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Classification of Crops CSB 211 2018

Crops can be classified in several ways including by their basic utility (food vs non-food), botanical taxonomy, parts harvested, life cycle, and purpose. Botanical classification groups crops scientifically into kingdoms, divisions, classes, orders, families, genera, and species based on morphological and genetic characteristics. Crops are also classified as annual, biennial, or perennial based on their life cycle, and by the plant part harvested such as roots, leaves, seeds, or fruits. Special purpose classifications include green manure, cash, cover, and forage crops.

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308 views23 pages

Classification of Crops CSB 211 2018

Crops can be classified in several ways including by their basic utility (food vs non-food), botanical taxonomy, parts harvested, life cycle, and purpose. Botanical classification groups crops scientifically into kingdoms, divisions, classes, orders, families, genera, and species based on morphological and genetic characteristics. Crops are also classified as annual, biennial, or perennial based on their life cycle, and by the plant part harvested such as roots, leaves, seeds, or fruits. Special purpose classifications include green manure, cash, cover, and forage crops.

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Thabo Chuchu
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CLASSIFICATION OF CROPS

• What is a crop
• The verbal form of the concepts of cutting, mowing,
grazing, lopping off branches and so on.
• Material is harvested, whether it be a plant or an
animal. e.g the forester may speak of a timber crop,
livestock farmer may speak of a calf crop or lamb crop
etc.
WHAT IS A CROP?
• The material that is harvested is referred as a crop. It
may be living material like maize cob or inert material
like cotton fuzz or even dead grass (for mulching ) or
bedding) etc.
• In most cases, crop specifies, certain types of plants
that are grown on purpose for a later harvest.
How are crops classified?

• Basic utility
1. Useful crops or non-useful plants e.g Weeds / Maize
2. Food crops or non-food crops e.g cowpeas, sorghum,
swiss chard (morogo) / eaten but cotton, Tobacco,
sisal are none food crops.
3. Traditional crops or non-traditional crops e.g
sorghum and tswana cowpeas are traditional crops
but asparagus and parsley are not traditional crops.
3. Botanical classification (Plant
Taxonomy)
• The above classifications have their merits and
demerits and also not quite scientific.
• There are more scientific way of classification based
on Botanical Classification and this is more preferred.
• This is the scientific method of classifying and naming
plants.
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
• It is based on information collected from a variety of
sources of information such as morphological,
anatomical, physiological, cytology and evolution
characteristic.
• Similarity in a flower plays a significant role in plant
taxonomy because it is a very stable organ across
different environments.
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
• This classification group crops into Kingdom, which
divides plants into Nonvascular (lower plants) and
vascular (higher plants). Higher plants may bear seeds
or may be seedless.
• There is enormous variation in plants some are
naturally occurring and maintained and are call
botanical varieties (landraces) while others are man-
made (through plant breeding)and are called cultivars.
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
• The most important division in crop production is the
Spermatophyta (magnoliophyta) which consists of
plants that bear true seeds.
• All the economically important plants used for food,
feed and fiber belong to this group. The division is
further separated into classes
• classes, families, genera, species and cultivar. An
example of botanical classification of tomato crop is as
follows:
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
• Tomato
• DIVISION : Spermatophyta (bears seeds)
• CLASS : Angiospermae (seeds enclosed)
• SUBCLASS : Dicotyledoonae (two cotyledons)
• FAMILY : Solanaceae
• GENUS : Lycoperrsicon
• SPECIES : esculentum
• CULTIVAR : Moneymaker
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
•  Another example of this classification is maize
• DIVISION : Spermatophyta (bears seeds)
• CLASS : Angiospermae (seeds enclosed)
• SUBCLASS : Monocotyledoonae (one cotyledon)
• FAMILY : Poaceae
• FAMILY : PoaceaeGENUS: Zea
• SPECIES : mays
• SPECIES : mays CULTIVAR: Kalahari early pear
Rules of writing scientific names
• The genus name may be abbreviated and can also
stand alone but the species cannot stand alone e.g
Zea mays; Zea, Z. mays but not mays
• The cultivar name may be included in the scientific
name e.g. Lycopersicon esculantum Mill cv. Big red.
( cultiva = cv)
Rules of writing scientific names
• They must be underlined or written in italics ( because
the names are non-English)
• Genus start with an uppercase letter, and the species
with the lowercase letter. Species may be shortened
to sp. Or ssp.
• The scientist who first named the plant adds his/her
initial to the binary name e.g. Glycine max L. indicates
that Linnaeus first named the plant.
• If revised later, the person responsible is identified
after the L.e.g Glycine max L. Merr for Merrill
SEED IDENTIFICATION
• The main difference in seeds is the Dicot and Monocot
seed
• Legume seeds are dicots whilst grass grains are
monocots
• Legume seed can be identified on the basis of
morphology by the testa (seed coat) color, texture,
shape and size
• Color – This characteristic is reliable in fresh seed, as
seed ages the color deteriorates
• Texture – the seed coat appearance, it may be
SEED IDENTIFICATION
• Shape – This is the most stable and reliable
identification, it is defined by three elements. Notch –
hilum, maybe shallow or deep; beak and the groove –
the indentation that leads away from the hilum down
the side of the seed
• Size not stable highly influenced by environment
( seeds shrivel under adverse weather) Seed size is
determined by weight ( 100 seed weight or the
number of seed per gram.
SEED IDENTIFICATION
• Grass grain seed is identified on color, endosperm
type, shape and size
• Color of kernel or caryopsis is found in the pericarp
• Type of endosperm sugary, starchy or flinty, maybe
soft or hard etc
• Texture – dull, shiny glossy
• Shape – slender, long, medium, short grain rice,
pointed
• Brush – Tiny bristles or brush
Other crop classification methodes
• 4. Exotic crops or indigenous crops e.g water melon
and maraka/makgomane are crops indigenous to
Botswana but cabbage, and sweet orange are exotic
• 5. Nutritional base (indicative of the type of nutrient
or major constituent diet). e.g legume (providing
mainly protein), maize (starch crops,
• 6. Taste (sweet, sour, spicy etc) e.g peppers, onion,
garlic etc are classified as spices.
Classification based on size/ area/duration
• 7. Field crops: Field crops are grown on much larger
scale e.g cereals, legumes etc.
• 8. Arable crops: Requirement is a well-prepared
seedbed i.e. clean
• 9. Garden crops or Horticultural crops or garden crops
• 10. Plantation crops or Permanent crops (long lasting)
• 11. Orchard crops (Fruit orchard crops grown singly in
orchards such as mangoes, oranges or mixed)
Cont. Classification of crops

