Fundamentals

of Crop Science
Crop Science 1
Lecture 01
 Lecture 0
After the course, the students are expected to be
able to:
identify and categorize crops based on their types, uses, importance,
origin and geographic distribution,
understand the physiological processes in crop production
understand the basic elements of crop production
understand the socioeconomic and political issues in crop production in
relation to agricultural sustainability
 What is Agriculture?
agricultūra (Latin)
ager- a field, cultūra- cultivation
Agriculture: the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops
and raising livestock (National Geographic).
:the cultivation of useful plants and livestock in a
systematic manner.

PRODUCTION-------PROVISION of AGRICULTURAL SUPPLIES and

SERVICES------PROCESSING-----MARKETING----DISTRIBUTION
Origin of Agriculture
Agriculture started around 10-12,000 years ago
(The Origin & History of Agriculture, 2014).
11,500 years ago (National Geographic)
Agriculture started independently in different
areas. These locations are: China, India, Central
Asia, Near East, Mediterranean, Ethiopia,
Mesoamerica, South America specifically
Anders of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Brazil,
and Paraguay.
Origin of Agriculture
Theories on why agriculture started:

Agriculture as a divine gift

Agriculture as a discovery
Agriculture as a result of stress (due to an increase in
population and depletion of resources)
Agriculture as an extension of gatherin
Origin of Agriculture
Plant characteristics that were important during
that time:
Short life cycle
Survival ability
Abundant in many different areas
Origin of Agriculture
Elements needed to start agriculture:
Plants
Man
Environment
History of Agriculture
Hunting and Gathering
Humans lived in small bands of several families. They obtained
food by hunting animals and gathering edible plants.

Cultivation and Domestication

After some time, the nomadic tribes chose to grow their food
after realizing that plants grow from their trash heaps or compost
(Human Ecology Ziser Lecture Notes, 2009).
History of Agriculture
Cultivation and Domestication
Cultivation: encouragement of growth
:plants that are often cultivated: cereals and
legumes.
Domestication: defined as evolution under human
management (Gremillion, 2014)
:selection of particularly useful plants by man
History of Agriculture
Cereal and legume crops based on location
America: maize and peanuts
Africa: sorghum and beans
Near East: wheat, barley and beans
Asia: rice and soybeans
Origin of some economically
important crops
Origin of some economically
important crops
Plants endemic in the Philippines:
Abaca (Musa textilis)
Pili (Canarium ovatum)
Kapa-kapa (Medinella magnifica)
Lubi-lubi (Ficus psuedopalma)
Duhat (Syzigium cumuni)
Jade vine (Strongylodon macrobotrys)
Mussaenda ‘Kahoy dalaga’ ( Mussaenda sp)
Waling-waling (Vanda sanderiana)
thank you
AGRI31-Lecture 01