CROP PRODUCTION AND

MANAGEMENT
(AGFO 2042)
Chap. 1

 What is Crop?
 300,000 plant species are identified on earth.

 50,000 of them are useful to human beings.

 From this fifty thousands, around only 200 plant species are
serving as a source of food for human being.

 But, 90 percent of world food crop production comes only

from 17 different crops.
Wheatt Sorghum Barley Rice Maize Potato

Banana oats sweet potato pea cassava

peanut soybean field bean coconut

 They occupy about 75% of the total cultivated land on earth.

 Chap. 1

 Crops - are plant species that are identified,

domesticated and cultivated for the purpose of
human home consumption and/or profit via sale.

For instance
Wheat
 identified plant
 Domesticated plant
 Cultivated plant
 Has also economic importance
Chap. 1

Apple
 identified plant
 Domesticated plant
 Cultivated plant
 Have also economic importance

Eucalyptus
 identified plant
 Domesticated plant
 Cultivated plant
 Have also economic importance
 Chap. 1

 Different types of crops

 Cereals (tef, wheat, barley, millet, rice, oats, maize, sorghum),
 Pulses (faba beans, field peas, lentils, chick peas, grass pea)
 Oilseeds (linseed, sesame, rapeseed, sunflower, groundnuts)
 Tree crops
 Spices (pepper, fenugreek, cumin, cardamom, vanilla, ginger)
 Stimulants (coffee, tea, chat, tobacco)
 Fibers (cotton, sisal, flax)
 Fruits (banana, orange, grape, papaya, apple, pineapple, mango)
 Vegetables (onion, tomato, carrot, cabbage)
 Root and tubers (potato, enset, sweet potatoes, beets, yams,) and
 Sugar crops (sugarcane).
Importance of crops:
Agricultural crop production has several importance for human

being.
 Source of food for human being
Potato Wheat Teff

Cheeps Bread Injera

Importance of crops
 Sources of feed for animals

 Sources of raw materials for industry

Sugar cane Sugar industry

Chap. 1

Importance of crops

 Foreign Exchange

 Employment Opportunity

 Formation of Capital

 Medicinal uses
Chap. 1

Crop production as a science and art

A. Crop production as a science
 It is related with the development of new modern
technologies or application ways based on scientific
principles to solve farmer problems.
Example

 Developing of new crop varieties by hybridization

 Developing of transgenic crop varieties which is
resistant to pests and diseases
Chap. 1

 In crop production, farmers can face different problems

Identifying of problems Identifying causes

varieties
Developing of new hybrid
Low yield per unit area Poor seed varieties

Conducting of a research
Developed new technology
New hybrid verities

Related with this new verities there are a

development of new knowledge, application
ways and different management practices
Chap. 1

 Crop production as an art

 It deals with the implementation of the existed or newly
developed knowledge, skill, technology and all management
practices of the farm in skillful manner.

Identifying Conducting
Identifying
farmers Problem researches based
the cause
on problems

Using or
Developing of
implementation of the
knowledge, facts
solution by farmers
(possible solution)
(managemental part)
Chap. 1

Role of Crop Production in Ethiopia

 The total land area of the country is about 111.5 million
hectares

 Out of this total area around 66 % is estimated to be suitable

for agriculture.

 From the total land suitable for agricultural production,

around 16.5% is estimated to be under cultivation for the
production of annual and perennial crops.
Chap. 1

The Central Statistical Agency (CSA) classifies Ethiopian farms

into two major groups:
 Small holder farms,
 They are a farmer holding less than 25.2 hectare of land

