements of the panch-tatva. The manifested form of the earth is soil. It is a medium over which plants, animals, humans and other life-forms take birth and finally decay and merge. By nourishing soil, we can nourish mother earth.

Ideally, a soil component is made up of the topsoil, subsoil and parent material which is the bedrock of that soil. Soil is a mixture of broken rocks and minerals, living organisms, and decaying organic matter called humus. When we talk of soil, we talk about topsoil where various life forms are manifested. Topsoil is the upper, outermost layer of soil, usually the top 5-10 inches (13-25 cm). It is composed of organic matter and micro-organisms. This topsoil is where billions of microbes, insects and other creatures work unnoticed to give life-force to the mother earth. As per one estimate, one human fist of soil contains microbes’ more than the whole human population!

As per Vrikshayurveda, the ancient Indian treatise on plants, soil is a live universe and is micro-cosmos. It is equated with a mother who is going to deliver a baby (plant). Saplings (embryo) are seeded in the earth-womb. So, we hail planet earth as our mother. The health and well-being of the whole plant depends on the fertility, productivity and strength of the soil. Soil supplies nutrients for plants, grasses and trees. It acts as a water filter, provides habitat for billions of micro-organisms, contributing to biodiversity; and supplies most of the antibiotics used to fight diseases.