Crop Matching Quiz

• Agriculture is the backbone of India's economy, with a history dating back centuries.
• Plants useful for humans and animals are cultivated in farms and analyzed geographically by growth, distribution, and yield.
• Crop classification is vital for agriculture, providing a systematic way to categorize plants based on use, growth, and botanical features.
• Crop classification aids in agricultural management, crop selection, and sustainable farming.
• Roughly 100-200 of the 600+ cultivated plant species play a major role in world trade.
• Only fifteen plant species represent the most important economic crops.
• Classification of crops promotes communication, dissemination, conservation, and improvement of plants.
• Understanding crop classification is important to:
• Get acquainted with crops.
• Understand soil and water requirements
• Understand adaptability of crops
• Know the growing and climatic habits of crops
• Understand economic produce and use
• Know the growing season of the crop.
• Know conditions for plant cultivation.
• Field crops are herbaceous plants grown on a large scale, including grains, forage, sugar, oil, and fiber crops.
• Ecology is defined as the study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
• The scope of ecology includes all organisms living on Earth and their physical and chemical surroundings.
• An ecosystem is a structural and functional unit where living organisms interact with each other and their environment.
• The term "Ecosystem" was coined by A. G. Tansley in 1935.
• An ecosystem is defined as a community of lifeforms interacting with non-living components.
• Crop classifications are defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
• Crop classification is based on various criteria

Descriptive Classification of Crops

• This has five criterions

Mode of Reproduction

• Crops are classified as sexually or asexually reproducing.
• Sexual plants develop from seed or spore after union of male and female gametes (e.g., palms, ferns).
• Asexual plants reproduce vegetatively without gamete union or by apomixis.

Mode of Pollination

• Divided into three categories
• Naturally self-pollinated crops produce pollen and embryo sac in the same floral structure (e.g., rice, pulses, okra, tobacco, tomato).
• Naturally cross-pollinated crops transfer pollen from one flower to the stigma of another (e.g., corn, many grasses, avocado, grape, mango).
• Both self- and cross-pollinated crops are largely self-pollinated with some cross-pollination (e.g., cotton, sorghum).

Life Span

• Classified into three categories
• Annuals live for a short time, perpetuated by seed, and die after producing seeds (e.g., rice, corn, cowpea).
• Biennials require two growing seasons, first for vegetative growth and second for reproduction (e.g., onion, cabbage, carrot, celery, raddish).
• Perennials live indefinitely, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants with underground stems (e.g., banana, clump-forming grasses).

Growth Habit

• Herbs, vines, lianas, shrubs, and trees

Leaf Retention

• Evergreen plants and deciduous plants.
• Evergreen plants maintain leaves throughout the year, replaced by new flushes (e.g., pines, banana, papaya, palms).
• Deciduous plants shed leaves annually for extended periods (temperate region trees).

Classification Based on Ecological Adaptation or Habitat

• Geography and ecology are inter-related subjects

• Plants are classified according to ecological adaptation and habitat.

• Major classes of plants:

• Aquatic/hydrophytic plants grow in water or waterlogged soil (e.g., lotus, water lily).

• Epiphytes/epiphytic plants grow on another plant for support, not parasitic (e.g., pineapple, orchid, fern).

• Halophytes/halophytic plants grow in saline conditions (e.g., mangrove, coconut, cashew, tamarind).

• Lithophytes/lithophytic plants grow on rocks and absorb nutrients from the atmosphere (rain, decaying matter).

• Mesophytes/mesophytic plants are terrestrial plants adapted to moderate conditions (e.g., corn, commercially-grown crops).

• Parasite/parasitic plants grow on another plant and take nourishment (e.g., Cuscuta, Loranthus, Orobanche, striga).

• Saprophyte/saprophytic plants grow on decaying organic matter without green tissue (e.g., mushrooms).

• Sciophyte/sciophytic plants grow in low light intensity or shade (e.g., ferns, mosses, black pepper, coffee, gingers, orchids).

• Terrestrial/land plants grow on land and are further subclassified into various groups.

• Xerophyte/xerophytic plants are adapted to conditions with little or no water (cacti, succulents).