 Large commercial farms

 They are a farmer holding more than 25.2 hectare of land

 Majority of the Ethiopian farmers are small holder farms

which is contributed around 97 % of the total crop output.
 Only 3% is contributed by large commercial farms
Ethiopia has suitable agro-ecology condition to grow a large variety of crops
include:
 cereals (tef, wheat, barley, millet, rice, oats, maize, sorghum),
 pulses (faba beans, field peas, chick peas, grass pea, haricot),
 oilseeds (sunflower, groundnuts, soybean, castor bean),
 spices (pepper, fenugreek, fennel, cumin, cardamom, ginger),
 stimulants (coffee, tea, chat, tobacco),
 fibers (cotton, sisal, flax),
 fruits (banana, orange, papaya, apple, pineapple, mango, avocado),
 vegetables (onion, tomato, carrot, cabbage),
 root and tubers (potato, enset, sweet potatoes, beets, yams,), and
 sugar crops (sugarcane).
 Teff, wheat, maize, sorghum and barley are the major cereal
crops produced in Ethiopia

 They account around:

 Three-quarters of total area cultivated

 29 percent of agricultural GDP in 2005/06

 64 percent of calories consumed

 As showed on the table below

 Cereals crops dominated Ethiopian crop production.

 It account around 73.4 percent of the total area cultivated

and 68.3% of the total crop product

 After cereals, the second most important is pulses which

contributed around
 12.4% percent of the total area cultivated

 8.5% of the total crop product

 Define “Crop”
 What are the importance of crop?
 What is the difference between food and feed?
 Give one example of crop that is used to generate Foreign
Exchange for our country?
 Ethiopian farmers classified as small holder farms and large
commercial farm based on________________
 Write down at list five major cereal crops that are produced in
our country
 Chapter Two
Origin of Cultivated Crops
 What is center of origin?
 Define “primary center of diversity” and “secondary center of
diversity”
 How crops are dispersed from center of origin to the others area??
 Can you give some crops that was proposed Ethiopia as a center of
origin for it??
 There are different approaches of crop classification. Can you give
some of them??
 Center of origin
 is the location where the given crop have first appeared.

 The primary criterion in identifying a center of origin is the

presence of wild relatives.

E.g. Ethiopia
 Indicators: Coffee
 There is natural
coffee
 There is wild
relative
 Maize
•There is no natural
maize in the forest

• No wild relative in
Ethiopia

•Ethiopia is not center of origin for maize

 The concept of centers of origin was first proposed by the Russian
scientist
 Nikolai Vavilov (1887-1943)

 He proposed eight primary center of origin for cultivated plants

 I. Chinese Center
 The largest independent center
 Around 136 endemic plants are listed
 Some examples of crops in this center

Soybean
I. Chinese Center……cont’d

Chinese apple Sugarcane

II. Indian Center
 This center has two sub-centers
A. Main Center (Hindustan)
B. Indo-Malayan Center

A. Main center
 Around 136 plants are listed

Rice
A. Main center……cont’d

Yam Mango Sugar cane

 II. Indian Center
B. Indo-Malayan Center
 Around Fifty-five plants were listed

Banana Black pepper

 B. Indo-Malayan Center……cont’d
 Around Fifty-five plants were listed

Sugarcane Coconut palm

III. Central Asiatic Center
 Includes Northwest India, Afghanistan, Tadjikistan,
Uzbekistan, and western Tian-Shan

 Forty-three plants are listed for this center

Eg, Common wheat, Pea, Chickpea, Flax, Cotton

Onion, Carrot, Apple and grape
IV. Near-Eastern Center:
 Eighty-three species including nine species of wheat were
located in this region

 Durum wheat, Common wheat, Alfalfa, Apple, Cherry.

V. Mediterranean Center
 Eighty-four plants are listed for this region

 Durum wheat, Pea, Flax, Cabbage, Lettuce, Asparagus

VI. Ethiopian Center
 38 plants are listed for this region

Barely Coffee
Sorghum Durum Wheat

Flax Cowpea
VII. South Mexican and Central American Center
 Maize, Common bean, Sweet potato, Pepper, Papaya,
Guava

VIII. South American Center:

 Have three sub-centers
1. Peruvian, Ecuadorean, Bolivian Center (Common bean)
2. Chiloe Center (Common potato)
3. Brazilian-Paraguayan Center (Peanut)
 Center of diversity
 the geographic area that have highest degree of plant
variation.
 There are two types of center of diversity
 Primary center of diversity:
 Is the center of diversity that is exist in nature
 It is also considered as center of origin

