Laboratory Exercise No.

1
IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF
ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CROPS

INTRODUCTION
Crop production is a subset of agriculture that comprises crop cultivation in field cultivation, vegetable
growing, fruit growing, and so on. This industry provides much-needed food. Raw materials are obtained by the
consumer products and food sectors. In turn, the livestock business consumes byproducts such as straw, silage,
and food industry waste.
In today's rapidly changing sociopolitical and economic situations, the economy must ensure not just
self-survival, but also output growth.
Hence, without boosting the application of science, technology, and innovations, the shift to sustainable
economic development and further improvement of agricultural production organization is unachievable. An in-
depth analysis of the real processes of manufacturing of the product, its type, direction, and dynamics, is
required for an individual choice of the essential implementations.
OBJECTIVES
1. Identify major agricultural and horticultural crops by common and scientific name.
2. Classify crops according to life cycle, reproductive mode, growth habits, and agricultural or horticultural
classification.
3. Identify important by-products of crops.

MATERIALS AND PROCEDURE

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

INSIGHTS AND LEARNINGS

REFERENCES
QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

1. What is the importance of knowing the following in the production of a crop? Give a specific example.
a. Life cycle
Gardeners need to understand plant life cycles so they can maintain year-round nutritional and
economical crops and colorful gardens. They must be aware of this in order to determine and
estimate when their crops will be ready to harvest. Most crop plants go through the same
fundamental life cycle stages.

Examples:

 Annuals- plants that have a one-year or shorter life cycle

 Biennials- plants that develop leaves and roots in the first year and flowers and fruits in the
second year then die
 Perennials- plant life cycles that last two years, with the first year dedicated to leaf and root
development and the second year to flower and fruit production before the plant's eventual
demise.

b. Mode of reproduction
The method of reproduction of a plant is relevant because it affects its genetic make-up and
provides insight into its traits. We can observe that a plant is composed of many sections when we
look at it. Vegetative parts (leaves, roots, and stems) and reproductive parts are the two groups into
which plant components fall (flowers).
Examples:
 Sexual- propagation of plants by the use of seeds
 Asexual- propagation of plants by the use of vegetative plant parts

c. Growth habit
Different growth patterns in plants have evolved primarily for the goal of adaptation to long-term
survival and the creation of new individuals, usually in response to changing climatic circumstances.

Examples:

 Herbs- are short, green, soft-stemmed plants with no woody structure. The duration of their life
cycle is one to two seasons.
 Vines- ascend and sustain themselves by means of twining stems, tendrils, aerial roots, and
occasionally sticky disks called hold fasts.
 Shrubs- are woody, medium-sized plants that are taller than herbs but shorter than trees.
 Trees- are large and tall vegetation. The thick, woody, and brittle stalks are known as the trunk.
This single main stem or trunk produces several branches bearing leaves, flowers, and fruits.

2. Differentiate agronomic from horticultural crops.

The difference between agronomic and horticultural crops is that agronomic crops occupy a large
amount of land and are grown based on their commercial importance, such as grains, dry beans,
 oilseeds, and fiber, whereas horticultural crops include fruits and vegetables, medicinal, aromatic, and
ornamental plants. Most horticultural plants are cultivated indoors and for individual consumption.

3. Enumerate three crop examples for each of the following growth habit:
a. Herb
Examples:
Cabbage
Tomato
Mustard
b. Herbaceous vine
Examples:
Swallow-wort
Japanese hop
Yam species
c. Woody vine
Examples:
Hops vines
Hedge bindweed
Bittersweet nightshade
d. Shrub
Examples:
Rose
Marigold
China Rose
e. Tree
Examples:
Nuts
Timber
Fruit
4. Match the products available in the market in column (A) with the crops in column (B).
A B
1. b cough tablets a. Wheat
2. i ginataan, Perla soap b. Lagundi
3. t, p Kisses c. Mungo
4. j sinamay d. Sweet potato
5. a spaghetti noodles e. Cotton
6. l pansitbihon f. Peanut
7. c sotanghon g. Soybean
8. g taho, soy sauce, tokwa h. Cassava
9. u Adidas shoes i. Coconut
10. e Giordano T-shirt j. Abaca
11. k Barong Tagalog k. Pineapple
 12. o bath scrub (loofah) l. Rice
13. r, n spaghetti sauce m. Chili
14. q, s ginisa mix n. Oregano
15. m cheese pimiento o. Patola
p. Sugarcane
q. Onion
r. Tomato
s. Black pepper
t. Cacao
u. Rubber

