Classification of Crop Plants

Importance
• Understand the different requirement of crops
• Adaptability of crops
• Growing habit of crops
• Climatic requirement of crops
• Economic produce of the plant and its use
• Growing seasons of the crop
• Conditions required for crop cultivation
• 1. Based on ontogeny (Life cycle)
• 2. Based on economic use (Agronomic)
• 3. Based on Botany (Scientific)
• 4. Based on seasons
• 5. Based on climate
• 6.Based on length of photoperiod
• 7.based on cotyledons
• 8.based on photosynthesis
Based on Ontogeny (Life cycle)
a) Annual crops:
• Crop plants that complete life cycle within a season or year. They
produce seed and die within the season. Ex. Wheat, rice, maize,
mustard etc.
b) Biennial crops:
• Plants that have life span of two consecutive seasons or years. First
years/ season, these plants have purely vegetative growth usually
confined to rosette of leaves. The tap root is often fleshy and serves
as a food storage organ. During the second year / season, they
produce flower stocks from the crown and after producing seeds
the plants die. Ex. Sugar beet, beet root, etc.
c) Perennial crops:
• They live for three or more years. They may be seed bearing or non-
seed bearing. Ex. Napier fodder grass, coconut, etc.
Based on seasons
• Crops are grouped under the seasons in which their major field
duration falls.
• a) Kharif crops: Crops grown during June-July to September–
October which require a warm wet weather during their major
period of growth and shorter day length for flowering.
• Ex. Rice, maize, castor, groundnut.
• b) Rabi crops: Crops grown during October–November to January-
February, which require cold dry weather for their major growth
period and longer day length for flowering.
• Ex. Wheat, mustard, barley, oats, potato, bengal gram, berseem,
cabbage and cauliflower.
• c) Summer crops: Crops grown during February–March to May–
June which require warm dry weather for growth and longer day
length for flowering. Ex.Black gram, greengram, seasome, cowpea
etc.
• Based on climatic condition
• 1) Tropical crop : Crops grow well in warm &
hot climate. E.g. Rice, sugarcane, Jowar etc
• 2) Sub-tropical crop : Rice, cotton
• 3) Temperate crop : Crops grow well in cool
climate. E.g. Wheat, Oats, Gram, Potato,
barley
• 4) Polar crop : All pines, pasture grasses
 Scientific or botanical classification
Botanical or scientific names of plants which consist of
genus and species and are universally accepted. Carolus
Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, was responsible for the
binomial system of classification.
Group
• Grass (Wheat)
• Kingdom -Plant
• Division -Spermatophyta
• Sub-division -Angiospermae
• Class -Monocotyledonae
• Order -Graminales
• Family -Gramineae
• Based economic use (Agronomic)
• a) Cereals:. Cereals are the cultivated grasses
grown for their edible starchy grains. Larger
grains used as staple food – Rice, wheat,
maize, barley, oats etc.
• Cereal grain contains 60 to 70% of starch and
is excellent energy rich foods for humans. In
almost every country and region, cereals
provide the staple food
• Cereals are an excellent source of fat soluble
vitamin E, which is an essential antioxidant.
• List of Cereal Crops:
• Rice (mainly Oryza sativa)
• Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
• Corn or maize (Zea mays)
• Barley (Hordeum vulgare)
• Oat (Avena sativa)
Rice – oryza sativa
Wheat- Triticum aestivum
Maize – Zea mays
Barley – Hordeum vulgare
Oats- Avena sativa
 Millets
• small grained cereals, staple food in drier
regions of the developing countries are called
‘millets’. These are also staple food for people
of poor countries. In India, pearl millet is a
staple food in Rajasthan.
• classified in to two, 1) Major millets and 2)
Minor millets.
• Major millets
• 1. Sorghum /Jowar/Cholam - Sorghum bicolor
• 2. Pearl millet /Bajra/Cumbu - Pennisetum
glaucum
• 3. Finger millet or Ragi - Eleusine coracona
Sorghum/jowar/cholam- Sorghum
bicolor
Pearl millet /Bajra/Cumbu-
Pennisetum glaucum
Finger millet/Ragi- Eleusine coracona
• Minor millets
• 1. Foxtail millet / Thenai - Setaria italica
• 2. Little millet / Samai - Panicum miliare
• 3. Common millet / Panivaraugu - Panicum
miliaceum
• 4. Barnyard millet / Kudiraivali - Echinchloa
colona var frumentaceae
• 5. Kodo millet / Varagu - Paspalum scrobiculatum
Foxtail millet (Thenai)- Setaria italica
Little millet (samai)- Panicum miliare
Common millet (panivaragu)- Panicum
miliaceum
 Barnyard millet (kudirai vali)-
Echinchloa colona var frumentaceae
Kodo millet (varagu)-Paspalum
scrobiculatum
• Pulses:
• Seeds of leguminous plants used as food
(Dhal) rich in protein. Pod containing grain is
the economic portion. Pulses are preferred for
protein rich value & also economic important
in cropping system.
