Veritas College of Irosin

San Julian, Irosin, Sorsogon

CROP SCIENCE 1: PRINCIPLES OF FIELD CROP PRODUCTION

Module 1- Identification and Classification of Field Crops

Overview

Module 1 focuses about identification and classification of field crops. This module defines Agriculture and its
development. Definition and scope of Crop Science is also discussed. By studying the underlying principles in
Crop Science, the student acquires knowledge and skills on crop management and may apply the same to
specific situations in the future.

Introduction

If one would grow a field crop, he has to be able to identify the crop. Classification reduces the big
group of field crops to smaller groups and allows convenience in identifying them and relating them to one
another.

There are many ways to classify field crops, and any system depends on how the classification is to be
used. Field crops may be classified on the basis of natural relationships such as similarity of parts. This system
is called botanical classification, is the most precise and most universally used of the different classification
methods.

From the agronomic standpoint, field crops may be classified on the basis of economic use, although
some field crops have different uses. Field crops are classified as grain or cereal, fiber, pulse (legume for
seed), forage, root, tuber, oil, rubber, drug, and alcohol crops. Special- purpose classifications of field
crops include cover, catch, soiling, silage, green manure and trap crops.

Other classification systems are those that are based on growth duration, structure and form, climatic
adaptation, water management, and others.

Objectives

At the end of the module, the students will be able to:

1. State the scientific names of at least 20 field crops.

2. Group field crops according to the agronomic classification system.

Readings

Definitions of Agriculture

 Agriculture is the systematic raising of useful plants and livestock under the management of man.
 It is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops, and raising livestock. It includes the
preparation of plant and animal products for people to use and their distribution to markets.

Development of Agriculture

1. Pastoral stage (Hunting/ gathering)

- Primitive man satisfied his daily needs directly from nature by hunting wild animals, gathering wild
plants and fishing.

Meaning and Scope of Crop Science

Definitions of Terms:

Science. Systematically accumulated and tested knowledge.

Plants. Any organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae, typically lacking of active locomotion or obvious
nervous system of sensory organs and has photosynthetic ability.
Crop. Domesticated/ cultivated plants grown for profit. It is usually connotes a group or population of cultivated
plants.

 Two groups of science practitioners may be identified: the theoretical, academic or basic scientist and
the applied scientist. The basic scientist brings the saturated solution of knowledge to the point of
crystallization while the applied scientist brings the idea to a practical achievement.

Crop Science. It is concerned with the observation and classification of knowledge concerning economically
cultivated crops and the establishment of verifiable principles regarding their growth and development for the
purpose of deriving the optimum benefit from them.

- The study of the world’s major feed, turf, and fiber crops and their environment
- Pursue research in such areas as organic crop production systems, biotechnology, plant breeding, etc.

CROP SCIENCE IS DIVIDED INTO AREAS AS FOLLOWS:

Agronomy- came from the Greek word “agros” meaning field and “nomos” meaning to manage.

- Thus, agronomy deals with the principles and practices of managing field crops and soils.

Horticulture- came from the Latin words “hortus,” which means “a garden” and “colere,” which means “to
cultivate.”

- The concept of gardens and plants within an enclosure is distinct from the culture of field crops.
- Also implies more intensive crop cultivation, as contrasted from the extensive cultivation of field crops.