 Secondary center of diversity

 Center of diversity that is created after domestication
Dispersal of crop
 How crops were spread from the center of origin to the other
parts of world?
 Natural agent
 Water

 Wind

 animals

 Human being
-Trade - Migration -Expansion
 Classification of cultivated crops

 Classification: ordering of plants into groups

 Nomenclature: giving a name

 Crop plants are classified in different ways

 Classification of crop plant

Agronomic classification Special purpose classification Life cycle classification Scientific classification

 Cereal crops  Cover crops  Annual crops

 Pulse crops  Green manure crops  Biennial crops
 Root & tuber crops  Perennial crops
 Trap crops
 Fiber crops
 Oil crops  Catch crops
 Sugar crops
 Beverage crops
 Vegetable crops
 Fruit crops
 Crop plants are classified in different ways

A). Agronomic classification

 Agricultural use of the crop

 Growth similarity
 Cereal crops
 Crops that are growing for their edible grains

 They are rich in carbohydrate

 Pulses/grain legumes
 Crops that are growing for their edible grains

 They are rich in quality protein

Field pea Faba bean Haricot bean

 Root and tuber crops
 Crops that are growing for their elongated roots or tubers

 They are rich in carbohydrate

Carrot Potato Yam

 Fiber crops
 Crops that are growing for fiber production

Sisal Cotton Kenaf

 Oil crops
 Crops that are growing for the production of oil

Sunflower Flax Maize

 Sugar crops
 Crops that are growing for the production of sugar

Sugarcane Sugar beet

 Beverage crops
 Crops used for making beverage

 The have also stimulating effect

Coffee Tea crop Cocoa

 Vegetable crops

Tomato
Onion
Cabbage

Lettuce Cucumber
 Fruit crops
 Perennial crops that can bear a fruit
orange Wine grape apple

Mango

Avocado
B. Special purpose classification
 Cover crops
 Crops that are growing for the purpose of covering or
protecting of soil.
 Green manure crops:
 Crops that are growing to incorporate into soil as a green
manure
 Trap crops

 plants that attract agricultural pests, usually insects, away

from nearby crops.
 Catch crops

 It is also called emergency crop

 Used as substitutes crops when the main crops failed due to

unfavorable environmental condition.

 These crops are

 Fast growing crops (short life cycle)

 Have a mechanism to skip or withstand this unfavorable

condition .
C). Classification based on the life cycle
 Annual crops
 Crops complete their life cycle in one growing season
 Biennial crops
 Crops complete their life cycle in two growing seasons
 Perennial crops
 Crops complete their life cycle in more than two growing
seasons
D). Botanical classification
 It is a scientific classification system

Plant kingdom Phylum Class

Sub-order Order Sub-class

Family Sub-family Genus Species

 Chapter three
Crop Growth and Development
 What is a growth?

 What is development?

 Can you list some of the factors that can affect growth and
development in plants?

 State different parts of plant with its function?

 Crop Growth and Development
We know that all plant parts are made up from different types of cells.

Cell Tissues Organ System Organism

In this process cells pass through different stages of growth and

. development.
Different growth stage of crop plant
 Growth
 Is an irreversible increase in the size, number, volume and weight of an
organism.
 It is also considered as a quantitative change of crop plant
 It is measurable and can be expressed in terms of weight, length, volume, area,
number, etc
Types of growth
 Primary growth-
 Is the mitotic division of meristematic cells present at the root and shoot apex. It
increases the length of the plant body. OR

 Is growth from any meristem at the tip of a root or shoot.

 Secondary growth-

 The secondary meristem increases the diameter of the plant body and it is called
the secondary growth.

 Results in widening of a root or shoot from divisions of cells in a cambium.

 ‘Cambium’ is responsible for promoting growth of secondary xylem and phloem.

 Unlimited Growth

 The root and the shoot system of plants grow continuously from
germination stage to the death or throughout the life span of the plant.
 Limited Growth
 The leaves, fruits and flowers stop growing after attaining certain
size.

 Vegetative growth
 It is the earlier growth of plant to produce leaves, stem and branches
without flowers.

