Agro 21

(Fundamentals of Crop
Production)
Prerequisite: Biology 11

Berta C. Ratilla, Ph.D.

Department of Agronomy, VSU, Visca, Baybay
City, Leyte
Topical Outline

1. Course description
2. Objectives of the course
3. Coverage
4. Introduction
a) Definition Agriculture vs. Agronomy
b) The Art, Science & Business of Crop Production
5. Production Activities
6. Management
7. Importance of Crop Production & Management
Course Description

• Principles and Practices in farm crop

production with emphasis on:
- Cereal grains
- Grain Legumes,
- Root Crops,
- Fiber Crops, and
- Other Farm Crops
 Cereals

Corn (Zea mays) Rice (Oryza sativa)

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor)

 Legumes

Mungbean (Vigna radiata) Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan)

Peanut (Arachis Cowpea (Vigna

hypogea) Soybean (Glycine max)
unguiculata)
Root crops

Cassava (Manihot esculenta)

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) Yam (Dioscorea alata)

Objectives of the course:

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

• Discuss/appreciate the concept of crop production
and its importance
• Classify and differentiate agronomic crops & their
uses from other crops
• Explain the principles and practices of producing
field crops and
• Develop skills in the culture and management of
growing field crops
 COVERAGE
Field crops:
• Classification, Adaptation
• Distribution, Improvement
• Growth and Development
• Seed Production and Certification
• Principles & Practices of Crop
Management:
• Land Preparation to Harvesting and Post
Harvest Processing
• Develop working knowledge and skills
in the culture and management of
growing crops

“ Primarily to meet the needs of

Agriculture students”
At the end of the course:

Students may have:

- gain knowledge & skills in producing field crops
- appreciate the culture & management of crops
“ will help in taking higher agronomy and
related courses”

• to become a teacher, researcher, an extension worker,

farm manager, a designer of tools and equipment, data
analyst, or private practitioner
 Introduction:
Agriculture –art, science and business of
raising crops and animals
-is “life”
A. Concept of Agronomy
Agronomy – branch of agriculture dealing
with the art , science and business of
producing and managing field crops.
Greek Words:
“Agros” – field
“nomos” – to manage
Field crops- include all cultivated
herbaceous plants grown under a relatively
extensive system of culture

Important sources of:

• Food
• Feed
• Fiber (clothing)
• Shelter
Importance of crop production

Man depends on crops for:

food
feed
• Fiber Crops

pineapple abaca salago

Fiber (clothing)

shelter

Medicinal plants
• Agronomy is not just concern of:
-producing food crops;
-creating healthier food &
-managing environmental impacts
in crop production
• Crop Production Activities:
• Seed procurement
• Management of crop
(e.g. planting, fertilizer application,
pest management, irrigation ,etc.)
• Harvesting to
• Primary processing
(e.g. rice= threshing, drying, cleaning,
milling, marketing & storage)
corn = dehusking, drying, shelling, drying,
cleaning, storage/marketing
 Rice Corn Mungbean
threshing dehusking drying

blowing drying threshing

drying shelling blowing

cleaning drying drying

milling cleaning cleaning

Storage & Storage & Storage &

marketing marketing marketing
 B. The Art and Science of Crop
Production
1. Agronomy as an Art

Art requires knowledge and skills acquired by

–

experience, study or observation

- conscious use of skills & creative imagination

in the production of aesthetic objects
appreciative and responsive to
beautiful things
Ex. Ornamental horticulture (floral
arts or in landscaping)
Essential Features/Distinctions
that Crop Production as an art
remain the same with time:
• Gathering & preserving seeds of desired species
(seed selection, breeding & storage)

•
Land preparation
Weed control
Planting method/planting at right
time

Broadcast seeded Seeding in furrows

Emerged seeds of dry-seeded rice before flooding

Ridges for planting

Furrow planting
•Protecting crops from their enemies

Borer larvae
Use trichocards
Features: continued…..(end of C002 lec
1-2 Th )

• Gathering, processing & storing of products

2. Agronomy as a science

• Science – a process of systematic building of

knowledge & understanding natural
events or observable facts;

- an inquiry for a systematized &

growing body of knowledge
- not based on guess-work or trial
and error method
Science of Agronomy – built upon

• Coordination of knowledge (interdisciplinary

approach) or application of basic sciences of
chemistry, mathematics, physics & from applied
sciences like: physiology, meteorology, anatomy,
plant breeding, etc.

