Republic of the Philippines

MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITYBUUG CAMPUS

DatuPanas, Buug, Zamboanga Sibugay
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE

Module
Subject: AGR001
Description: Introduction to Agriculture
Area: Crop Science
Topic: Overview of Agriculture, Classification of Agricultural Crops, Field of Study in
Agriculture and Food System.
Instructor: Junry R. Maato

Requirements:
Gardening and Narrative Report
1. Plant one agronomic or vegetable crops suited in your location.
2. Plot size will be 6 meters by 1.5 meters excluding canals.
3. Make video documentation and narrative report of your laboratory activity and
submit after harvesting.
4. The narrative report must be encoded and no format will be given, it is up to
you how you will present your narrative report. However, Observation, Reaction, Experiences,
Problem encountered and solution, Conclusion and Recommendation must be included in the
narrative report.

Grading system:
Major exams - 50%
Quizzes, assignments & seatwork - 10%
Laboratory exercise/field work - 30%
Project - 5%
Attendance & participation - 5%
100%
Passing Mark: 60% (3.0)
Incomplete/Conditional Grade: 50%-59% (INC) [due for completion/removal
exam]
Failing Grade: ˂ 50% (5.0)

Part I
Overview of Agriculture

Part II
Classification of Agricultural Crops

Part III
Field of Study in Agriculture

Part IV
Food System

Activity #: 1

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 Draw Agriculturalcrops in the boxes that well-known to you and label the crops.

Activity #: 2

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Questions:
1. What is Agriculture?
2. Define Agriculture as an art.
3. Define Agriculture as a science.
4. Define Agriculture as an industry.
5. What are the importance of agriculture?
6. How agriculture affects the economy of the country?

Note: Answer all this questions based on your understanding and knowledge. Please do not copy
from the topic.This is important for assessment after we will finish the FIRST PART of this
course subject.

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Overview

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Agriculture is derived from "Latin" words Ager and Cultura. Ager means land or field Cultura means
cultivation.
 the science and art of producing crops and livestock for economic purposes.
 It is also referred as the science of producing crops and livestock from the natural resources of the
earth.
 is synonymous with farming–the production of food, fodder and other industrial materials.
Agriculture may include cultivating the soil, growing and harvesting crops, and raising livestock.

- Concern with the observation and classification of knowledge concerning crops and livestock especially
the establishment of verifiable principles.

As an Art – itembraces knowledge of the way to perform the operations of the farm in a skillful manner.
The skill is categorized as;
 Physical skill: It involves the ability and capacity to carry out the operation in an efficient way
handling of farm implements, animals etc., sowing of seeds,fertilizer and pesticides application
etc.
 Mental skill: The farmer is able to take a decision based on experience, such as:
(i) time and method of ploughing,
(ii) selection of crop and cropping system to suit soil and climate,
(iii) adopting improved farm practices etc.
As a Science – it utilizes all modern technologies developed on scientific principles such as:
1. crop improvement/breeding
2. crop production
3. crop protection
4. economics & others to maximize the yield and profit.
For example:
new crops and varieties developed by hybridization,
transgenic crop varieties resistant to pests and diseases,
hybrids in each crop,
high fertilizer responsive varieties,
water management,
herbicides to control weeds,
use of bio-control agents to combat pest and diseases etc.

As the Business – as long as agriculture is the way of life of the rural population, production is ultimately
bound to consumption.
 Agriculture as a business aims at maximum net return through the management of land, labour,
water and capital, employing the knowledge of various sciences for production of food, feed,
fibre and fuel.
 Agriculture is commercialized to run as a business through mechanization.

Scope of Agriculture

 National Economy: It is the backbone of national economy because it contributes a major

portion of national income.
 Industrial Inputs: raw materials
 Food Supply: plays an important role in feeding the growing population.
 State Revenue: taxes
 Trade: exportation

The primary aim of agriculture:

 to cause the land to produce more abundantly;
 to protect it from deterioration and misuse.

History of Agriculture

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In pre-scientific agriculture, six persons could produce enough food for ten persons in years of bad
harvest; they could produce only enough for themselves.

With the development of agricultural science and application of advanced technology, now five persons
are able to produce enough food for more than 100 people.

Early knowledge of agriculture was a collection of experiences transmitted from farmer to farmer
verbally since there was no available agricultural technology.

