Types of Crops (2024)

A crop is a plant or

plant

product that can be grown and harvested for profit or subsistence. By use,

crops

fall into six categories: food crops, feed crops, fiber crops, oil crops, ornamental crops, and industrial crops.

Food

crops

, such as fruit and vegetables, are

harvested

for human consumption. Grains, such as corn, wheat, and rice, are the world’s most popular

food

crops

.

Food

crops

were the first

crops

to be

harvested

through agriculture. Agricultural development and the growth of civilizations led to the diversity of other types of

crops

.

Feed Crops

Feed

crops

, such as oats and alfalfa, are

harvested

for livestock consumption. These

crops

contain nutrients that animals need to develop. They are grown in agricultural fields but can also be found in natural meadows and pastures.

Forage

crops

are important for

livestock

farming. Animals feed directly on

forages

, such as grasses.

Forages

that are cut and fed to

livestock

while they are still fresh are called green chop.

Alfalfa

is a popular

crop

fed to

livestock

as

green chop

.

Some

forages

are cut, allowed to dry in the field, and stored. These are called hay crops.

Another type of

forage

crop

is silage.

Silage

crops

are

harvested

, then stored under conditions that allow the

forage

to break down (ferment) into acids. The wet,

acidic

silage

is fed to

livestock

such as cattle.

Principle

feed

crops

include corn, barley, wheat, and oats. Each of these

crops

has different properties that are better suited for some animals’ diets over others.

Barley

, which is harder to digest, is most often fed to beef and dairy

cattle

because they have a tough, four-chambered stomach. Hull-less

barley

, which is easier to

digest

, is fed to swine and poultry.

The production of

feed

crops

has risen dramatically with increased demand for meat worldwide. Increased production of

feed

crops

has changed the agricultural landscape.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says 33 percent of arable land on Earth is used to produce

food

for

livestock

. This limits the production of

crops

for human consumption, especially for the world’s poorest people.

Forests have been cleared to create

pastures

where

livestock

can graze. Almost 70 percent of land cleared from the Amazon rainforest, for instance, has been turned over to grazing.

Fiber Crops

Fiber

crops

, such as cotton and hemp, are

harvested

for textile and paper products.

Textiles

, or cloth, are made from the dried and processed

fibers

of certain

plants

. Most

fibers

used to make

textiles

are taken from the stem or roots of

plants

such as flax.

Flax

is used to make linen.

Other parts of a

plant

can be

harvested

for

fiber

.

Cotton

, the most popular

fiber

crop

in the world, is

harvested

from the light, fluffy “boll” of

fiber

that surrounds the

plant

’s seeds.

Textiles

made from bamboo are manufactured from the pulp of

bamboo

plants

.

Pulp

from other

fiber

crops

can be used in a variety of products.

Fiber

pulp

may be used instead of wood

pulp

to

manufacture

paper products.

The

hemp

plant

is an interesting and controversial example of a

fiber

crop

. The

fibers

of the

hemp

plant

are strong and durable, perfect for products such as paper,

textiles

, ropes, nets, and sailcloth for ships.

Hemp

advocates see the

plant

as a versatile and ecological source of

fiber

.

But some varieties of the

hemp

plant

are used to make marijuana, a psychoactivedrug.

Marijuana

is illegal to grow and use in many parts of the United States. (The

drug

is legally grown and sold for medical or recrecational use in some places.) Opponents of

hemp

argue that increased

harvesting

of

hemp

crops

will lead to increased production and use of

marijuana

.

Oil Crops

Oil

crops

, such as canola and corn, are

harvested

for consumption or industrial uses. Technologies developed in the past century have enabled

crops

to be processed and broken down into their primary components, including oil. Soybeans, for example, represented 61 percent of world oilseed production and 79 percent of all edible oil consumed in the United States in 2000.

Oil

crops

are

harvested

for use in cooking, such as olive oil and corn oil.