• through observations & experiments on crop

production
Agronomy as a Business:

• Plants grown not only to satisfy needs but to realize

profit

Guiding principle of production:

Maximize output relative to production input
( to be profitable or resource use efficient)
 Agronomy as a Business:
-use scientific knowledge so that plants are
produced at the time when demand & best
prices are obtained

Ex. Production of off-season tomatoes/

fruits/flowers; or disease-resistant crops
• Agro 21 -C007 Online Class until Nov. 29, 2021
• Monday, September 13 · 7:00 – 8:00am
• Google Meet joining info
• Video call link: https://meet.google.com/rhq-rfsi-
qbb
 Plant vs. Crop
• Plant – belongs to kingdom Plantae, lacks
active locomotion/nervous system or
sensory organs but has photosynthetic
ability

• Crop – domesticated/cultivated plants

grown for profit
- a group or community of cultivated
plants
Cultivated Plants

• products of human achievement &

discovery
• As a result of:
=introduction, breeding, selection and
multiplication
Origin, Domestication and History of
the Major Crops of the World
2 plant families dominantly domesticated in
earliest time:

• Graminae (Poaceae) - grasses

• Leguminoseae (Fabaceae) - legumes
Ex. America – maize and peanuts
Africa – sorghum and beans
Middle East – wheat, barley and beans
Asia- rice and soybeans
Management

• certain degree of control employed on

environment and crop

• Crop production is the management of :

a) crop,
b) soil and
c) climate
 Examples:

• Diversified cropping –
growing of several
crops in a given piece
of land
• Intercropping –
growing of two
or more crops
in same piece
of land at the
same time

Corn + mungbean
Intercropping
• Crop Rotation – growing
different species of
crops
in sequence after each
harvest

Sample Crop Rotation Plan

Mulching
- covering soil surface with plant
residues
 Establishing hedgerows/natural buffer strips

Hedgerows minimize soil erosion Natural buffer strips

Approaches and Methods of Crop
Management
1. Changing environmental factors
- sunlight, rainfall, temperature,
RH, wind, etc.

Ex. Irrigation – during drought period

windbreaks –protect crops from strong wind
practice cropping systems – growing 2 or
more crops in combination
• Establish windbreaks
8-9TTh

2. Properhandling of crops to
minimize harmful effects of
environmental factors

Ex. Timing of planting

rice–rainy season;
watermelon–dry season
“plant at the right time”
(photosensitive species)
• How to manage birds attacking rice?
- nets
- scare crews/karay karay
- synchronous planting ( farmers should plant at
the same time)
GOAL OF CROP PRODUCTION

• Maximum yield of desired crop products

without permanently harming or losing
essential natural resources
• One must understand and manage
properly the factors that affect crop
growth and yield
Factors affecting crop production

Biotic factors Abiotic/

Environmental factors

• Climate
• Man
- temperature; rainfall;
• Organism sunlight, wind, relative
• Insects humidity)
• Soil/Edaphic
• Vertebrates
• Variety
• Yield = f (G+E+GxE)

Where: G – genetic make up

E - environment
 Agricultural Crop Production
Weather: Soil:
Rainfall, texture,
temperature, solar salinity, fertility, soil
radiation moisture

Land use
Plant
area under
Crops/
varieties, Crop agriculture and
other activities
GxE Production

Socio-economic: Production
labor, machinery, technology:
capital, markets, costs Agronomic inputs: irrigated, rainfed,
and returns seeds, irrigation, mechanized/
fertilizers, biocides organic
How to succeed in crop production?

• Understand how crops grow and develop

(growth habit and maturity, etc.)
• Understand how the factors (biotic and
environmental) affect crop growth &
development
• Understand how each factor can be modified,
manipulated or managed for best results
Modifying, manipulating &
managing various factors
Examples:
• Planting distance – dry season (narrow);
wet season (wider)

• Number of seeds per hill – increase or

decrease depending on Recommended
planting density
• Plant population per hectare
-depending on crop recommendation
Ex. Corn spacing – 75 cm x 25 cm
rice - 20 cm x 20 cm
mungbean - 10-15 plants/Lm
peanut - 50 cm x 20 cm at 1
seed/hill
• Date of planting
 Causes of World Food Crisis
• Bad weather (due to changing climate)
• Natural Calamities
• Population growth
• Urbanization and industrialization
• Government Policies
• Energy Crisis
1.)Bad weather

a)Heavy rainfall – floods

- washing off of crop plants
- destroying farmlands,
animals, properties
- soil erosion
flooding
Road and property destruction
Social unrest

Sichuan Province, China

Bangladesh floods
Typhoon
Typhoon Yolanda (Nov. 8, 2013)

Typhoon Luis (Sept. 15, 2014)

 Landslides

Guinsaugon, St. Bernard, Southern Leyte (February 17,

2006
Bad weather

Drought (El Nino- for 29 consecutive days without

rain)
-insufficient water for human
& irrigation purposes
- lack of animal feeds & food
- inability to use agricultural
area
– cause fires
Drought
Continuous heavy rainfall or drought
would affect:

• Farm operations like land preparation,

planting, harvesting
• Processing e.g. sun drying
• Storage
• Marketing
2.) Natural Calamities

• Volcanic eruptions
-ashes/smokes pollute the air
-lahar destroys farmlands/pollutes
water
• Fires – burns farmlands, forests, other
properties
• Pests- insect pests e.g. locust, borers
- vertebrate pests e.g. rats, birds, stray
animals
 Tonimbuk, Australia

