How to classify crops

Crop as a source of food from agriculture is one of the main pillars of human being survival on earth. Different crops are cultivated for different purposes, either for the leaves eaten raw or eaten of the fruits.

Today, our discussion will be based on one aspect of agriculture; which is crops.

MEANING OF CROP

A crop is any plant grown for a specific purpose. Crops supply food, fibre, herbs, and other useful materials. To properly distinguish one crop from another, agricultural scientists have come out with ways by which crops are classified. Crops are classified into three based on (a) uses (b) lifecycle (c) morphology.

Classification of crops based on uses

Based on what the crops are used for, they are classified as follows:

1. Cereal crops: These are crops that belong to the Poaceae family. They are a rich source of carbohydrates e.g. maize, rice, wheat, sorghum, millet, oat, and barley.
2. Legumes/Pulses: Legumes belong to the family Fabaceae and are a rich source of proteins. They are noted for fixing atmospheric nitrogen into the soil by a bacterium known as Rhizobium leguminosarium. Examples of pulses include cowpea, soybean, pigeon pea, ground nut, and Bambara nut.
3. Root and Tuber Crops: These crops produce tubers under the ground, either in the root or stem. They are a rich source of carbohydrates e.g. cassava, yam, sweet potato, cocoyam, and Irish potato.
4. Vegetable Crops: These are grown for their edible vegetative parts such as leaves, fruits, or roots which can be eaten fresh or cooked. They are rich in vitamins and minerals essential for healthy human growth e.g. amaranthus, okra, ugwu, eggplants, water leaf, lettuce, celosia, pumpkin, tomato, etc.
5. Fruit Crops: These crops have succulent fruits which are consumed fresh. They are a rich source of vitamins and minerals essential for healthy human growth e.g. mango, pawpaw, pineapple, cashew, guava, watermelon, oranges, pears, and apples.
6. Beverages Crops: These crops provide fruit drinks after processing e.g. cocoa, coffee, tea, and kolanut.
7. Spices: These crops add flavor to our food e.g. ginger, pepper, garlic, onion, shallot, etc
8. Oil Crops: These crops produce oil when processed and are used for cooking, making soap, margarine, etc. Examples are oil palm, groundnut, cotton, sheabutter, soybean, melon, sunflower, etc.
9. Fibre Crops: These crops are used for making clothes, ropes, and sacks e.g., cotton, kenaf, jute, sisal, hibiscus, kapok (silk cotton tree), and wild hemp.
10. Latex: These crops produce a whitish sticky liquid called latex used for making plastics, tyres, etc. Examples include Para rubber and, gum Arabic.

Classification of crops based on Lifecycle

Lifecycle means the duration from germination to harvest. Established on these, crops are classified into four (4) groups and these are:

1. Ephemeral crops: These are crops that complete their life cycle within a very short time (probably within three months) e.g., amaranthus, tomatoes, spinach, celosia, etc.
2. Annual crops: These are crops that complete their life cycle within one year e.g., rice, cowpea, millet, groundnut, maize, etc.
3. Biennial crops: These are crops that complete their life cycle maximum within two years e.g., carrot, pineapple, ginger, pepper, cassava, etc.
4. Perennial crops: These are crops that complete their life cycle in more than two years e.g. mango, rubber, citrus, oil palm, cocoa, etc.

Classification of crops based on Morphology 

Based on their structure, form, and shape, crops can be classified into two groups as follows:

1. Monocotyledonous crops: These are crops that have only one seed leaf (cotyledon). Examples are rice, maize, oil palm, coconut, wheat, barley, sorghum, etc.
2. Dicotyledonous crops: These are crops that have two seed leaves (cotyledons). Examples are cocoa, cowpea, groundnut, mango, citrus, soybeans, neem (dongoyaro) tree, etc.