A number of experiments were conducted by researchers/scientists at different places of the world, and
the researchers‟ findings have been summarized as under:

Van Helmont (1577-1644AD) initiated experiments pertaining to plant nutrition in a systematic way and
concluded that water is the main principle of vegetation.

JethroTull (1674-1741 AD) - conducted several experiments which were mostly on cultural practices.
- He developed seed drill and horse drawn cultivator.
- He published a book entitled „Horse hoeing husbandry’

Aurthur Young (1760-1820 AD)- conducted pot culture experiment to increase yield of crops by
applying several materials like poultry dung, nitre, gun powder and others.
- He published his work in 46 volumes as “Annals of Agriculture”.
- In 1809, soil science began with the formation of humus theory.

Scientific Research in agronomy started with the establishment of the first experiment station by J.B.
Boussingault in Alsace in 1834 and was given further impetus by Gilbert and Lawes by establishing the
famous research facility at Rothamsted (Rothamsted Experiment Station), England.

Agronomy has been a distinct and recognized branch of agricultural sciences only since about 1900.

The American Society of Agronomy was organized in 1908.

It had its origins largely in the sciences of botany, chemistry, and physics.

Research in plant nutrition and physiology was started in 18th century.

Sir Humphry Davy (1813) published his book “Elements of Agricultural Chemistry”.

Sir Johan Bennet Lawes began to experiment on the effects of manures on crops.

Justus Von Liebig (1840) - He started a truly scientific approach to farming.

His classical work on agricultural chemistry and physiology launched systematic development of
agriculture.

Lawes (1842) patented a process of treating phosphate rock to produce super phosphate and thus,
initiated the synthetic fertilizer industry.

Systematic selection of cereal varieties according to predicted yield was commenced in the 18th
century.

.Gregor Mendel (1866)n- discovered the laws of heredity and the ways to cause mutations.
- It led to Modern Plant Breeding.
- Application of genetics to develop new strains of plants and animals brought major changes in
agriculture.

Charles Darwin (1876) published the results of experiments on cross and self-fertilization in plants.

Mechanization took hold in Western Europe and the newly settled countries only after 1850.

An efficient seed drill was devised in 1830s. In1892, the first successful tractor was built in US.

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Farm implements and machinery were manufactured industrially on a large scale by 1930s.

The electricity was applied to agricultural operations due to increase economic pressure and decrease in
labour availability in 1920s.

The first successful large scale conquest of a pest by chemical means was the control of grape vine
powdery mildew in Europe in 1840s.

Dr. Paul Mullerfirst synthesized DDT in 1874.

Major advances in the study of plant diseases were recorded in 19th century.

Application of agricultural economics and scientific management of farm commenced in German

speaking countries early in the 19th century.

The US Congress set up Department of Agriculture and provided college of Agriculture in each state.
The key data in the history of agricultural research and education was published by the US in 1862.

Development of Human Culture

Stone age - The Pre-history Stone age is broken down into three periods, according to the material used
for making tools:

- The Paleolithic Period or Old/Ancient stone age (2.5 million-12,000 B.C.) - The age in
human culture was characterized by the use of rough or chipped stone tools
- Old Stone Age or Paleolithic Period is the “Age of food gatherers”.
- New Stone Age or the Neolithic Age (12000 to 4000 B.C.)) is referred to as the “Age of food
producers”.
Paleolithic and Neolithic periods
- Men concentrated on hunting and gathering of food.
- Human lived as hunter-gatherers during early period of existence, and it was a tough, day-to-day
existence.
Who wants to have a hand-to-hand confrontation with wild game?
- Women by their intrinsic insight first observed that plants come up from seeds.
- Women were the pioneers for cultivating useful plants from the wild flora.
- Bronze Age onwards as the‘Age of civilization’, started towards the end of the Neolithic Age.
Three major lifestyle groupings:
(i) Hunter gatherer
(ii) Agriculture
(iii) Technological civilization

Ice Age (Upper Paleolithic - 35,000 to 8,000 B.C.)

- Vegetable foods would have formed a minor supplement.
- A typical Australian aborigine’s catch for the day may include snakes, lizards, ant eaters, frogs
and grubs, and a wallaby or two.
- They use a poisoned dart propelled from a two-meter long bamboo blow pipe to kill some
animals.