CLASSIFICATION OF CROPS

- The most important and commonly used method of classifying plants is the botanical method, which is
based on descent or the phylogenetic relationship of plants. Approximately more than 300, 000 plant
species have already been identified. Taxonomy, or the study of plant classification, is dynamic and it
changes as new knowledge becomes available. The four divisions of phyla of the plant kingdom
identified by Eichler in 1883 have since been expanded by modern taxonomists to 28 divisions.
However, the original four divisions are still in use because of their simplicity, adaptability, and
practicality to practical crop science.
- The four divisions are:
1. Thallophyta- algae, bacteria and fungi
2. Bryophyta- small green plants without true roots or flowers such as the mosses.
3. Pteridophyta- green plants with vascular tissue, true roots, and usually distinct leaves. This group
includes the psilophytes, club mosees, horsetails and ferns.
4. Spermatophyte- all seed- bearing plants that bear flowers. Majority of the economically important
plants are included in this division. The division is subdivided into 2 groups, namely:
a. Gymnosperms- all plants with naked seeds like the pine trees.
b. Angiosperms- plants with seed enclosed in a vessel; further divided into 2 classes;
1) Monocotyledon- with one cotyledon
2) Dicotyledon- with two cotyledons
An example of a botanical classification of a dent corn is as follows:

Classification unit

Kingdom Plantae

Division Spermatophyta

Subdivision Angiospermae

Class Monocotyledonae

Order Graminales

Family Graminaea

Genus Zea

Species mays

Type ‘Indentata’

Scientific name Zea mays L.

Classification of Agricultural Crops

a. Botanical System of Classification

1. Identify agricultural crops by its common name, scientific name and botanical family
 Systematics or taxonomy is an organized system for descriptive classification of plants while
nomenclature is a system of assigning names to plants.
 Carolus Linnaeus- (1707- 1778), a Swedish physician was credited for his work by giving two-
part scientific names to organisms. His system of naming organisms is called the binomial
system of nomenclature.
 Carl von Linne, better known as Carolus Linnaeus, was the originator of this binomial system
of plant nomenclature. The publication of his book entitled Genera Plantarum led to the modern
taxonomy or classification of plants.
 It means that each plant has a two- word name, Genus and Species.
 The first or genus name is followed by a descriptive or species names, this combination is
known as scientific name, which uses as the universal name of a given plant. Usually the third
name is placed after the species to give authority who named the plant.

The first letter of family names is always capitalized and more often written entirely in capital letters. Most
families names end with – aceae attached to a genus name; e.g. Rosaceae, Magnoliaceae, Liliaceae, etc.

List of known plant families:

COMPOSITEA (ASTERACEAE) LABIATAE (LAMIACEAE)

CRUCIFERAE (BRASSICACEAE) LEGUMINOSEA (FABACEAE)

CUCURBITACEAE (CUCURBITS) PALMAE (ARECACEAE)

GRAMINAE (POACEAE) UMBELLIFERAE (APIACEAE)

GUTTIFERAE (CLUSIACEAE)

Scientific names

 In writing scientific names, the first letter of the name of a kingdom, class, order, family or genus is
capitalized; the name of species is not capitalized, even though derived from the proper name.
Scientific names are italicized or underlined. Species is always with an s, whether singular or plural.
 Note: italics on genus and species.

In crop science, plants are classified in many ways; either based on the manner of culture (agronomic or
horticultural), on their use (food, fiber, beverage oil, medicinal), on their climatic requirement (temperate, sub-
temperate, tropical), on the length of their life cycle (annuals, biennials, perennials), on their habitat (aquatic,
terrestrial, aerial, arctic.), on their photoperiodic response (long- day, short- day, day- neutral) among others.

Examples of scientific classification of plants

Plantae Kingdom Plantae

Monocotyledonae Class Dicotyledonae
Graminales Order Fabales
Gramineae Family Fabaceae
Oryza Genus Glycine
Sativa Species max
Oryza sativa Scientific name Glycine max

 The Latin language is used in naming plants.

 Sometimes, the names given reflect specific plant attributes or use of the plant.
 For example: some specific epithets indicate color e.g. alba (white), variegata (variegated), rubra (red),
others are vulgaris (common), esculentus (edible), sativus (cultivated)

b. Functional System of Classification

 The functional system of classification is the method of classifying crops according to agronomic
crops (filed crops) and horticultural crops.