Oil

crops

are also

harvested

for

industrial

use, such as oil paints, soaps, and lubrication for machinery.

Fuel made from

oil

crops

is called biofuel. The demand for

bio

fuels

has grown in recent years. Rising gas prices, concerns about global warming, and a desire for energy self-sufficiency have led governments and businesses to invest in

bio

fuel

research.

There are two main types of

bio

fuel

that use

oil

crops

: bioethanol and biodiesel.

Bioethanol

is an alcohol made from

fermented

materials that come from sugar and starch

crops

. These

crops

include

sugar

cane, corn, and wheat.

Bioethanol

can be used as a

fuel

for vehicles, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to improve vehicle emissions.

Bioethanol

is used widely in the United States and Brazil, where an abundance of corn and

sugar

cane

crops

facilitate its production.

Biodiesel is made by combining

vegetable

oils with

alcohol

. Nuts, such as coconuts, macadamias, and pecans, are excellent sources of oil used to

manufacture

bio

diesel

.

Bio

diesel

can be used in

diesel

engines, such as those used by buses. Brazil, the United States, and the European Union (particularly Germany)

manufacture

and use

bio

diesel

on a large scale.

Bio

fuels

provide almost three percent of the world’s transport

fuel

. Many scientists and economists predict that number will rise as oil production decreases in the next century.

Ornamental Crops

Ornamental

crops

, such as dogwood and azalea, are

harvested

for

landscape

gardening.

Ornamental

crops

are most often grown in nurseries, where they are purchased for residential or commercial settings.

Ornamental

crop

production has deep historical

roots

. The tulip

crop

of the Netherlands, for example, has become a symbol of that country.

Today,

ornamental

crop

production is an important economic activity in many developing countries. Kenya, for example, is a major exporter of roses and carnations. Kenyan flower growers have situated their greenhouses near the shores of Lake Naivasha and

Lake

Victoria, where the soil is fertile and the water is abundant and fresh.

Kenya’s huge flower operations, however, are having a negative impact on

lake

ecosystems. Growers irrigate their flowers with

lake

water, dramatically lowering supplies of freshwater available for consumption and hygiene. Growers also apply heavy amounts of fertilizers and pesticides so their flowers can maintain their beauty throughout the export process. These chemicals often runoff into the

lakes

, endangering aquatic animal and

plant

life.

Industrial Crops

Industrial

crops

, such as rubber and tobacco, are

harvested

for their products’ use in factories or machines.

Industrial

crops

include all

crops

used in the production of

industrial

goods, such as

fiber

and

fuel

products.

Rubber

is produced naturally from a wide variety of

plants

, but predominantly from the Hevea tree indigenous to the Amazon region.

Rubber

is

harvested

for its latex.

Latex

is an extremely tough fluid found in the inner bark of the Hevea tree.

Latex

is obtained by tapping—cutting or shaving the

bark

with a sharp knife—and collecting the

latex

in cups. When mixed with chemicals,

latex

creates solid

rubber

blobs, called curds. Rubber curds are pressed between rollers to remove excess moisture and to form sheets. The sheets are packed and shipped for use in tires, machine belts, shoe soles, and other products.

Rubber

has been used by

civilizations

for thousands of years. One of the earliest uses of

rubber

was to create balls for use in games in the Olmec Empire in what is today Mexico. Today,

rubber

is still used to

manufacture

durable

toys, as well as boots, flooring, balloons, and medical supplies.

Hevea trees trans

planted

to southern Asia now produce most of the world’s

rubber

. The countries with the largest

rubber

crops

are Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Industrialization around the world has increased the global demand for

rubber

. High demand for natural

rubber

has increased the environmental degradation of

forests

in southern Asia.