TheBeginning of Agriculture
- Demographic pressure led to the adoption of crop cultivation and animal husbandry, leading to
modern civilization.
- As the population grew, there was an increased dependence upon plants.
- The consumer's demand within a constrained space forced the adoption of some form of
intensive agriculture.
- Other evidence for this trend is found in Peru where people domesticated camelids and guinea
pigs 2,000 years before crop cultivation.
- Agriculture have been started with the end of the last Ice Age between 15,000 and 8,000 years
ago, people living the hunter-gatherer lifestyle depended upon what was available.
- The human culture characterized by cultures moving from a food-gathering society to a food-
production society. Tools in this age often had “barbs” or hooks, or interchangeable.
- The beginning of plant cultivation also appeared. Chotanagpurplateau,central India and south of
the river Krishna are some of the various Mesolithic sites.

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Table 1. The Type of Economy and Culture During the Mesolithic Period-Bronze Age

TECHNOLOGICAL CIVILIZATION

- The development of a technological civilization is a matter of degree rather than a moment in

time.
Early Egyptian societies were technological, enabling complex engineering such as the pyramids.
- Technology has been with humans from the first use of a stone as a tool, as it is with some
chimpanzee groups today.
- With the introduction of agriculture, villages and cities became possible as people did not have to
travel in search of food. (Civilization comes from the Latin word “civitas” meaning city.)
- This sedentary way of life formed the basis for modern civilization.
- Egypt and Mesopotamia had established irrigation systems by 5,000 years ago.
- In China, people developed the iron plough by 2,600 years ago,replacing wood and stone ploughs
as a more effective tool.

Ancient people are responsible for the basic inventions such as:
 the use of fire
 the use of metals such as gold and copper bows and arrows
 the fish hook, spinning and weaving
 agriculture, animal domestication
 sail boats and ships
 wells and irrigation
 Pottery
 clothing, language
 ,arithmetic
 the alphabet and
 written communication in prehistoric times.

Agriculture began about 10,000 years ago in an area called the Fertile Crescent, in modern-day
Iraq, Syria, and Jordan.

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 The Fertile Crescent is a crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land
of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia, the Nile Valley and Nile Delta of northeast Africa, it was
also near Asia Minor or known as Anatolia.

James Henry Breasted - an Archeologist from University of Chicago popularized the term, the
Fertile Crescent.

The modern-day countries with significant territory within the Fertile Crescent are:
Iraq Kuwait Syria Lebanon Jordan
Israel Palestine Cyprus, and Egypt

Fertile Crescent
 the region is often called the cradle of civilization;
 development of some of the earliest human civilizations was seen;
 human civilizations was flourished because of the availability waterwhich considered as one of
the agricultural resources.

Fertile Crescent
Technological advances made in the region include the development of writing, glass, the wheel and the
use of irrigation.
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The early domesticated crops can be traced based on the following:

1. Cereals were already grown in Syria, 9,000 years ago.
2. Prehistoric seedless figs were discovered in the Jordan Valley, suggesting that fig trees were being
planted some 11,300 years ago.

In the cold of Europe, oats flourished alongside of wheat.

Wheat was the first basic crop and has two main forms that still exist today.
1. emmer- the first variety still grows wild in the region.
2. bread wheat - the second variety and not wild, but probably emerged from the crossing of emmer with
another wild grass. Considered as the most important crop on earth until today.
Other plants cultivated includes:
Peas Lentils Barley
Linseed Grapes

Development of Agriculture

The development of agriculture was started early civilization, when man developed an idea that man
differs from other forms of life.
1. Pastoral Age. The method of getting food by early man is through hunting-and -gathering. They
depend on what is available in nature.

2. Middle Stone Age (from 8,000 B.C.). This is the period where man: a.Use bow and arrow in hunting
wild animals for food. Learned to catch ,,drying and storing fish c. Learned to stored seeds, nuts and fruits

3. New Stone Age or Neolithic Age (food production revolution started between 6000 to 7000 BC)

During New Stone Age or Neolithic Age, food production revolution started (between 6000 to 7000
BC): discovery of relation of seed to plant was started,domestication of plants and animalsvillages began
to grow crops and man made the transition from food collection to growing of crops.

The growing of crops includes both "seed" agriculture and vegeculture.

Vegeculture - refers to vegetatively propagated plants like taro or gabi, sweet potato, yam, banana,
cassava and arrowroot.

Seed agriculture - includes mostly the cereals (rice, corn) and grain legumes (peanut, mungbean,
soyabeans, cowpeas).