Agronomic Crops

- Are annual herbaceous plants grown in cultivated fields under more or less extensive (large- scale)
system of culture (Kipps, et al, 1976)

Horticultural Crops

- Are crops that are grown under a system of intensive culture in relatively small areas (Kipps, et al,
a976)
- They are the plants of high enough value to warrant a large input of capital, lanbor, and technology per
unit area of land (Janick, 1972)

At present, the following are used as basis in determining whether a crop is field crop or a horticultural crop:

o Purpose for which the crop is grown

o Type of culture
o General custom of the country (Bautista et al, 1994)
 This classification system is the basis for division of Crop Science into two branchers, namely
Agronomy and Horticulture.

A. CLASSIFICATION OF AGRONOMIC CROPS

 Agronomic crops are grouped or classified based on the manner by which they are utilized.
 Agronomic crops with multiple uses can be a member of several groups in this classification system

Cereal or Grain crops

- Belonging to the grass family (i.e. members of the family Graminae or Poaceae) that are grown for their
mature edible seeds which are usually used as staples.
- The word “cereal” is derived from the name of the most important grain deity, the Roman Goddess
Ceres
There are eight cereals in the world: rice, sorghum, wheat, corn, barley, oat, rye, and millets. The first four are
grown in the country

Oryza sativa Sorghum bicolor Triticum aestivum Zea mays

Grain legumes or Pulses

- Are member of the family Leguminosae or Fabaceae which are consumed in the dry season.
- The legumes are rich sources of protein. The plants possess the ability to fix nitrogen from the air in
symbiotic association with Rhizobium bacteria.
- The major legumes in the Philippines are mungbean, peanut, soybeans.

Vigna radiate Arachis hypogaea Glycine max

Fiber crops

- Annual crop plants from which fiber can be obtained.

- The important commercial fiber crops in the Philippines are cotton, ramie, jute and kenaf.

Gossypium hirsutum Boemeria nivea Chorchorus capsularis Hibiscus cannabinus

Root and Tuber crops

- Are crops grown for their roots or stems that are modified for food storage
- The major species of root crops are cassava, sweet potato and yams while potato is a tuber crop

Manihut esculenta Ipomoea batatas Dioscorea alata Solanum tuberosum

Forage crops

- Are crops used as animal feed such as legumes and grasses for animal fodder
- The important grass species are: napier or elephant grass, guinea grass, paragrass, pangola grass and
alabang X.

Example of grasses:

Pennisetum purpureum Megathyrsus maximus Brachiaria mutica

Digitaria eriantha Dichanthium aristatum

- Among the important legume forages are : centro, ipil- ipil, Townsville stylo, siratro
Examples of legumes:

Centrocema pubescens Leucaena leucocephala

 Stylosanthes humilis Macroptilium atropurpureum

Oil crops
- Are annual crops grown for the oil that can be extracted from them
- Examples are sunflower, sesame, corn, peanut, and soybean.

Helianthus anuus Sesanum indicum

Zea mays Arachis hypogaea

Sugar crops
- Are annual crops grown for their sugar content
- Examples are sugarcane, sugar beet, corn, and sweet sorghum

Saccharum officinarum Beta vulgaris Sorghum bicolor

Alcohol crops
- Are crops that are rich in starch or sugar, which can be produced alcohol
- Examples are cassava and sugarcane
Stimulant and drug crops
- Are crops grown that contain substances that serve as stimulant or medicine. An example s tobacco

Nicotiana tabacum

Fiber crops, oil crops, sugar crops, alcohol crops, and stimulant and drug crops are sometimes placed in a
group called annual industrial crops.

