Invitation to join Vrikshayurveda (Ancient Indian Plant Science) Deepdive
Dear Friends,
I am excited to kickstart the first 2026 Krishi.System Townhall with Dr. AV Balasubramanian happening today at 2 PM IST.
In conversations around regenerative agriculture, It has become quite a cliche to talk about integrating the knowledge of traditional and contemporary sciences. But what exactly does that mean? Is it possible to harmonize both of these systems with divergent world-views and taxonomies?
Today, thanks to India’s ruling party BJP’s focus on Indian Knowledge Systems, there are plenty of conversations around Vrikshayurveda. I see several agricultural research institutions talk about it. But how are we applying Vrikshayurveda to address today's problems?
Vrikshayurveda (Ayurveda for plants) is not merely a collection of "grandma's recipes" but a structured theoretical framework based on Tridosha and Panchamahabhuta.
Center for Indian Knowledge Systems has validated these ancient texts by testing them in modern fields. How do we productize these experiments and take them to the market in the biological ecosystem?
In Western agronomy, we diagnose N-P-K deficiency. In Vrikshayurveda, we diagnose Vata-Pitta-Kapha imbalance in a plant. Can we train computer vision models to recognize Vata-Pitta-Kapha imbalances? Can we create a 'data dictionary' that translates Sanskrit diagnostic markers into visual symptoms a camera can see?
We are seeing a boom in bio-stimulants in the VC world. However, Vrikshayurveda inputs (like fermented concoctions) have a short shelf-life and high variability. How do we build infrastructure that can improve shelf-life and increase adoption among farmers? We will explore these and more.
Krishi.System community patrons and paid subscribers can join the townhall and join the live Q&A at the end.
We plan to do this in two parts. Today’s conversation will focus on understanding Indian view of science and in the second part, we will go deeper into the nuances of Vrikshayurveda.
Paid subscribers can join the link below. If you cannot join in, no worries. The recording will be shared.