CROP CLASSIFICATION BASED ON AGRONOMIC USE:

The major agronomic crops are grouped according to their use. In this regards the crops can be classified into
the follows:
1. Cereal Crops (also known as Grain Crops)
These are the grasses grown for their edible seeds. Examples include wheat, rice, maize, barley, oat,
sorghum, millet and others.


2. Forage Crops
These are the crops which are cultivate...d for green chop, hay, silage or soiling, or they are grazed by
animals. In terms of dry matter, these crops have over 25% fiber contents. Forage crops belong to the
Graminae and Leguminosae families like clovers and grasses respectively.
The crops like sorghum, maize and other coarse crops when harvested as whole and used to feed animals,
these are termed as Fodder crops


3. Oilseed Crops
These are crops cultivated specifically for the purpose of extracting oils from their seeds. For example,
mustard, rapeseed, canola, soybean, sunflower, safflower, sesame, castor bean, linseed and flax.



4. Fiber Crops
These crops are specially grown to extract fiber. This fiber is used to make clother, ropes, bags etc. For
example cotton, jute, flax, sunhemp, kenaf, sisal and sunkukra.

5. Sugar Crops
Edible sugar is made from the juice extracted from these crops. For example, sugarcane, sugar beet and
sweet sorghum.

6. Pulses or Grain Crops
These are the members Leguminosae which are cultivated for their edible seeds. For example, chickpea,
mung bean, mash bean, lentil, cowpea, faba bean, lima bean, and pigeon pea.

7. Root and Tuber Crops
These crops are grown for their underground economical part like rhizome, bulb, tuber, corms and stem tubers.
For example, onion, garlic, groundnut, potato, radish, carrot and turnip.


8. Vegetable or Garden Crops
Crops which are grown for their edible leaf, shoot, fruits and seeds. For example, cabbage, spinach, garden
pea, squash, pumpkin, tomato, eggplant, okra, lady finger, broccoli, aspargus, cauliflower and cucumber etc.


9. Condiment Crops
Corriander, mint and chillies are cultivated and used as condiments.



10. Narcortic or Drug Crops
Tobacco, poppy, tea, coffee and pepper-mint are the crops which find their use as narcotic or drug crops.