Special- purpose Classification Field Crops

- Green- manure crops(these are mainly legumes) are crops grown and then turned under for soil
improvement, such as increasing soil fertility and organic matter content.
- Examples aresesbania, indigo

Sesbania bispinosa Indigofera tinctoria

Cover crops
- Are crops grown to cover the soil and protect it from erosion. They can also reduce leaching of certain
nutrients such as potassium.
- When turned under, they become green manure crops
- Example is centrosema

Centrosema pubescens

Catch crops or Emergency crops

- Are substitute crops planted when it is too late to plant the regular crop or short- seasoned crops grown
immediately after the failure of the main crop to utilize residual resources.
- Examples are pechay and mustard
 Brassica rapa Brassica juncea

Soilage crop or Soiling crops

- Are forage crops that are cut green and fed green to animals in the practice of zero grazing
Silage crops
- Are forage crops that are cut and preserved in a succulent condition by partial fermentation

Trap crops
- Are crops planted to attract certain insect pests
- Examples: when okra is planted between upland cotton, it is preferred by cotton stainer, thus reducing
damage to the cotton. Okra in this example is a trap crop.

Cotton stainer (Dysdercus suturellus)

Abelmoschus esculentus Gossypium hirsutum

CONTRIBUTION OF RELATED SCIENCES TO CROP PRODUCTION

Some of the scientific fields and areas of knowledge related to crop production

1. Crop breeding and genetics are concerned with the improvement of the inherent or heritable
properties of crops.
2. Botany (plant morpho- anatomy, plant physiology, plant systematics and plant ecology) is concerned
with plant structures, processes, and relationship among plants as well as plant relationship with their
environment.
3. Soil sciences is the study of the nature and properties of soils; fundamental principles upon which
proper soil management is based.
4. Plant pathology and entomology is concerned with pathogens, insect pests, and weeds; their nature
as well as their control.
5. Agricultural engineering is concerned with the farm structures, farm machinery, farm power, water
management as well as disposal.
 6. Agricultural economics is concerned with the economics of production and marketing of agricultural
products.
7. Agricultural meteorology is concerned with the study of weather and climate. The study of
meteorology enables one to do weather forecasting and thus help farmers minimize losses due to bad
weather.
The basic knowledge and understanding of the various related discipline are essential to implement
appropriate crop management packages for increasing crop productivity.

-Cyril Diana C. Judin

Crop Science 1- Instructor

References:

Crop Science 100 (Laboratory Manual), CLSU,2014

UP Los Baños, 2011

ACTIVITY 1. AGRONOMIC CLASSIFICATION OF CROPS

Classify the following crops by selecting the group to which they belong.

Take note: One crop may belong to one or more groups. Write only the letter(s) of your answer.

A. Cereal or grain B. Legume for seed C. Fiber D. Oil E. Forage F. Root/ tuber
G. Sugar H. Alcohol I. Drug/ Stimulant.

__________________1. Cassava __________________14. Sugarcane

__________________2. Corn __________________15. SUnflower

__________________3. Cotton __________________16. Wheat

__________________4. Chick pea __________________17. Field beans

__________________5. Grain sorghum __________________18. Paragrass

__________________6. Ipil- ipil __________________19. Ubi

__________________7. Jute __________________20. Kenaf

__________________8. Sesame __________________21. Castor bean

__________________9. Napier __________________22. Potato

__________________10. Peanut __________________23. Siratro

__________________11. Ramie __________________24. Tobacco

__________________12. Rice __________________25. Sweet potato

__________________13. Soybean

ACTIVITY 2. Go over the list of important field crops below. You should be able to give the scientific names
and family names of the listed crops.

Common Name Scientific Name Family Name

Arrowroot ___________________ ____________________

Alabang X ___________________ ____________________

Cassava ___________________ ____________________

Chick pea ___________________ ____________________

Cowpea ___________________ ____________________

Field bean ___________________ ____________________

Grain sorghum ___________________ ____________________

Ipil- ipil ___________________ ____________________

Maize (corn) ___________________ ____________________

Mungbean ___________________ ____________________

Napier grass ___________________ ____________________

Peanut ___________________ ____________________

Potato ___________________ ____________________

Rice ___________________ ____________________

Common Name Scientific Name Family Name

Sesame ___________________ ____________________

Soybean ___________________ ____________________

Sugarcane ___________________ ____________________

Sunflower ___________________ ____________________

Sweet potato ___________________ ____________________

Taro (gabi) ___________________ ____________________