The present study was conducted on screening of traditional scientific knowledge of agricultural practices keeping natural resource management for sustainable agricultural development under eastern Uttar Pradesh conditions for three consecutive years (2013-2015). All 10 districts of 3 administrative divisions - Gorakhpur, Basti and Azamgarh were considered for survey work. Traditional agriculture is mainly based on natural resource management and fosters sustainability. It is also known as Indigenous technical knowledge in agriculture. Indigenous technical knowledge is localized knowledge, transmitted from generation to generation and time tested by the local community to solve particular problems taking cognizance of local factors. It is based on resource conservation for the betterment of the next generations. Most of the agricultural resources are exploited by modern agricultural technologies without taking care of the adaptability of local conditions and possible consequences. The modern agricultural technologies like monoculture causing rapid erosion of crops and livestock genetic diversity, natural soil fertility and pest outbreaks, while chemical inputs causing environmental pollution and chemical hazards. Sustainable agriculture is also urgently needed to conserve agricultural resources for the next generations. Most of the agricultural resources are exploited by chemical hazards. There are millions of traditional pieces of knowledge that have been practised over the world. Most are overlapping due to their dynamic nature and are often modified by local farmers. There are numbers of indigenous technical knowledge for sustainable agriculture that have been verified and documented in India. The survey was conducted per the international institute of rural reconstruction (IIRR, 1996) and modified as accessibility. The informal interview method was used for recording. The summer ploughing, straw mulching and bidahani (beushening) for crop production, castor oil, margosa leave decoction and surka (cooked liquid gruel) for livestock production were confined to very localized traditional knowledge of scientific rationale.

Keywords: Traditional agriculture, Natural resource management, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India.