JSS 1
WEEK 1
CLASSIFICATION OF CROP ACCORDING TO THEIR USES
Food and feed for ourselves and our livestock. Those crops include:
- CEREAL: Cereals or grain crops belong to the grass family. We grow them for their seed examples are maize, sorghum (guinea corn), millet, rice, wheat and acha.
- LEGUMES (PULSE): The seed of these crops are eaten and are a good source of plant proteins. Examples are soya bean, cowpea, groundnut and bambara.
- SUGAR CROPS: Sugar crops are grown to make sugar which we eat. The two major sugar crops are sugarcane and sugar beet.
- BEVERAGES AND STIMULANTS: Beverages stimulant are crops whose products are used for making non-alcoholic drinks or used to increase our body activities. Examples are cocoa, tea, coffee, kola nut and tobacco.
- ROOTS AND TUBERS: Root and tuber crops are crops that store food materials in underground parts of the plant. Examples are cassava, sweet potatoes, yams and cocoyams
- FRUIT: Many crops produce fruits. The fruits are eaten fresh or canned. Examples are mango, orange, banana, cashew, pawpaw, guava and pineapple.
- FORAGE CROPS: Farmers grow forage crops to be used mainly as feed for farm animals. Examples are elephant grass, gamba grass and alfalfa: Most food crops for examples cowpea are also grown as forage crops. In this case, the crops are harvested before they are mature to feed livestock’s. Such crops include, maize, sorghum, millet, groundnut, soya beans and cowpea.
- LATEX CROPS: These are crops which provide some white sticky sap (latex) from their stem or fruit. Examples are rubber and para rubber.
- FIBRE CROPS: These are crops which are usually threat like and from which fibre is obtained. It can be processed to make clothing materials. Examples; are cotton, sisa, jute, kenaf e.t.c. fibres may be obtained from fruits, stem and leaves of these crops.
- OIL CROPS: These are crops whose seeds or fruit can produce oil when processed. Examples include oil palm, coconut, soya beans, groundnut, cotton and sun flower.