Agricultural Classification of Crops

• A crop is any useful plant grown for any purpose.
• Crops are classified into agronomic and horticultural divisions based on tradition, cultivation extent, and intensity.

Agronomic / Use Classification

• Agronomic crops, also called "field crops," are generally annual herbaceous plants grown under large-scale cultivation.

• Food crops are grown for harvesting any part used as food (raw or processed).

• Cash crops are grown for non-food products like fiber, fodder, alcohol, and tobacco.

• Staple crops are food crops regularly consumed and provide a major proportion of energy and nutrients (e.g., wheat, millet).

• Cereal or grain crops are annual, herbaceous grasses grown for seeds or grains (e.g., corn, millet, rice, sorghum, wheat).

• Legume or seed crops/pulses are leguminous plants producing edible, protein-rich seeds (e.g., cowpea, peanut, peas).

• Root and tuber crops have modified, swollen roots/underground stems (rich in carbohydrates; e.g., staple food, livestock feed).

• Oilseed crops are grown for seeds rich in edible and industrial oil (e.g., sunflower).

• Sugar and sweetener crops are grown to produce sugar/sweet products from stems etc.

• Beverage crops are plants whose parts are sources of drinks (e.g., coffee, tea).

• Rubber crops produce latex, processed into industrial rubber.

• Latex and gum crops yield latex processed into chewing gum and other products.

• Dye and tannin crops are sources of tannin and coloring substances used in tanning.

• Fiber crops are sources of fiber used to make textiles and ropes.

• Pasture and forage crops are essential for feeding grazing animals.

• Soilage crops are grasses cut and fed directly to animals.

• Silage crops are grasses fermented and preserved before feeding.

• Biofuel crops produce fuel, such as sugarcane, corn, coconut, castor bean, and Jatropha.

Horticultural Crops/Plants

• Horticultural crops are annual and perennial plants referred to as "garden crops" grown under intensive agriculture

  • Olericulture or vegetable crops, excluding mushrooms are grown for succulent, edible parts (roots, stems, leaves, fruits) used fresh or preserved. Vegetables are classified by edible parts as follows:
  • Leafy vegetables like amaranth, lettuce, and radish
  • Shoot vegetables like asparagus and celery
  • Pod and seed vegetables like beans and sweet corn
  • Root and bulb vegetables like carrot, potato, onion, and radish
  • Flower vegetables like rose and sunflower
  • Fruit vegetables like eggplant, tomato, peppers, and melons

• Vegetables are classified by families as follows:

  • Cole Crops: Cruciferae or Brassicaceae (Mustard) family with edible leaves or heads (cabbage, cauliflower, mustard, radish).
  • Cucurbits: Gourd and Squash family grown for fruits, young shoots, and flowers (bottle gourd, cucumber, melons)
  • Legumes: Leguminosae or Fabaceae (Bean) family with seeds rich in protein (kidney beans, pea, pole sitao).
  • Lilies: Liliaceae (lily) family. Examples: Asparagus, garlic and onion.
  • Solanaceous Crops: Solanaceae family. Examples: eggplant, tomato, peppers and white potato
  • Mushrooms: Edible fungi with an upright stalk and umbrella-shaped cap.
  • Fruit Crops and Nuts: Grown for their edible fruits; nuts are fruits high in fat and a hard outer covering (cashew)
    • Spice Crops: Grown for aromatic substances for flavoring, fragrance (black pepper, garlic, ginger, hot pepper, onion, turmeric).

• Essential-oil crops: Grown for volatile, aromatic substances (eucalyptus, peppermint).

• Gardening is a part of agriculture.

• Ornamental Crops: Grown for decoration or landscaping (flowers or foliage).

• Floriculture: Valued for attractive flowers and foliage.

• Lawn or turf grasses: Grown for aesthetic use in landscapes and outdoor recreation (Bermuda grass).