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ORIGIN, DOMESTICATION AND HISTORY OF THE MAJOR CROPS OF THE WORLD

Pleistocene glacial period, or Ice Age (about 11,700 years ago). The first agriculture appears to have
developed at the closing of the last of this period.

MAETHESON et. Al (1975) stated that earliest domestication was occurred in Middle East, and it was
CUSHITES, the race of people who did not only experimented with plants as a source of food but also
attempted to culture.

CUSHITES may be regarded as first agriculturists.

During early period, man realized that in a vegetative diet, the three major components are necessary and
these are:
1. carbohydrates for energy
2. protein for muscle development
3. vitamins to augment the different types of protein and minerals.

Two plant families that can be the source of carbohydrates and protiens:
1. Graminae
2. Leguminoceae
Graminae family
 Rice
 Corn
Leguminoceae family
 mungbean
 peanuts
All subsequent civilization has been established around originating largely from these basic plants
sources.

Example:
Places Crops grown
The Americas - maize and peanut
Africa - sorghum and beans
The Middle East - wheat, barley andbeans
Asia - rice and soybeans

Major and Important Crops grown in the Philippines

1. Palay    Oryza  sativa Linn Palay/Paddy 

2. Mais  Zea mays L.  Corn/Maize 

3. Niyog Cocos nucifera L. Coconut

4. Tubo Saccharum officinarum L  Sugarcane

5. Saging Musa sapientum var.  Banana

6. Pinya Ananas comosus L Pineapple

7. Kape Coffea  arabica sp. Coffee 

8. Mangga   Mangifera indica L Mango 

9.Tabako Nicotiana tabacum Tobacco

10. Abaka Musa textiles Nee  Abaca

11. Mani Arachis  hypogaea Linn Peanut 

 2. Mongo  Vigna radiata L. Mungbean

13. Kamoteng kahoy Manihot esculenta Crantz. Cassava 

 14. Kamote    Ipomoea batatas Lam Sweet Potato 

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 15. Kamatis  Ipomoea batatas Lam Sweet Potato 

 16. Bawang  Allium sativum Linn.  Garlic 

17. Sibuyas Allium cepa Linn. Onion bulb

18. Repolyo Brassica oleracea L. (var. Capitata) Cabbage

19. Talong Solanum melongena Linn. Eggplant

20. Kalamansi Citrus madurensis Lour.  Calamansi

21. Raber  Hevea brasilliensis Mull.Ara  Rubber

How it changed the world?

- Agriculture allowed for higher population densities.
- Agriculture provided the means to create metropolitan areas.
- Farmers specialized in growing foodcrops, which allowed the rest of the population to do other
things like art, construction, and etc.
- Agriculture also provided the stepping stone towards democracy, commerce and religion
- SOME religions worshiped the sun, because it provided the light to grow the wheat to feed the
people.
- Without agriculture we wouldn’t have New York City or The Great Pyramids.

What are the Importance of Agriculture?

- Agriculture has been associated with production of essential food crops.
- Agriculture plays a critical role in the entire life of a given economy.
- The backbone of economic system of a given country.
- Provides food and raw material
- Provides employment opportunities to very large percentage of population.

Agriculture Development Scenario

Agricultural System Cultural stage  or time Average cereal yield (t/ha)

Hunting and Gathering Paleolithic(Old Stone Age) –

Shifting Agriculture Neolithic (about 7,000 B.C.) 1

Medieval Agriculture 500–1450 A.D. 1

Livestock farming 18th Century 2

Fertilizer/Pesticide in Agricu 20th Century 4
lture

Several theories as to why humans started domesticating plants and animals for sustainance.
Example:
The Oasis Theory -suggests that as the climate got drier, communities moved to oasis (a place
in a desert where there is water and thereforeplants and trees and sometimes a village or town) where they
were forced to domesticate plants and animals.

The Evolutionary/Intentionality theory:

This theory suggests that plants and humans co-evolved. This theory begins with the protection of wild
plants, which eventually led to their domestication.

The Domestication Theory: This theory says that humans first gave up their nomadic ways,
then began domesticating plants.

The Innovation and Specialization Theory:

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  A relatively recent theory (2008), which treats agriculture as a form of specialization coming
from two factors:
1. higher population densities
2. innovation

 Farming didn’t begin as a large scale operation, like many farms are today.

What is the world’s first farm?