• 12. The life cycle can be used to classify crops e.g


Annual crops- completes its life cycle in a single
growing
season
• Biennial on the other hand completes its life cycle in
two growing seasons
• Perennials – have indefinite life period, they do not
die after reproduction but continue to grow
indefinitely from year to year.
13. Classification using parts
• Flower crop as in cauliflower, broccoli etc
• Fruit crops i.e. citrus, papaya, avocado etc
• Seed crop - i.e. maize, cowpeas, bambara groundnut
etc
• Root crops e.g. beetroot, sweetpotato, carrots etc
• Leaf crops swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage etc
• Stem crops e.g. sugarcane, asparagus etc
14. Special purpose crops classification
• Green manuring - crops planted in the soil and ploughed
under whilst still green to provide manuring i.e legumes
• Catch crop - crops that fill in when a regular crop has failed
i.e wheat in pandamatenga usually short season crops
(millet)
• Cash crop - grown for sale i.e tobacco, cotton
• Cover crop - crop planted to protect the land from soil
erosion
• Soiling - crop cut and fed green to animals such as legumes,
grasses, kale, maize etc
14. Special purpose crops classification
• Silage crop - crop that is preserved succulent by
partial fermentation in a tight container/receptacle
• Companion crop - sometimes called the ‘nurse crop’,
companion crop are grown with alfalfa or red clover in
order to secure returns in the first year of new
seeding
• Trap crop - planted to attract certain insects, parasites
or diseases and are therefore ploughed under
15. Agronomic classification
• Crops maybe classified on the basis of use, principal
product or edible part consumed
• Cereal or grain crops: Grasses grown for their edible
seeds (maize)
• Oil crops : produce edible oil e.g sunflower
• Root crops: these are enlarged roots e.g sweet
potato, carrots
15. Agronomic classification
• Stem crops e.g. sugarcane, asparagus etc stem is use
• Fiber crops: fiber is collected e.g cotton, flax, hemp,
kernaf,
• Leaf crops swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage etc where the
leaf is used
• Tuber crops: these are short thickened undergrouLeaf
crops swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage etc
15. Agronomic classification
• Stem /root crops e.g potato, cassava etc
• Forage crops: use of vegetable matter fresh or preserved,
utilized as feed for animals these include foraging grasses,
foraging legume, crucifers etc
• Drug crops: tobacco, mint, pyrethrum
• Sugar crops: sugar-beet and sugarcane grown for their sweet
juice
• Beverage crops like coffee, tea, cocoa etc i.e. are
nonalcoholic

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