 Reproductive growth
 It is the growth stage that is happened after the vegetative growth, to
produce flowers which is the reproductive part of the plant.
Growth curve
 It is the curve obtained when we plot growth against time
 It is also called ‘sigmoid ‘curve and has ‘S’ shape.
This graph showed the four main phases
of growth:
1. Lag phase
 It is the initial phase of growth
 It is characterized by slow growth
2. Log phase
 The rapid period of growth

3. Diminishing phase
 It is the phase where growth
. will be slow.
4. Stationary phase
 It is the final phase where growth stops.
 Differentiation:
 Cells acquire different morphology and / or functional
characteristics from parent cell.
 It is the stage that brings maturity to the cells.

 Development:
 Development is defined as sum total of growth and differentiation.
 It is also considered as a qualitative change in crops.
 Therefore it is a progress of quality change starting from seed
germination up to the maturity of a given crop.
 Development
 It is not measurable.

 It is expressed by the phase change in crop.

Germination Emergence Leaves development

Ear initiation and stem Tillering

elongation

Flowering and grain filling Physiological maturity & death

 Both development and growth are governed by environmental and
internal factors.
 Environmental factors
 There are different environmental factors that can influence the growth and
development of crop plants. Some of them are:
 Water: it required as a medium for various biochemical processes
 Oxygen: it is inevitable for respiration
 Temperature: proper temperature is required for seed germination
 Light: it is a sources of energy for photosynthesis
 Nutrients: includes micronutrients (iron, boron, chlorine, copper, manganese)
and macro nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, sulfur,
magnesium, carbon, oxygen & hydrogen).
 Internal factors
 Plant hormones are one of the internal factors that can regulate the
growth and development of plants.

 They are chemical substances occurring in extremely low

concentrations and involve in most of the plant cell activities.

 They regulate the growth process both by promoting and

inhibiting growth.

 In general, plant hormones are grouped as growth promoter or

growth inhibitor hormones based on their promotion or inhibition
activity.
Structure and Function of plant parts

 leaf

 Stem

 Root
Root system
 Itis a part of plant that is found below the ground.
 It takes around one-fourth to one-third of the total dry
weight of a plant.

Root system
Structure of root
 It have different structure (see the below picture)
Epidermis: The outer layer of cells

Cortex: Primary tissues of a root bound on

the outside by the epidermis and on the
inside by the endodermis.

Endodermis : A single layer of cells in a root that separates the cortex tissues
from the pericycle.
Pericycle: A layer of cells immediately inside the endodermis.
 Vascular system
 Phloem tissue: transports products of photosynthesis from leaves
throughout the plant including down to the roots.
Xylem tissue: conveys water and dissolved minerals from the roots to
the rest of the plant and also provides physical support.
Types of Roots
 Fibrous root
 Profusely branched roots that occupy a large volume of
shallow soil around a plant's base. (petunias, beans, peas)

Fibrous root
Types of Roots
 Taproot
 Main, downward- growing root with limited branching,
where soils permit. (carrots, beets, radishes)
Function of root
 Anchor and support plants
 Absorb and transport water and minerals
 Store products of photosynthesis (carbohydrates, sugars,
proteins)

 Horticultural uses
 Food and feed
 Propagation
 Soil erosion control
 Used as medicine
 Stem
 Stems are the part of a plant that bear leaves and
flowers

 Function of stem
 Support leaves, flowers and seeds
 Continuation of vascular system carrying water and minerals
from the soil
 Green stems also manufacture food (photosynthesis).
 Food storage
 Horticultural uses
 Feed and food

 Fuel

 Plant identification

 Propagation (cuttings and layering)

 Wildlife habitat

 Wood industry and construction

 Leaf
 Leavesare the principle structure, where photosynthesis
takes place.
 Function
 forphotosynthesis, i.e., the manufacture of sugars
 Small openings on the leaf, known as stomata, regulate
moisture and gas exchange (water and carbon dioxide)
and temperature (cooling effect as water)
 Horticultural uses
 Feed and food
 Mulch and compost
 Plant identification
 Propagation from cuttings