WK 2 RELEVANCE OF BIOLOGY TO AGRICULTURE

Agriculture involves the growing of crops and rearing of animals while biology is the study of
pants and animals so, biology in so many ways has related to agriculture.

Plants can be classified on the bases of three criteria:

a) Botanical classifications
b) Agricultural classifications
c) Classification based on life cycle

1) Botanical classification: Plants are generally classified through botanical method.

The plant kingdom is divided into thallophyta, bryophyte, pteriodophyta, spermatophyte

and schizophyta.

Thallophyta, bryophyte and Pteridophyta are plants with microscopic reproductive organs.

Pteridophyta: differentiated vascular tissues.

Spermatophyta: Plants bearing macroscopic reproductive structures, flowers, seeds,

producers.

Bryophyte and Pteridophyta has archegoniate for producing female gametes.

I) Schizophyta

Characteristics

 They are simple living things that belong to monera.

 They are microscopic and non-green plants.
 They reproduce by asexual means (binary fission).
 They are unicellular organisms and they are prokaryotic cell (i.e. no
nucleus).
II) Thallophyta
Characteristics
 They are simple plants with definite shape e.g. fungi and algae.
 They are eukaryotes and multicellular organisms.
 They have no true roots, stem and leaves.
 They are non-green plants i.e., they lack chlorophyll.
 They are mainly saprophytes while others are parasitic.
III) Bryophyta
Characteristics
 They are complex multicellular green plants; their cells are differentiated
into tissues.
 They lack true roots, stem and leaves.
  They are usually found growing in moist places.
 Some are terrestrial while others are aquatic.
IV) Pteridophyta

Characteristics

 They are multicellular and vascular green plants.

 They are non-flowering plants.
 They have true roots, stem and leaves.
 They reproduce sexually by spores.

V) Spermatophyta

Characteristics
 They are multicellular, seed producing flowering plants.
 They are vascular plants and have well developed vascular tissues.
 They have true roots, stem and leaves.
 They are mainly terrestrial green plants.

2) Agricultural classification: In agriculture, plants are classified based on their uses or

products as follows.

A) Legumes: These are plants with sources of protein food of animals including humans.
They are primarily grown for their seeds e.g., cow peas, lima beans, pigeon peas, soya
beans, ground nuts.

B) Cereal: These plants belong to the family GRAMINEAE they are grasses and are grown
from their grains e.g., barley, maize, millet, oats, sorghum and wheat.

C) Root crops: These are crops grown primarily for the food stored in their swollen roots
e.g., cassava, carrots and sweet potatoes.

D) Tuber crops: There are underground stems which are swollen with food reserve e.g.,
cocoyam, Irish potatoes and yam.

E) Vegetable crops: These are crops/plants grown as vegetables e.g., cabbage, carrot,
egg, plants, lettuce, okro, onion, pawpaw, spinach and tomatoes.

F) Oil crops: These are crops grown mainly for the oil that could be extracted from their
fruits and seeds e.g., coconut, ground nuts, oil palm, Shea butter etc.

G) Spices: These are used mainly to add special flavour to food e.g., sweet or red
pepper, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon etc.
 H) Beverages and drugs: The crops which yield these products include cocoa, coffee,
tobacco is a stimulant guanine is used as medicine.

I) Fibre crops: These are crops cultivated mainly for the fibres. Fibres from plants are
used for clothing, ropes.

J) Wood crops: Some trees provide hard wood which is used mainly for making
furniture or building materials e.g., ebony, mahogany, and iroko.

CLASSIFICATION BASED ON LIFE CYCLE

On the bases of their life cycle, plants are grouped into annuals, biennials and perennials.

ANNUAL: These are crops which complete their life cycle in one season. That is, they
germinate their seedlings develop and mature, and finally produce seeds and die within a
season e.g., rice, maize, millet, sorghum and beans.

BIENNALS: These are plants which complete their life cycles within two years. During the
first years they develop their vegetative plants and die during the second-year e.g., carrots,
onions and ginger.

PERENNIALS: These are plants that live for several years they produce fruits every season
and sometimes twice in a year/season or once in several seasons e.g., mango, orange,
shrubs, banana, oil palm, rubber etc.