Crop Classification
Thomas G Chastain
CROP 200 Crop Ecology and Morphology
Crop Classification - Botanical System
• Based on:
1. Morphology – flower parts, vegetative
characteristics, seeds, etc.
2. Genetics – chromosome number, etc.
3. Chemical nature (chemotaxonomy) –
classification of plants based on
chemicals found in plant parts, seeds,
etc.
Crimson clover
inflorescence
(left) onion
inflorescence
(right) TG
Chastain photos.
Crop Classification - Botanical System
• The botanical system is a binomial
system; two names are used to describe
the plant and is otherwise known as the
scientific name.
• The scientific name is composed of the
genus and the specific epithet (or
species):
Solanum tuberosum
Genus
Specific epithet
Potato tuber (top), potato flower and
foliage (bottom) TG Chastain photos.
Crop Classification - Botanical System
Kingdom: Plantae (plants)
Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
Class: Liliopsida (monocots)
Order: Cyperales (grass-like families)
Family: Poaceae (grass family)
Genus: Festuca (fescue)
Species: rubra (red fescue)
Subspecies: fallax (Chewings fescue)
Variety: refer to botanical varieties, not
cultivated varieties or cultivars
Ecotype: a local variant
Chewings fescue flowers (TG
Chastain photo)
The scientific name for Chewings fescue is Festuca rubra ssp. fallax.
Crop Classification - Important Crop Families
• Poaceae – grass family - Small grain cereals (wheat, barley, oats),
corn, rice, sugar cane, forage and turf grasses.
• Fabaceae - legume family – Grain legumes (peas, beans, lentils,
chickpeas, lupin), forage legumes (alfalfa, clover), soybean.
• Apiaceae – carrot family – carrot, celery.
• Asteraceae – sunflower family – sunflower, lettuce.
• Solanaceae – tomato family – tomato, potato, pepper.
• Brassicaceae – mustard family – cabbage, canola, mustard,
camelina, kale, broccoli, cauliflower.
• Cucurbitaceae – cucurbit family – squash, pumpkin, cucumber,
watermelon.
• Chenopodiaceae – goosefoot family – sugar beet, garden beet,
quinoa.
• Malvaceae – mallow family - cotton.
• Lamiaceae – mint family – mint, numerous herbs.
Crop Classification - Use Characteristics
• Crops can also be classified according to their use characteristics.
• Cover Crop – grown to protect soil from erosion.
• Green Manure Crop – a crop grown to be incorporated into the
soil so as to provide fertilizer nutrients and organic matter.
Crimson clover (TG Chastain photo)
Crop Classification - Use Characteristics
• Sugar Crops – Sugar cane, sugar
beet.
• Beverage Crops – used in production
of beverages (hops, malting barley).
• Fiber Crops – harvested for fibers
used for clothing, industrial
applications, etc. (cotton, flax).
Barley field (above), flax stems (top), flax stem
broken to show fibers within (bottom), TG
Chastain photos
Crop Classification - Use Characteristics
• Forages – Animals use the vegetative
parts of these crops for food. Types of
forage crops include:
• Pasture crops – used directly in
grazing. (tall fescue)
• Hay crops – are cut and dried in the
field, baled, and stored for later use.
(alfalfa)
• Silage crops – are cut, but not dried,
and are then fermented under
anaerobic conditions. (corn)
Alfalfa in flower (top), clover foliage (bottom)
TG Chastain photos
Crop Classification - Use Characteristics
• Grain Crops – These are annual crops,
mainly members of the grass family
and are grown for the edible seed.
Grown for human or animal
consumption.
• Includes the small grain cereals such
as wheat, barley, and oats. Other
grain crops include rice, corn, and
sorghum.
Rice (top left), sorghum (bottom left)
Crop Classification - Use Characteristics
• Pulse Crops (also known as grain
legumes) – Large-seeded legumes
which are harvested for the edible
seed or oil in edible seed.
• Contain higher seed protein content
in seeds than the cereal grain crops.
(soybean, peanut, peas, beans,
chickpea, cowpea, lentil).
Soybean (top), chickpea (bottom)
Crop Classification - Use Characteristics
• Oil Seed Crops – harvest seeds containing
edible and industrial oils (soybean, sunflower,
safflower, rapeseed, canola, flax, camelina,
mustard, and meadowfoam).
Safflower (top left), canola (bottom
left), meadowfoam (above) TG
Chastain photos
Crop Classification - Use Characteristics
• Root and Tuber Crops – harvested for under
ground storage organs. Root crops include
sugarbeet, radish, carrot, and cassava.
Potatoes are harvested for the tubers while
onion and leek are harvested for the bulb.
Carrot (top), sugarbeet field (right)
Crop Classification - Use Characteristics
• Energy Crops – harvested for energy
production – includes oil seed crops
for biodiesel, corn and others for
bioethanol, and biomass crops.
Corn (left), sunflower (above) TG
Chastain photos
Crop Classification - Plant habit
• Crops can be classified on the basis
of their habit.
• Annuals – complete life cycle in one
year and the species in perpetuated
by seeds. Winter annuals: seed
germinate in fall and plants mature
during the following summer (winter
wheat). Spring annuals: seed
germinate in spring and the plant
matures in summer (spring wheat,
corn, soybeans).
• Perennials – continue development
for more than 2 years. (alfalfa, tall
fescue).
Tall fescue (TG
Chastain photo)
Crop Classification - Plant habit
• Biennials – need 2 growing
seasons to complete life cycle:
• Year 1 – vegetative development
usually in the form of a rosette
• Year 2 – reproductive
development, flower stalks form
in a process known as bolting.
(carrot, sugar beet, onion,
cabbage).
(TG Chastain graphics and photos)
Year 1 - Rosette
Year 2 - Bolting
Crop Classification - Plant habit
• Determinate Crops – Flowering
is confined to a specific period
of time in these crops, at the
end of vegetative growth.
• Indeterminate Crops –
Flowering is continuous and not
confined to a specific period in
these crops, as flowering
overlaps with vegetative
growth.
Indeterminate tomato cultivar
(TG Chastain photo)