• 1.Red gram - Cajanus cajan
• 2. Black gram - Vigna mungo
• 3. Green gram - V. radiata
• 4. Cowpea - V. unguiculata
• 5. Bengalgram - Cicer arietinum
• 6. Horsegram - Macrotyloma uniflorum
• 7. Lentil - Lens esculentus
• 8. Soybean - Glycine max
• 9. Peas or gardenpea - Pisum sativum
• 10. Garden bean - Lablab purpureus
• 11. Lathyrus/Kesari - Lathyrus sativus
Red gram- cajanus cajan
Black gram- vigna mungo
Green gram- vigna radiata
Bengal Gram- cicer arietinum
• Oil seeds: Those crops which are rich in fatty
acid are cultivated for the production of
vegetable oil. They are used either for edible
or industrial or medicinal purposes.
• 1. Groundnut or peanut - Arachis hypogeae
• 2. Sesame or gingelly - Sesamum indicum
• 3. Sunflower - Helianthus annuus
• 4. Castor - Ricinus communis
• 5. Linseed or flax - Linum usitatissimum
• 6. Niger - Guizotia abyssinia
• 7. Safflower - Carthamus tinctorius
• 8. Rapeseed & Mustard - Brassica juncea
• 9. Sarson - Brassica sp.
Groudnut/peanut- Arachis hypogea
Sesamum- Sesamum indicum
Sunflower - Helianthus annuus
Safflower- Carthamus tinctorius
Castor – Ricinus communis
Rapeseed/mustard- Brassica nigra
• FIBERS
• Fibre crops:
• Plants are grown for obtaining fibre.
Cotton - Gossypium herbaceum
Jute - Corchorus capsularis
Cotton- Gossypium herbaceum
Jute- Corchorus capsularis
• Fodder / Forage: It refers to vegetative matter, fresh or
preserved, utilized as feed for animals. Ex. 1. Grasses - Bajra
napier grass, guinea grass, fodder sorghum, fodder maize.
2. Legumes - Lucerne, Desmanthus, etc.
• h) Spices and condiments: Crop plants or their products
used for flavour, taste and add colour to the fresh or
preserved food. Ex.– Ginger, garlic, fenugreek, cumin,
turmeric, chillies, onion, coriander, anise and asafoetida.
• i) Medicinal plants: Crops used for preparation of
medicines. Ex. Tobacco, mint. etc.
• j) Beverages: Products of crops used for preparation of
mild, agreeable and simulating drinking. Ex. Tea, coffee,
cocoa (Plantation crops).
Classification based on length of photoperiod
• Most plants are influenced by relative length of the day
& night, especially for floral initiation, the effect on
plant is known as photoperiodism .
1. Short-day plants: Flower initiation takes plate when
days are short less then ten hours. E.g. rice, Jowar,
green gram, black gram etc.
2. Long day’s plants: require long days are more than
ten hours for floral ignition. E.g. Wheat, Barley,
3. Day neutral plants: Photoperiod does not have
much influence for phase change for these plants. E.g.
Cotton, sunflower. The rate of the flowering initiation
depends on how short or long is photoperiod.
• Based on cotyledons
• Monocotyledons-one cotyledon ex.cereals,
millets
• Dicotyledons –two cotyledon in the seed
ex.pulses
 Based on photosynthesis
• C3 plants- photo respiration is high,lower water
use efficiency. Eg.rice,soyabeans,
wheat,barley,cotton, potato
• C4 plants- photosynthetic rates is higher
compared to c3 plants,drought resistant,high
water use efficiency,grown under moisture
Stress.Eg.Sorghum, maize, sesamum
• CAM plants- stomata open at night and large
amount of co2 fixed. plants,drought
resistant,high water use efficiency,grown under
moisture Stress.Eg. pineapple