AGRONOMY 21

FUNDAMENTALS OF CROP
PRODUCTION

1
 Module 1
Introduction and Basic
Concepts
 Lesson 1.2:
Economic vs. Biological Yields of Crops
and the factors affecting their production
Lesson Summary

• This describes the relationship between economic

and biological yields of crops and how the efficiency
is measured agronomically. However, it should be
emphasized that the crops’ ability to survive well and
produce enough yield in a particular area is
influenced by a number of factors namely: biotic and
abiotic factors.
Learning outcomes
1. To differentiate economic from biological yields
of various field crops; and
2. To identify and describe the different factors
affecting crop production
Motivation question

1. What particular crops are grown in your own

garden/farm or in your neighbors’ garden?
Economic Yield versus Biological Yield
• Crop production is related to:
- economic and biological yield of crops

Economic yield – agricultural yield; directly related

to man’s needs:
Ex: rice/corn = grains
legumes = grains
root crops =fleshy roots or tubers
sugarcane = raw sugar
11
•herbage, pods + grains;
Crop production is related to:
for corn - stover,
- economic cobs, huskyield
and biological + grains
of crops

Biological yield – Total dry matter produced by the

crop be it directly or indirectly related to man’s
needs:
Ex: rice = straw, hull, roots + grain
legumes = herbage, shell, roots + grains
corn = stover, cobs, husks, roots + grains
 straw hull roots + grain

Rice=

Herbage shell roots + grains

Peanut =
 Stover cobs husks roots + grains

Corn=
Harvest Index (HI)

• Indicates plants’ efficiency to convert the

absorbed nutrients and product of
photosynthesis into grains (economic yield)
• higher HI = crop produced higher economic yield
in proportion to vegetative yield.

Economic yield
HI = -------------------------------
Biological yield
Plant Adaptation and Distribution in Relation
to Crop Production

❖ Adaptation – ability of an organism and its

parts to exist and adjust under the
condition of its habitat
❖ Each crop has its own environmental
requirements for growth and development
to production
Plant Adaptation and Distribution in Relation
to Crop Production

Example:
• Water – water hyacinth, rice, lowland gabi,
• desert – cactus, orchids, bromeliads, succulents
• upland – crops with tap roots ex. corn, upland rice,
sweetpotato
• marsh – mangrove
Marsh- an area of low-lying land which is flooded in wet seasons or at high tide, and
typically remains waterlogged at all time (Oxford dictionary)
Water hyacinth Mangrove trees

Bromeliads

Cactus and succulents

Upland rice
Environment – the sum total of all external factors
affecting an organism or its system of life
Factors Affecting Crop Growth and
Reproduction

A. Abiotic Factor
1. Climate – light (intensity, quality and duration),
rainfall, temperature, relative humidity (RH) and
wind
2. Soil/edaphic factors – soil pH, texture, structure,
porosity, nutrient supplying capacity, etc.
B. Biotic factors - humans, animals, plants &
microorganisms
A. Abiotic Factors
1. Climate (light,

All aspects of plant growth and development

are controlled by light such as:
• type of growth (fast, slow)
• synthesis of food materials (photosynthesis)
• differentiation of tissues and organs (from
vegetative growth to reproduction) and
maturity of crops (less light, delayed flowering
and maturity)
Light factors that affect crop growth and
development

1. Light intensity (solar radiation)

➢ needed in photosynthesis
➢ strength or amount of light produced by a light source
2. Light duration (daylength) - influences
photoperiodism when plants respond to the
relative length of light and dark periods.

response of plants to
the relative length
of light or dark
periods
 Photoperiodic response

• The length or duration

of dark period is more Short day plants Long day plants
important than light Vegetative
period.

• Flowering is more of a Flowering

response to dark
period rather than light Flowering
period
3. Light quality (light wavelength)

Red light – long wavelength

Blue light – shorter wavelength
✓ Red light acts as an enzyme which initiates seed
Ultraviolet rays – shortest
germination.
wavelength; cause burning of
✓ After forest fire, hidden seeds are exposed to light
skin
and& germinate
leaves when subjected to red light.
✓ Ultraviolet rays caused burning of human skin and
Photosynthetic
plant leaves. Active
Radiation (PAR) – ROYGIBV
• Red light acts as an enzyme
which initiates seed germination
• After forest fire, hidden seeds
are exposed to light and
germinate when subjected to
red light
Electromagnetic Spectrum and
Visible Light
Gamma Infrared &
rays X-rays UV Radio waves
Microwaves