Table 1. Identification and classification of some major crops

COMMON NAME SCIENTIFIC GROWTH LIFE DISTINGUISHING CHARACTER

NAME HABIT CYCLE
1. Use
Cereals
1. Corn Zea mays Herb Annual The corn plant is a tall annual grass with
a stout, erect, solid stem. The large
narrow leaves have wavy margins and are
spaced alternately on opposite sides of the
stem. Staminate (male) flowers are borne
on the tassel terminating the main axis of
the stem.
Legumes
1. Blue Ternate Clitoria Vine Perennial It is a slender climbing legume with
ternatea short, soft hairs on the stem. It has deep
roots and ornamental flowers. Its stalked,
alternately-arranged leaves are pinnate
with 5-7 elliptic or ovate leaflets, 2.5-5
cm long. Each leaflet is thinly papery or
membranous, and measuring 2.5-5 cm
long and 1.5-3.5 cm wide.
2. Pigeon Pea Cajanus Shrub Perennial Pigeon pea is a highly branched shrub
cajan with a woody base, slender stems and
trifoliate leaves. The plant leaflets are
oblong or elliptical in shape and the
leaves are alternate and arranged spirally
on the stems. The plant usually produces
yellow flowers, but they can be yellow
with streaks of purple or red.
3. Pinto Peanut Arachis pintoi Shrubs Perennial Pinto peanut is a stoloniferous perennial
creeping legume that can reach 20-50 cm
in height and form dense swards. It is
strongly tap-rooted and has many
secondary nondilated roots. The stems are
initially prostrate and then become
ascendant. The leaves are tetrafoliolate.
The leaflets are oblong-obovate to
obovate in shape, 4.5 cm long x 3.5 cm
broad, glabrous and darker green at their
upper side and pubescent underneath.
Root Crops
 1. Cassava Manihot Shrub Perennial Cassava is a perennial plant with
esculenta C. conspicuous, almost palmate (fan-shaped)
leaves resembling those of the related
castor-oil plant but more deeply parted
into five to nine lobes. The fleshy roots
are reminiscent of dahlia tubers. Different
varieties range from low herbs to
branching shrubs and slender unbranched
trees
2. Sweet Potato Ipomoea Vines Perennial The pale sweet potato has light-colored
batatas beige skin and light-yellow flesh, and its
texture is firm, dry, and less sweet. The
darker sweet potato has a thicker skin,
flesh that ranges from dark orange to
purple, and a texture that is sweeter,
softer, and moister.
3. Onion Allium cepa Herbs Biennial The common onion has one or more
flower stalks without leaves that reach a
height of 75–180 cm (2.5–6 ft) and
terminate in a spherical cluster of little
greenish-white blooms
Fiber Crops
1. Kapok tree Ceiba Tree Perennial The straight trunks are cylindrical,
pentandra smooth and gray in appearance, and may
reach a diameter of 9 feet. Huge spines
emerge from the trunk to deter injury to
the trunk. Narrow, plank style buttresses
support the massive and may stretch to 30
feet. The wood is a pinkish white to ashy
brown in hue, with a straight grain. The
branches develop in horizontal levels, and
spread extensively.
Oil Crops
1. Coconut Cocos Tree Perennial A single coconut palm may produce 100
nucifera coconuts every year, and each fruit takes
a year to mature. Mature coconuts, which
are ovoid or ellipsoid in form and 300–
450 mm (12–18 inches) in length and
150–200 mm (6–8 inches) in diameter,
have a thick fibrous husk enclosing the
commercially recognized single-seeded
nut. The small embryo and its copious
endosperm, which is made of both meat
and liquid, are encased in a tough shell.
Coconut fruits float easily and have been
extensively disseminated across the
tropics by ocean currents and people.
2. African Oil Elaeis Tree Perennial The oil palm has a single stem and
Palm guineensis reaches a height of around 20 meters (66
ft). It has several small blooms clustered
on short branches that grow into a big
cluster of 4 cm (1.6 inch) long oval fruits.
When mature, the fruits are black with a
crimson base and contain a single kernel,
which is an oily seed.
Beverage Crops
1. Robusta coffee Coffea Tree Perennial Coffee plant is a small tree that is
canephora between 2m and 8m tall and has
evergreen, usually shiny leaves. The
flowers are white and sweetly scented,
and the fruits are red, but sometimes
 yellow or purple. Each fruit produces two
green seeds, which are commonly known
as coffee beans
2. Cacao Theobroma Tree Perennial Cacao is a small, wide-branching,
cacao evergreen tree that is native to tropical
rainforest areas of Central and South
America. It typically grows in the wild to
20-30' tall with glossy, oblong, drooping,
bright green leaves (4-8" long). Seeds
from this tree are the source of cocoa,
cocoa butter and chocolate.
Medicinal Crops
1. Asthma weed/ Eurphorbia Herbs Annual An annual hairy herb, usually much-