Harvesting Crops

Methods for growing and

harvesting

crops

have developed over thousands of years. The earliest

crops

were grown in Mesopotamia around 5500 B.C.E. These

crops

,

indigenous

to an agriculturally rich area called the Fertile Crescent, were grown near local sources of

freshwater

so they could be

irrigated

relatively easily. Wheat,

barley

, and figs were among the first

crops

.

The development of

agriculture

led to more sophisticated methods of

harvesting

crops

. Crop rotation was the most significant innovation. In

crop

rotation

, one

crop

is

planted

one year, then a different

crop

is

planted

the next year on the same land. This helps preserve the soil and reduce the chance for disease.

Crop

rotation

and fertilization, which makes soil more productive, allowed farmers to grow more

crops

on less land. These

innovations

also allowed

crops

to be grown in areas where they might not grow naturally. Improved engineering allowed rivers to be

dammed

and diverted to provide water for

crops

. All of these developments increased the

abundance

of

crops

, which could be used for trade and

industrial

use.

Today,

agriculture

is the largest industry in the world. Millions of people

harvest

crops

for subsistence or business purposes. Some tools used to

harvest

crops

have not changed in a thousand years—plows, rakes, sickles. Most of all,

harvesting

crops

still relies on human labor.

The tools and

machinery

used to

harvest

crops

have grown much more complex and expensive, however.

Fertilizers

, which many farmers need to be economically competitive, cost more than many farmers in the developing world can afford.

Machinery

, such as tractors and

plows

, can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

GMOs

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs or GM

foods

) are common throughout the developed world. Biotechnology allows scientists to alter the DNA of microbes,

plants

, and animals. Businesses sell farmers genetically modified

seeds

. With these

seeds

, farmers can use toxic chemicals without harming the

crop

. Farmers who grow GM

foods

increase production with less

labor

and less land.

Vegetables

and

fruits

last longer and are less likely to bruise.

The heavy reliance on chemicals has disturbed the natural environment, however. Helpful species of animals may be killed along with harmful ones. Chemical use may also pose a health hazard to people, especially through

runoff

entering local aquifers and other water supplies. Critics argue that GM

foods

have less nutritional value and decrease biodiversity.

Organic and free-range

food

industries have grown in opposition to

industrial

farming. Agricultural scientists are looking for safer chemicals to use as

fertilizers

and

pesticides

. Some farmers use natural controls and rely less on chemicals.

Seed Banks

In order to

preserve

bio

diversity

,

seed

banks

have been created around the world to store

seed

samples.

Seed

banks

may specialize in a specific

crop

or in the

crops

of a region. The International Potato Center, based in Lima, Peru, houses 150 wild

potato

species and other tubers of Andean origin.

Native

Seeds

, founded in the southwestern United States, helps Native Americans locate

seeds

for growing traditional

crops

, such as orach, or “mountain spinach,” and amaranth, once widely used for

food

and

fiber

in Mexico.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the world’s most diverse

seed

bank

, was established in 2008. The Norwegian

government

built the

Seed

Vault into the side of a permafrost-covered mountain on the island of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago about 1,030 kilometers (620 miles) from the North Pole. The vault is designed to safely store the

seeds

of hundreds of thousands of

plant

varieties from

crops

grown throughout the globe. The

Seed

Vault offers “fail-safe” protection for the world’s agricultural inheritance against any natural, social, or

economic

disaster.

Today, the

Seed

Vault stores about one million

seed

samples. It has the capacity to hold 4.5 million samples.

Crops

have a wide variety of uses and are an integral part of our existence and development. While advancements in crop science and technology have increased the production of some of our most basic foodstuffs, they also have had wide-ranging impacts on the environment.

The production of

crops

does not have to harm the environment. By protecting the land, water, and air, and by sharing knowledge and resources, people may find solutions for the problems of world hunger and global

energy

scarcities through the sustainable use of

crops

.

Fast Fact

Fast Fact

Fast Fact

Most Popular Crops: U.S.
1. Corn
2. Soy
3. Hay
4. Wheat
5. Cotton

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