Visible light

Wavelength (nm)
Gamma Micro- Radio
X-rays UV Infrared waves waves
rays

Different wavelengths of visible light are seen by

the human eye as different colors
Classification of plants according to their
reaction to light
1) Short - day plants
• bear flowers when daylength is less than 12 hours
• If these are exposed to more than 12 hours of light
per day, bloom formation does not occur.
• Exposure of plants to longer daylengths (February-
July) will keep them in vegetative stage.
Examples: Rice, corn, sorghum, soybean, tobacco;
chrysanthemums, poinsettias and Christmas cactus
Rice
Poinsettias
Chrysanthemums
2) Long-day plants
• They bear flowers when the length of daylight
exceeded more than 12 hours
• Daylength is longer (12-14 hours) and dark period
is shorter (August-January).
• It requires 8-10 hours of darkness for the plants to
flower.
• summer-blooming flowers and garden vegetables
Examples: Garlic, onion, potato, radish
3) Day-neutral plants
• plants whose flowering ability is not affected or
conditioned by daylength or dark period.
• flower after the period of vegetative growth is
completed, regardless of the length of daylight.
Examples: tomato, pepper, sunflower, pigeon pea
A. Abiotic Factors
1. Climate (light, water
• It is an important component of an active plant cell
• forms 80-90% of the fresh weight of actively growing
tissues.
• Plants respond differently to available water.
Classification of plants based on water
requirements

1) Hydrophytes - These plants thrive under wet locations

such as swamps. They are further classified into:
a) Suspended hydrophytes - Plants which grow once they
come in contact with water.
Ex. Weeds of lowland rice – associated with the crop being
grown.
b) Floating hydrophytes - Plants that thrive by floating on
water.
Ex. Water lilies, water hyacinth, azolla
 Weeds associated in lowland rice

Water lilies

https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/marsh-cattails-
wetland-typha-upstate-rural-new-york-67444419.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co
mmons/1/11/Nymphaea_nouchali5.JPG
 c) Submerged hydrophytes - Plants whose roots are
anchored at the bottom of the water.
Ex. Sea grass, water ferns
d) Emergent hydrophytes - Plants whose shoots are
extended well above a shallow water with roots
anchored in the soil.
Ex. Lowland rice, gabi
 Sea grass

Gabi/ Taro

https://live.staticflickr.com/375/3077422
0094_902c427ac8_b.jpg

https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/taro-
plant
2) Mesophytes - These are common land plants which
have well developed root system. They grow in soil
where the capillary water is adequate.
Ex. Trees, shrubs, herbs
3) Xerophytes - These are land plants that can tolerate
very low moisture supply and are resistant to drought
condition.
Ex. Desert plants (cacti, etc.).
 Trees, shrubs, herb

Cactus, succulents

https://www.pinterest.ph/pin/712835447248945381/

https://www.britannica.com/story/can-you-drink-
water-from-a-cactus
Why do xerophytes are able to adapt
under very low moisture conditions?
• They have well-developed root
system
• They have good water storage in the
stems and leaves (well-vacuolated).
• They have morphological adaptation
to low transpirational losses due to
presence of hairs on the leaves
(pubescence), thickened leaves, well-
developed water conducting systems
and stomata are open at night time
and close during daytime.
A. Abiotic Factors
1. Climate (light, water, temperature
Too high or too low temperature is detrimental to
plants.
The three fundamental temperature ranges are:
• Minimum – below which growth does not take place
(no growth)
• Optimum – rapid growth is expected
• maximum – when plant ceases to
grow
Classification of plants based on
temperature requirements
1) Cryophillous plants - They require low temperature
or cold environment during floral induction and do not
produce seeds in the tropics.
Ex. Wheat, apples, cabbage, peas, onions, etc.
2) Non-cryophillous species – needs warm
environment for floral initiation
Ex. Rice, corn, sorghum, mungbean, sweetpotato,
coconut

*Cryo= frost
Wheat

Cabbage
A. Abiotic Factors
1. Climate (light, water, temperature, wind

• It is important in seed dispersal and pollination of

plants.
• They affect the plants differently in higher and lower
elevations.
• Those growing in the higher elevation are subjected
to strong winds although whenever there is typhoon,
those in the lower elevations are not spared from the
damage due to strong winds.
➢ Wind - is a natural movement of air at any velocity
especially in natural motion horizontally.
➢ Gentle winds are beneficial to plants due to
distribution of carbon dioxide among plants in a crop
community.
➢ Air - a mixture of invisible, colorless, tasteless gases
(as N & O2) that surrounds the earth; a light breeze.
➢ Breeze - a light gentle wind (6.4 - 8.0 km/hr.) = 6-20
km/hr. e.g a hanging clothes move due to breeze
A. Abiotic Factors
2. Soil/ Edaphic factors
Edaphic - related to the soil and whose effect is more
due to soil than climate.
Edaphic factors are only secondary in controlling plant
distribution because they are often controlled by
climatic factors.
Climate is a major factor in soil formation and greatly
influences the differentiation of soils into various
types.
The soil is the basic medium for plant growth:
• It provides anchorage to plants
• It supplies water and nutrient for plant’s normal
growth and development
• Under suitable soil environment, a crop performs
best, producing vigorous growth and high production.

