CLASSIFICATION OF CROPS

• What is a crop
• The verbal form of the concepts of cutting, mowing,
grazing, lopping off branches and so on.
• Material is harvested, whether it be a plant or an
animal. e.g the forester may speak of a timber crop,
livestock farmer may speak of a calf crop or lamb crop
etc.
WHAT IS A CROP?
• The material that is harvested is referred as a crop. It
may be living material like maize cob or inert material
like cotton fuzz or even dead grass (for mulching ) or
bedding) etc.
• In most cases, crop specifies, certain types of plants
that are grown on purpose for a later harvest.
How are crops classified?

• Basic utility
1. Useful crops or non-useful plants e.g Weeds / Maize
2. Food crops or non-food crops e.g cowpeas, sorghum,
swiss chard (morogo) / eaten but cotton, Tobacco,
sisal are none food crops.
3. Traditional crops or non-traditional crops e.g
sorghum and tswana cowpeas are traditional crops
but asparagus and parsley are not traditional crops.
3. Botanical classification (Plant
Taxonomy)
• The above classifications have their merits and
demerits and also not quite scientific.
• There are more scientific way of classification based
on Botanical Classification and this is more preferred.
• This is the scientific method of classifying and naming
plants.
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
• It is based on information collected from a variety of
sources of information such as morphological,
anatomical, physiological, cytology and evolution
characteristic.
• Similarity in a flower plays a significant role in plant
taxonomy because it is a very stable organ across
different environments.
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
• This classification group crops into Kingdom, which
divides plants into Nonvascular (lower plants) and
vascular (higher plants). Higher plants may bear seeds
or may be seedless.
• There is enormous variation in plants some are
naturally occurring and maintained and are call
botanical varieties (landraces) while others are man-
made (through plant breeding)and are called cultivars.
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
• The most important division in crop production is the
Spermatophyta (magnoliophyta) which consists of
plants that bear true seeds.
• All the economically important plants used for food,
feed and fiber belong to this group. The division is
further separated into classes
• classes, families, genera, species and cultivar. An
example of botanical classification of tomato crop is as
follows:
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
• Tomato
• DIVISION : Spermatophyta (bears seeds)
• CLASS : Angiospermae (seeds enclosed)
• SUBCLASS : Dicotyledoonae (two cotyledons)
• FAMILY : Solanaceae
• GENUS : Lycoperrsicon
• SPECIES : esculentum
• CULTIVAR : Moneymaker
Botanical classification (Plant Taxonomy)
•  Another example of this classification is maize
• DIVISION : Spermatophyta (bears seeds)
• CLASS : Angiospermae (seeds enclosed)
• SUBCLASS : Monocotyledoonae (one cotyledon)
• FAMILY : Poaceae
• FAMILY : PoaceaeGENUS: Zea
• SPECIES : mays
• SPECIES : mays CULTIVAR: Kalahari early pear
Rules of writing scientific names
• The genus name may be abbreviated and can also
stand alone but the species cannot stand alone e.g
Zea mays; Zea, Z. mays but not mays
• The cultivar name may be included in the scientific
name e.g. Lycopersicon esculantum Mill cv. Big red.
( cultiva = cv)
Rules of writing scientific names
• They must be underlined or written in italics ( because
the names are non-English)
• Genus start with an uppercase letter, and the species
with the lowercase letter. Species may be shortened
to sp. Or ssp.
• The scientist who first named the plant adds his/her
initial to the binary name e.g. Glycine max L. indicates
that Linnaeus first named the plant.
• If revised later, the person responsible is identified
after the L.e.g Glycine max L. Merr for Merrill
SEED IDENTIFICATION
• The main difference in seeds is the Dicot and Monocot
seed
• Legume seeds are dicots whilst grass grains are
monocots
• Legume seed can be identified on the basis of
morphology by the testa (seed coat) color, texture,
shape and size
• Color – This characteristic is reliable in fresh seed, as
seed ages the color deteriorates
• Texture – the seed coat appearance, it may be
SEED IDENTIFICATION
• Shape – This is the most stable and reliable
identification, it is defined by three elements. Notch –
hilum, maybe shallow or deep; beak and the groove –
the indentation that leads away from the hilum down
the side of the seed
• Size not stable highly influenced by environment
( seeds shrivel under adverse weather) Seed size is
determined by weight ( 100 seed weight or the
number of seed per gram.
SEED IDENTIFICATION
• Grass grain seed is identified on color, endosperm
type, shape and size
• Color of kernel or caryopsis is found in the pericarp
• Type of endosperm sugary, starchy or flinty, maybe
soft or hard etc
• Texture – dull, shiny glossy
• Shape – slender, long, medium, short grain rice,
pointed
• Brush – Tiny bristles or brush
Other crop classification methodes
• 4. Exotic crops or indigenous crops e.g water melon
and maraka/makgomane are crops indigenous to
Botswana but cabbage, and sweet orange are exotic
• 5. Nutritional base (indicative of the type of nutrient
or major constituent diet). e.g legume (providing
mainly protein), maize (starch crops,
• 6. Taste (sweet, sour, spicy etc) e.g peppers, onion,
garlic etc are classified as spices.
Classification based on size/ area/duration
• 7. Field crops: Field crops are grown on much larger
scale e.g cereals, legumes etc.
• 8. Arable crops: Requirement is a well-prepared
seedbed i.e. clean
• 9. Garden crops or Horticultural crops or garden crops
• 10. Plantation crops or Permanent crops (long lasting)
• 11. Orchard crops (Fruit orchard crops grown singly in
orchards such as mangoes, oranges or mixed)
Cont. Classification of crops

