Plant and Crop Production

• Maryjane P. Herrera is an Assistant Professor IV.

The Plant in Crop Production

• The plant is the most important element of crop production.
• A crop is a group of plants.

General Classification of Crops

• Plants classify according to mode of reproduction and growth duration or life cycle.

Mode of Reproduction

• Sexual reproduction involves meiosis and fertilization to produce a viable embryo in the seed.
• Gametes are the reproductive cells of the plant.
• The ovary is the female part.
• Pollen is the male part.
• Asexual reproduction occurs by vegetative means without meiosis or gamete union.

Growth Duration/Life Cycle

• Annuals complete their life cycle in one cropping season or less, such as rice, tomato, squash, and corn.
• Biennials complete their life cycle in two growing seasons, with a dormant period between growth stages, such as sugar beet, bulb onion, and carrots.
• Perennials repeat their life cycle indefinitely, including shrubs, vines (grapes), and trees (orange).

Stem Type/Growth Habit

• Herbs have non-woody, succulent stems and self-supporting stems such as corn.
• Vines are succulent or woody plants without self-supporting stems.
• Shrubs have several main branches, no trunk, and rarely grow higher than 5m.
• Trees have a single central, woody stem and are usually taller than shrubs at their peak height.

Stem Growth Form

• Erect plants can stand upright without physical support.
• Decumbent plants grow extremely inclined with raised tips, such as peanuts.
• Procumbent or creeping plants have stems that grow horizontally in the ground.
• Climbing plants have modified vegetative parts (stems or leaves) to wrap around physical support like a trellis.

Adaption of Crops

• Cool season or temperate crops like wheat prefer monthly temperatures between 15 to 18°C for growth.
• Warm season or tropical crops like corn and rice need warm temperatures between 18 to 27°C during the growing season.

Response of crops to Light

• Sciophytes prefer shady conditions; some orchids are an example.
• Heliophytes thrive in direct sunlight and include peanuts, corn, and rice.

Plant Habitat

• Terrestrial plants grow on land rather than at sea or in the air.
• Aquatic plants live or grow on water, for example, lilies.
• Halophytes can grow in salty soils, such as mangrove trees.
• Epiphytes grow on live trees or dead trunks, not depending on them for water and nutrients; orchids are an example.

Crop Classification Types

• Botanical classification is hierarchical from Plantae to Species.
• Functional classification methods classify crops into:
• Agronomic crops (field crops).
• Horticultural Crops (garden crops-fruits, vegetables and ornamentals).

Botanical Groups of Plants

• Pure Strain or Clon is the ultimate crop unit.
• Variety is a group of strains and clones.
• Species is a group of varieties.
• Genus is a group of species.
• Family is a group of genera.
• Order is a group of families.
• Class is a group of orders.
• Division is a group of classes.
• The Plant Kingdom is a group of divisions.

Botanical Classification

• Taxonomy is an organized system for descriptive classification.
• Nomenclature is a system for assigning names to plants
• The International Board of Plant Nomenclature makes the rules.
• Rules are in accordance with the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN).

Carolus Linneaus

• Carolus Linneaus (1707-1778), a Swedish physician, created a two-part scientific naming system (binomial nomenclature).
• Each plant has a two-word scientific name comprising the genus and species.

Sample Plant Classification

• Kingdom: Plantae
• Division: Spermatophyta
• Subdivision: Angiospermae
• Class:
• Monocotyledonae (Oryza)
• Diccotyledonae (Glycine)
• Order:
• Graminales (Oryza)
• Fabales (Glycine)
• Family:
• Gramineae (Oryza)
• Fabaceae (Glycine)
• Genus:
• Oryza
• Glycine
• Species:
• Sativa (Oryza)
• Max (Glycine)
• Scientific Name:
• Oryza sativa
• Glycine max
• Variety:
• NSIC Rc 222 (Oryza)
• NSIC Sy6 (Glycine)

Scientific Names

• Scientific names are universal names for a specific plant despite common names being different across locations.
• Modern Scientific names format is Genus, species, and surname of the person who named it.
• Latin is the language used for scientific names.
• Genus and species names must be Capitalized with underlining for genus and two underlines under species name
• Plant names can reflect specific plant attributes or uses:
• Color: Alba-white, variegata-variegated, rubra-red.
• vulgaris (common) example: Prunella vulgaris.
• esculentus (edible) example: Abelmoschus esculentus.
• sativus/sativa/sativum (cultivated) example: Oryza sativa.