Land use - refers to the manner of utilizing land,

including its allocation, development, and
management
Soil properties that determine what crops to
be grown in a particular area include:

a. Soil texture - It is defined as the size of the

individual soil particles or grains. It determines the soil
capacity to store water and nutrients, provides
aeration, drainage, and eases field operations (land
preparation, cultivation, etc.)
• Medium or heavy soils (clayey or clay loam) - best
suited for fine-rooted grasses; such as rice
• Light soils (loamy soils) - best suited for corn,
sugarcane, sorghum
• Well-drained soil (sandy loam) - best suited for
cassava, sweetpotato
• Waterlogged soil - best suited for lowland rice,
lowland taro
b. Soil structure - It refers to the way in which
individual soil particles are arranged. It is the size,
shape, and arrangement of individual soil particles to
form compound particles.
Factors influenced by soil structure:
• soil porosity
• soil aeration
• water movement and
• root penetration
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Photographs-of-common-peds-soil-aggregates-
identified-in-paleosols-See-Table-93-for_fig2_328557157
 Saline/ sodic soil

Good structured soil Soil with high organic matter

• Good soil structure for growing flooded rice is
attained by puddling (destruction of soil aggregates)
to eliminate water movement downward as this
practice seals pore spaces between soil particles
with water by displacing air (oxygen).
• Organic matter content is correlated with soil
aggregate stability, as it plays a cementing role
between primary mineral particles.
• Soils high in clay need more organic matter to
improve their bulk density (makes the soil more
porous).
• Sandy soils need organic matter not only to provide
additional nutrients but also to hold the soil particles
together to reduce excessive erosion.
c. Soil pH - This refers to the degree of acidity or
alkalinity of the soil. It affects the activities of
microorganisms as well as the availability of nutrients
in the soil. There are crops that thrive best in acidic
soils while others, in alkaline soil.
• In acidic soil (4.5 - 5.5 optimum pH) - pineapple
• In alkaline soil - citrus grows well
• Saline Soils - are soils that are high in salts. The soils
could be either acidic or alkaline.
https://soilquality.org.au/factsheets/soil-ph-south-austral

https://news.extension.uconn.edu/2018/12/07/soil-ph-the-master-
variable/
Why do soils in coastal areas become saline?

• Soils Along the Coastal Areas - Ricefields,

fishponds or other low-lying areas that are
inundated (flooded) with salt water become
saline.
• The saline soil is also called sodic soil due to
high Na salt content. Soils in these areas
become saline and salinity is often associated
with high pH (alkaline).
Why do soils in landlocked areas become
saline?

• Soils in Landlocked Areas - These areas are

far from bodies of water like ocean, sea, bay,
river, lake and where evapotranspiration
(evaporation and transpiration) is faster than
the amount of water that is put back through
rainfall or irrigation.
• There is accumulation of salts like calcium,
magnesium, potassium, etc. on the soil
surface, forming white crust.
B. Biotic Factors

a. Humans – great impact since they intentionally alter

the plants’ environment to the extent of controlling
it completely or in some instances.
They introduce new or exotic plants to a
particular place; eliminate; control or propagate.

Examples: growing plants in greenhouses; asexual

propagation; tissue culture; irradiation;
killing/eradicating, etc.
b. Animals‘ presence, especially the grazing animals,
also alter plants’ environment. Livestock are also
selective eaters and they eat first what they like best or
what they prefer. Consequently, the preferred plants
decreased while the non-preferred ones thrive well.
c. Pests’ presence also influences plant community.
• Weeds - Some species become dominant while
others decrease depending on the persistence of the
species.
Ex. cogon would dominate other plants. They have
rhizomes; they are deep-rooted; tolerant to drought and
to some insect pests and diseases; they may have
allelopathic effects
• Insects and disease organisms - They have also
plant preference. Those that are attacked frequently
may reduce in population. Those that are less
preferred and are left will increase in population.
End of Module 1