Ornamental Plants Usage

• Ornamental plants are further classified by usage:

  • Cut flowers are grown for attractive flowers with long shelf life (anthurium).
  • Cut foliage is grown for attractive foliage for decoration (ferns).
  • Edge crops are short plants that serve as garden barriers or highlights (Mondo grass, dwarf cucharita).
  • Ground covers suppress weed growth and prevent soil erosion in landscapes.
  • Hedges are plants at pathway edges pruned to a certain height.
  • Accents are plants that immediately attract attention and become focal points in landscapes.
  • Specimens are plants with unique features, desired as collector's items.
  • Screens are plants serving as barriers against sun, to conceal parts of the landscape, or obstruct view.
  • Shade crops are trees, shrubs, vines to provide shade.
  • Avenue trees are trees/shrubs grown beside roads and streets.
  • Industrials crops are plants grown to provide materials for industrial processing and production of non-food products, including drugs
  • Biocidal crops contain organic compounds with pesticidal or antimicrobial properties.

Further Crop Types Include:

• Main crop: the main source of revenue for a grower
• Nursery crop: Plants temporarily grown in a nursery for later use.
• Intercrop: Crops planted simultaneously with the main crop.
• Filler Crop: A crop which is planted to fill a gap
• Relay crop: the crop which is planted after the flowering period or harvest of the main crop in relay cropping
• Companion crop: Crops planted close to the main crop to help with growth and space
• Cover crop: Crops to control soil erosion and regulate soil temperature
• Green manure crop: Leguminous crops plowed to increase organic matter
• Trap crop or decoy crop: Plants to attract insect pests away from the main crop
• Insect pest repellent crops: Plants with strong aromas to repel insect pests.
• Natural enemies attractant crops: Plants which attract natural predator insects
• Rain fed: crops growing with only rain water
• Irrigated crops: receiving water from man made sources

Classification Based on Root System

• Tap root system has a main root reaching deep into the soil (e.g., tur, grape, cotton.)
• Adventitious/fiber rooted crops have shallow fibrous roots (e.g., cereal crops, wheat, rice).

Classification Based on Economic Importance

• A cash crop earns money (e.g., sugarcane, cotton).
• A food crop raises food grain for the population or provide fodder for cattle (e.g., jowar, wheat, rice).

Classification Based on Number of Cotyledons

• Monocots (monocotyledons) have one cotyledon (e.g., cereals, millets).
• Dicots (dicotyledonous) have two cotyledons (e.g., legumes, pulses).

Classification Based on Photosynthesis

• C3 plants have high photorespiration and lower water use efficiency (e.g., rice, soybeans, wheat, barley, cotton, potato).
• C4 plants have carbon fixation with phosphoenol pyruvic acid carboxylase (e.g., sorghum, maize, napier grass, sesame).
• CAM plants open stomata at night to fix CO2 as malice acid, which reduces transpiration (e.g., pineapple, sisal, agave).

Classification Based on Length of Photoperiod

• Short-day plants initiate flowers when days are short (less than ten hours; e.g., rice, jowar, green gram, black gram).
• Long-day plants require long days (more than ten hours; e.g., wheat, barley).
• Day-neutral plants are not influenced by photoperiod (e.g., cotton, sunflower).

Classification Based on Seasons

• Kharif crops grow during June-July to September-October with warm, wet weather, and shorter days (e.g., rice, maize, castor, groundnut).
• Rabi crops grow during October-November to January-February with cold, dry weather, and longer days (e.g., wheat, mustard, barley, oats, potato).
• Summer crops grow during February-March to May-June with warm, dry weather, and longer days (e.g., black gram, green gram, sesame, cowpea).

Classification Based on Climatic Condition

• Examples of each
• Tropical crops: Coconut, sugarcane
• Sub-tropical crops: Rice, cotton
• Temperate crops: Wheat, barley
• Polar crop: Pines, pasture grasses

Conclusion

• The cultivation of crops depends on mechanization, technological advances, farm size, market stability, and capital availability.
• Crop classification is essential for organizing and understanding crop diversity and analyzing agriculture geographically.
• Categorizing crops by their use, growth, and botanical features helps farmers, researchers, and policymakers make informed decisions for sustainable agriculture and food security.

Test your knowledge of crop families, uses, characteristics, and classifications. Match crops to their categories, climate, and other defining attributes.