Functional System

• Agronomic Crops or Field Crops: annual herbaceous plants in "extensive” or large scale culture.
• Horticultural Crops: annual and perennial species under "intensive” culture requiring special care.

Agronomic Crop Classification

• Cereal or grain crops are grass family plants used as staples, such as rice and corn.
• Grain legumes or pulses consumed in dry seed form are rich in protein and fix nitrogen from the air, including mungbean, peanut, and soybean.
• Fiber crops are sources of fiber, like jute and cotton.
• Root and tuber crops include cassava and sweet potato.
• Forage legumes and grasses are for animal fodder, such as napier, para grass, and guinea grass.
• Crops for industrial processing include sugarcane and tobacco.

Special Purpose Field Crop Classification

• Soiling Crop or zero grazing is cut green and fed to livestock.
• Cover crops maintain plant cover to prevent soil erosion and leaching; when turned under, they improve soil condition.
• Catch/emergency crops are planted where other crops have failed and are quick-growing.
• Silage is forage preserved in a succulent condition by partial fermentation.
• Green manure is a crop grown and plowed under to improve soil.
• Companion crops are sown and harvested separately, benefiting either or both crops, e.g., cereals and legumes.
• Trap crops protect the main crop from pests by attracting and destroying the pest itself,such as rice and sweet potato.
• Soilage crops are grasses grown, cut, and fed directly to animals.

Horticultural Crop Classification

• Pomological or Fruit crops include:
• Tree fruits: borne on trees example mangoes and durian.
• Nut Fruits: borne on trees enclosed by a stony structure examples Pili, Cashew, and talisay.
• Small fruits: not borne on trees, on herbaceous plants examples pineapple, strawberry, and vine plants like grapes.

Vegetables Classification

• Leafy vegetables are crops grown mainly for their leaves, like Malungay, pechay, kangkong, and saluyot.
• Cole Crops or Crucifers belong to the crucifer family of cabbage, cauliflower, and Chinese cabbage.
• Root, Tuber, Bulb Crops have swollen underground stems or roots, like sweet potato, onion, radish, and potato.
• Stems are crops grown mainly for their stems, like celery, and asparagus.
• Flowers include squash and katuray.
• Fruit includes okra, tomato, and eggplant.
• Legumes are crops belonging to the legume family.
• Solanaceous Crops are crops belonging to the solanaceous or nightshade family whose economically useful part are the fruits as tomato, eggplant, and sweetpepper.
• Cucurbits belong to the Cucurbit family, such as cucumber, squash, watermelon, and ampalaya.
• Other types are: sweet corn, okra and tree vegetables.

Ornamentals Classification

• Cut Flower or Florist Crops are plants grown for their flowers, like daisies, roses, and chrysanthemums.
• Cut Foliage or Florist Greens are crops with foliage that provides background in flower arrangements.
• Flowering Pot Plants are grown in containers for their beautiful flowers.
• Landscape plants are used for landscaping purposes.
• Foliage Plants are grown for attractive foliage.
• Turf is used for lawns or greens, examples grasses for golf courses.

Plantation Crop Classification

• Oil Crops are grown for their oil content, such as coconut, African oil palm, and castor bean.
• Fiber crops are grown for fibers used for textiles and paper tiles.
• Beverage Crops are used for brewing non-alcoholic drinks, such as cacao, tea, and coffee.
• Spices include black pepper and vanilla.
• Aromatic or essential oil-producing crops includes lemon grass, ilang-ilang, and patchouli.
• Latexes and resins is from sap example rubber and resins, natural organic compound used for varnish, paints, inks,medicines.
• Medicinal and biocidal crops provide pharmaceutical and insecticidal compounds, such as Lagundi, yerba buena, and sambong.

Agronomic vs. Horticulture Crops