• 12. The life cycle can be used to classify crops e.g

Annual crops- completes its life cycle in a single
growing
season
• Biennial on the other hand completes its life cycle in
two growing seasons
• Perennials – have indefinite life period, they do not
die after reproduction but continue to grow
indefinitely from year to year.
13. Classification using parts
• Flower crop as in cauliflower, broccoli etc
• Fruit crops i.e. citrus, papaya, avocado etc
• Seed crop - i.e. maize, cowpeas, bambara groundnut
etc
• Root crops e.g. beetroot, sweetpotato, carrots etc
• Leaf crops swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage etc
• Stem crops e.g. sugarcane, asparagus etc
14. Special purpose crops classification
• Green manuring - crops planted in the soil and ploughed
under whilst still green to provide manuring i.e legumes
• Catch crop - crops that fill in when a regular crop has failed
i.e wheat in pandamatenga usually short season crops
(millet)
• Cash crop - grown for sale i.e tobacco, cotton
• Cover crop - crop planted to protect the land from soil
erosion
• Soiling - crop cut and fed green to animals such as legumes,
grasses, kale, maize etc
14. Special purpose crops classification
• Silage crop - crop that is preserved succulent by
partial fermentation in a tight container/receptacle
• Companion crop - sometimes called the ‘nurse crop’,
companion crop are grown with alfalfa or red clover in
order to secure returns in the first year of new
seeding
• Trap crop - planted to attract certain insects, parasites
or diseases and are therefore ploughed under
15. Agronomic classification
• Crops maybe classified on the basis of use, principal
product or edible part consumed
• Cereal or grain crops: Grasses grown for their edible
seeds (maize)
• Oil crops : produce edible oil e.g sunflower
• Root crops: these are enlarged roots e.g sweet
potato, carrots
15. Agronomic classification
• Stem crops e.g. sugarcane, asparagus etc stem is use
• Fiber crops: fiber is collected e.g cotton, flax, hemp,
kernaf,
• Leaf crops swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage etc where the
leaf is used
• Tuber crops: these are short thickened undergrouLeaf
crops swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage etc
15. Agronomic classification
• Stem /root crops e.g potato, cassava etc
• Forage crops: use of vegetable matter fresh or preserved,
utilized as feed for animals these include foraging grasses,
foraging legume, crucifers etc
• Drug crops: tobacco, mint, pyrethrum
• Sugar crops: sugar-beet and sugarcane grown for their sweet
juice
• Beverage crops like coffee, tea, cocoa etc i.e. are
nonalcoholic