Classification of Crops

Science > Biology > Management of Crop Production > Classification of Crops

All living organisms need food for survival, health, growth, and development. Food provides nutrients like carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Different crops require different climatic conditions, temperature, and photoperiods for their growth and completion of their life cycle. The growth of plants and flowers are dependent on sunlight.

Two major sources of food are plants and animals. Since ancient times humans have gathered plants and hunted animals for food. Later humans became dependent on agriculture to fulfill their needs for food. Agriculture is a composite term that includes all those activities which involve appropriate utilization of earth’s resources for fulfillment of human needs of food, fodder, fibre, and fuel, etc. Agriculture includes growing of crops, fruits, flowers, and vegetables, on one hand, and animal husbandry and fisheries, on the other.

Agricultural practices began around 1000 B.C. Early humans subsisted on raw fruit and roots and hunted animals for their meat. After the discovery of fire, humans learned to roast the prey to make it conveniently edible and easily digestible. Subsequently, rearing of sheep and goats as animal husbandry and farming of wheat and barley as agriculture was initiated.

India has a high population of more than one billion and is still growing. To feed this growing population we need about 250 million tonnes of grain per year. There is no much scope in increasing the area under cultivation. Hence the increase in crop production can be achieved by increasing the efficiency and productivity of production for both crops and livestock.

When plants of the same kind are grown and cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop.

• Agronomy: The branch of agricultural science which is concerned with crop production and the management of farms is called Agronomy.
• Horticulture: The branch of agricultural science which is concerned with the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, and ornamental plants is called Horticulture.
• Animal Husbandry: The branch of agricultural science which is concerned with allied activities like rearing and management of domesticated animals is called animal husbandry.

Types of Crops:

• Cereals: Cereals were the first crop known to be cultivated. Cereals are tall grasses which are cultivated for their nutritious seeds called grains. They include crops like wheat, rice, maize, millet, barley, etc. They provide us with carbohydrates.
• Seeds: Not all seeds of plants are edible like seeds of apple or cherries. Edible seeds include cereals, pulses, and nuts. They provide us with fats.
• Pulses: They include legumes such as gram (chana), pea, black gram, green gram, lentil (masoor). They provide us with proteins.
• Oil Seeds: Oil can be extracted by crushing some seeds, which is used for cooking or lubrication purpose. e.g. mustard (sarson), Groundnut (shengdana), Soyabeen, castor, linseed, flex seed, rapeseed, sesame (til), and sunflower, etc. They provide us with fat.
• Fruits: They include fruits like apple, mango, cherry, banana, watermelon, etc. Fruits provide us with vitamins, minerals, and sugars (glucose or fructose).
• Vegetables: They include Vegetables like spinach, leafy vegetables, carrot, etc. Vegetables provide us with minerals, vitamins and cellulose fibres.
• Spices: They include spices like chilly, black pepper, ginger, etc. Spices and herbs provide us with alkaloids.
• Fodder Crops: These crops provide green fodder to livestock. e.g. Berseem, oats, sorghum, sudangrass.
• Commercial crops: These crops are also called cash crops. They are cultivated to get more profit. E.g. cotton and jute (for fibre), sugarcane and sugar beat (for sugar), Tea and coffee (for beverages), Tobacco and opium (for alkoids). Tea, coffee, rubber, and coconut are also called plantation crops.

The Classification of Crops:

The classification of crops in India has been done primarily on the basis of their family. Their life cycle, seasons, economic considerations, and specific use.

Classification on the Basis of Life Cycle:

On the basis of the life cycle, the crops have been divided into annuals, biennials, and perennials.

• Annual Plants: Annual plants are plants with a life cycle that lasts only one year. They grow from seed, bloom, produce seeds, and die in one growing season. Only the dormant seed bridges the gap between one generation and the next They then need to be replanted each season. e.g. zinnias, marigolds, radish, tomatoes, peppers(capsicum), eggplants, okra, beans and peas, pumpkins and squash, including cucumbers, lettuce, mustards, safflowers, sunflowers, amaranth, grains of all sorts, and peanuts. etc.
• Biennial Plants: Biennial plants are flowering plants those take two years to complete their biological lifecycle. In the first year, the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots (vegetative structures) in the form of a small rosette of leaves near the soil surface. then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder period. During the second season’s growth stem elongation, flowering and seed formation occur followed by the entire plant’s death. e.g. onions, cabbage, carrots, beets, turnips, rutabagas, bread seed poppies, etc.
• Perennial Plants: Plants that persist for many growing seasons (more than two) are called perennial plants. Generally, the top portion of the plant dies back each winter and regrows the following season from the same root system. e.g. apples, pears, peaches, almonds, filberts, walnuts, etc.

Classification on the Basis of Season:

On the basis of seasonal variations, crops have been classified as follows:

• Kharif: It is a rainy season crop grown from July to October. e.g. Paddy, barley, soyabean, pigeon pea, maize, cotton, groundnut, sugar beat, urad, moong, lobia, millets, til, jute, toor, sugar cane, lady finger (Okara), green gram and black gram, etc.
• Rabi: It is a winter season crop grown from November to April. e.g. Wheat, gram, peas, mustard, linseed, berseem, lentil, potatoes, tobacco, etc.
• Zaid:  It is a crop which is planted mainly during the summer season from April to June or planted in a different season, in accordance with specific crops. e.g. Cucumber, pumpkin, water-melon, red-melon, gourd, ‘torai’, green chillis, tomatoes, and sunflower, etc.

Other Classifications:

• On an economic basis, crops are classified into grains, spices, fibrous crops, fodder, fruits, medicinal plants, roots, sesame and pulses, stimulants sugary crops.
• On the basis of specific use crops are classified as intermediate crops, cash crops, soil protective crops, and green fertilizers.

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