February 7, 2009

Photo: AP
Locust attack

lahar
3.) Population Growth Worldwide

• Population growth increasing geometrically while

food production, arithmetically (gradual)

• Population growth rate = 2.3%

• Food production rate = 1.3%
(FAO, 2010)
Projected population in the Philippines and the
World by 2050
Year Philippines World
Population (Million) Growth Rate (%) Population (Billion)
1965 33.32 3.15 3.15
1992 66.00 2.42 5.50
2005 76.35 2.24 6.25
2007 88.71 1.99
2008 90.46 1.97
2009 92.23 1.96
2010 94.01 1.94
2011 95.80 1.90 >6.9
2012 103.78 1.87 7.06
2021 111.30 1.10 7.90
2050 153.91 9.10
China as the most populous – 1.350M
Philippines
 Population growth

% increase

Food production

time
Table __. Comparison of population growth, poverty level,
technology generation and dissemination in developed and
developing countries (Rimando et.al. 2011)
Parameters Developed Developing
Poverty level low high
Population low high
growth
Technology high low
generation
Managing high low
technology
Knowledge gap low high
• Area: 29,517,500 M hectares = 30M
hectares
• Land: Man Ratio = 0.32 ha per person

3-4 babies/min
4384 babies/day
1.6 M babies/year
4.) Urbanization & Industrialization
Conversion of agricultural lands to:
➢residential (subdivision)
➢commercial (business establishments,
warehouses, rice mills, etc)
➢recreational (golf courses, racing tracks)
➢industrial areas (processing plants, factories)
➢infrastructure (roads)
5.Government Policies

Reduction of rice and corn production areas in

favor of growing non-food crops like jatropha,
orchids, and export crops like mango, cashew,
and other fruits.
Government Policies

• mandated and implemented thru govt.

programs such as Grain Production
Enhancement Program (GPEP) which reduced
the area devoted to rice and corn by half
(before);
• Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund
(RCEF) – to improve rice farmers’
competitiveness and income amidst trade
liberalization by lifting quantitative restrictions
of rice imports & replaced with tariffs (now)
6.) Energy crisis
• Energy crisis - a bottleneck or price rise in
the supply of energy resources to an
economy
• Peak oil - the point in time when
maximum rate of global petroleum
extraction is reached, after which the
rate of production enters terminal
decline
• Crop production is energy dependent
Ex. Utilize fuel/oil in the manufacture of:
- farm machineries,
- production inputs (fertilizer &
pesticides)
- in production activities (land
preparation, cultivation)
- post production activities (hauling,
milling, cooking, packaging, storage,
transport, etc.)
▪Humanity consumes oil in one
year what earth stored in 9
million years ( Rodolfo,2007).

▪petroleum oil getting scarce

▪food is no longer cheap,

becomes unaffordable to many
 Some measures to increase food
production: 8-9Th
1. Increase self-sufficiency in food
2. Carry out crop production plans and projects
3. Increase carry over stock of crops
4. Cooperate with other countries to increase food
resources
 1. Increase self-sufficiency in food

a. Create more incentives to growers to produce more

How?
-Increase prices of agricultural products
-Create effective marketing scheme
-Provide adequate incentives to farmers
to increase their production

b. To have backyard gardening

2. Carry out crop production plans &
projects
How?
• Restore or increase agricultural lands
• Set up price support systems for products to
motivate farmers to produce more
• Mechanize to speed up farm operations
(Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act-
AFMA (RA 8435)
• Practice cropping systems (integrate farming
techniques)
3. Increase the carry-over stock of
crops
How?
• Increase food reserves beyond 90 days by
storing more agricultural products
Ex. NFA storing cereal grains & field grain
legumes
• In case of natural calamities (drought, fire,
floods, volcanic eruptions, pestilence) there
will be available food for the people
4. Cooperate with other countries to
increase food resources
• Cooperation among countries with abundant
food resources
Examples:
Exchange of experts
Conduct of trainings
 Economic versus Biological
Yields in Crop production
• Crop production is related to:
- economic and biological yield of crops

Economic yield – agricultural yield; directly related to

man’s needs:
Ex: rice/corn = grains
legumes = grains
root crops =fleshy roots or tubers
 Biological yield
• Total dry matter produced by the crop be it
directly or indirectly related to man’s needs
Ex:
rice = straw, hull, roots + grain
legumes = herbage, pods, roots + grains
corn= stover, cobs, husks, roots + grains
 Harvest Index (HI) 4-5 M
• Indicates plants’ efficiency to convert the
absorbed nutrients and product of
photosynthesis into grains (economic
yield)
• High HI - production of more grains than
herbage
Economic yield
HI = -------------------------------
Biological yield
 D. Plant Adaptation & Distribution
in relation to Crop Production

• Adaptation – ability of an organism and its

parts to exist and adjust under
the condition of its habitat
Example of adaptation:

water – rice, water hyacinth

desert – cactus
upland – crops with tap root, corn,
legumes, root crops
marsh - mangrove
Environment – the sum total of all external
factors affecting an organism
or its system of life