 The first “farm” may have actually been a forest-garden.
 A forest garden is a designed in agronomic system based on trees, shrubs and perennial plants.
 These are mixed in such a way as to mimic the structure of a natural forest - the most stable and
sustainable type of ecosystem.
 Forest-garden was known as the "first farm and which basically low-maintenance gardens that
utilize several different vegetables, trees, shrubs and vines in a way that is sustainable.

Wheat was the first crop being grown and cultivated on a large scale.

Development of scientific agriculture in world

1. Francis Bacon (1561–1624 A.D.) : Found the water as nutrient of plants
1. 2. G.R. Glanber (1604–1668 A.D.) : (KNO3) as nutrient and not water
2. Jethrotull (1674–1741 A.D.) : Fine soil particle as plant nutrient
3. Priestly (1730–1799 A.D.) : Discovered the oxygen
4. Francis Home (1775 A.D.) : Water, air, salts, fire and oil from the plant nutrients
5. Charles and Francis (1780 A.D.) : Isolated and characterized Indole -3- Acetic Acid (IAA)
6. Thomas Jefferson (1793 A.D.) : Developed the mould board plough.
7. Theodore-de-Saussure : Found that plants absorb CO2 from air andrelease O2; soil supply N2
and ash to plants

Justus van Liebig (1804–1873 A.D.): A German chemist developed the concept called “Liebig’s
law of minimum”.
It states as follows.
“A deficiency or absence of the necessary constituent, all others being present, renders the soil barren
for crops for which that nutrient is needed”–It is referred as “Barrel concept”. If the barrel has stones of
different heights, the lowest one establishes the capacity of the Barrel. Nitrogen has the lowest share,
establishes the maximum capacity of the barrel.

 Accordingly, the growth factor in lowest supply (whether climatic, edaphic, genetic or biotic) sets
the capacity for yield.
 Similarly a soil deficient in nitrogen (N) can’t be made to produce well by adding more calcium
(Ca) or potassium (K) where they are already abundant.

In 1875, Michigen State University was established to provide agriculture education on college
level.

GregorMendel (1866) Father of Genetics. Through his work on pea plants, discovered the
fundamental laws of inheritance.

Charles Darwin (1876) published the results of experiments on cross and self-fertilization in plants.P

Thomas Malthus (1898) Proposed “Malthusian Theory” that the human race would run or later run
out of food for everyone in spite of the rapid advances being made in agriculture at that time,because of
limited land and yield potential of crops.

E.A. Mitsherlich (1909) proposed a theory of “Law of diminishing returns” states that,
 "The increase in any crop produce by a unit increment of a deficient factor is proportional to the
decrement of that factor from the maximum and the response is curvilinear instead of linear".
 Mitscherlich equation is dy/dx = C (A-Y)
 where,
 d – increment or change
 dy – amount of increase in yield
 dx – amount of increment of the growth factor x.
 A – Maximum possible yield
 Y – Yield obtained for the given quantity of factor ‘x’ and
 C – Proportionality constant that depends on the nature of the growth factor.

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Wilcox (1929) proposed “Inverse Yield–Nitrogen law” states that, the growth and yielding ability of any
crop plant is inversely proportional to the mean nitrogen content in the dry matter.

 In the tissues minimum percentage range, an added increment of a nutrient increases the yield but
not the nutrient percentage.
 In the poverty adjustment range, an added increment of a nutrient increases the nutrient
percentage but not the yield.
 In the luxury consumption range, added increment of nutrient have little effect of yield. But
increase the nutrient composition percentage.
 The point between poverty adjustment and luxury consumption was the “Critical percentage”.

Macy suggested that Liebig’s law holds good in the tissue minimum percentage range because there
is not enough of a nutrient to allow much plant growth.

Liebig’s law holds good again in the luxury consumption range. Because there is a large supply of
nutrient, some other nutrient becomes limiting and stops growth.

Mitscherlich’s law of diminishing returns holds during the poverty adjustment range because the
response curve is linear representing the diminishing yield to added increments.

Zimmerman and Hitchcock (1942) reported that 2,4-D could act as growth promoter at extremely
low concentration. Now 2,4-D is used to overcome the problem of seediness in Poovan banana.

In 1945, herbicide 2,4,5-T was developed.

In 1954, Gibberlic acid structure was identified by Japanese.

In 1950’s Bennet and Clark identified ABA (Abscessic acid), which inhibits plant growth and
controls shedding of plant parts.

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Activity #: 3
Write a summary of what you have understand about the topic. And, incorporate your
view about Agriculture before and after you have learned about it.

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