Tawa-tawa hirta branched from the base. These branches
are simple or forked, ascending or
spreading up to 40 centimeters long and
often reddish or purplish.
2. Guyabano/ Annona Tree Perennial Guyabano is a small tree, usually less
Sour soap muricata L. than 7 meters high. Leaves are smooth,
glossy,shiny, oblong-obovate to oblong, 7
to 20 centimeters in length, pointed on
both ends, with petioles about 5
millimeters long. Flower is solitary, large,
solitary, yellow or greenish-yellow. Three
outer petals are broadly ovate with a
heart-shaped base, up to 5 centimeters
long, and 3 centimeters wide; and the
inner three are also large, elliptic to
obovate, and rounded. Fruit is ovoid and
large, up to 18 centimeters long, covered
with small scattered, soft spinelike
processes. Skin is thin, and the pulp is
soft, rather fibrous, white, and fleshy,
with an agreeable, but rather sour flavor.
3. Serpentina/ Andrographis Herbs Perennial Tuberous with pale brown cork. Leaves
Indian paniculata are large, in whorls of three, grouped near
snakeroot stem apex, bright green above and pale
green beneath. Usually unbranched,
slender, straw colored. In irregular
corymbose cymes with red pedicels and
calyx, white corolla, often tinged with
violet.
4. Malunggay/ Moringa Shrubs Perennial Moringa trees can reach a height of about
Moringa oleifera 9 metres (30 feet) and have corky gray
bark. The leaves are bi- or tripinnately
compound and have oval-shaped leaflets
with conspicuous swellings (pulvini)
where the parts join
5. Mangosteen Garcinia Tree Perennial Mangosteens have a thick, hard, deep red
mangostana rind surrounding snow-white flesh, which
is in segments resembling those of a
mandarin orange. Seedlings take 8 to 15
years to bear fruit. Individual trees have
been reported to yield more than 1,000
fruits in a season, but the plants usually
produce good crops only in alternate
years.
6. Tibbig Ficus nota Tree Perennial Leaves oblong to elliptic-obovate, 15 to
35 centimeters long and 8 to 12
centimeters wide; soft and pubescent
beneath, the margins irregular and
 distinctly toothed, the apex abruptly
acute, and the base auriculate. Midrib of
leaves is stout, with 7 to 9 pairs of
ascending, curved nerves.
Vegetable Crops
1. Eggplant Solanum Herb Annual Standard eggplant is an oval or pear-
melongena shaped, glossy, purplish fruit 6 to 9
inches long. Japanese and oriental
varieties tend to be elongated and slender
with a thinner, more delicate skin.
"Ornamental" varieties are edible and
tend to produce small, white-skinned,
oval-shaped fruit.
2. Lady Finger Abelmoschus Shrub Annual Okra leaves are heart-shaped and three-
esculentus to five-lobed. The flowers are yellow
with a crimson centre. The fruit, or pod,
hairy at the base, is a tapering 10-angled
capsule 10–25 cm (4–10 inches) in length
(except in the dwarf varieties) that
contains numerous oval dark-coloured
seeds.
3. Upo/Calabash Lagenaria Vine Annual Upo is a coarse vine reaching a length of
siceraria several meters. Leaves are rounded, 10 to
40 centimeters wide, softly hairy on both
sides, 5-angled or lobed. Flowers, white,
large, solitary, and monoecious or
dioecious. Petals are ovate, 3 to 4
centimeters long.
4. Bitter Gourd Momordica Vine Annual An annual climbing or trailing herb with
charantia stems (vines) up to 5 m long. The stems
are ridged, glabrous or hairy, and they
bear simple tendrils. The leaves are
showy, alternate, simple, borne on 1.5-7
cm long petioles.
5. Patola/ Sponge Luffa Vine Annual Its leaves are 7 - 20 cm across and have
gourd aegyptiaca three lobes. Flowers are bright yellow.
The fruits which grow to about 60 cm in
length are oblong or cylindrical, smooth
and contain many seeds. The fruit is
brown when mature and dries on the vine
to develop an inedible sponge-like
structure.
6. Squash Cucurbita Vines Annual Plants are upright and spreading, 45 to 75
maxima cm (18 to 30 inches) high, and produce a
great diversity of fruit forms, from
flattened through oblong to elongate and
crooked fruits, coloured from white
through cream to yellow, green, and
variegated. Fruit surfaces or contours
may be scalloped, smooth, ridged, or
warty.
7. Cucumber Cucumis Vines Annual Regular cucumbers have green stripes on
sativus L. a dark green skin with a rough surface
and strong trichomes. They are about 15-
25 cm in length and uniformly
cylindrical. English cucumbers are evenly
green throughout and long in length
(about 25-50 cm).
8. String beans/ Vigna Vines Annual Commonly known as green beans, though
Yardlong bean unguiculata they can be yellow or purple, pods are
var. usually five to eight inches (12-20 cm)
 sesquipedalis long. They are also known as snap beans
L. because they can be snapped in half when
they are at their freshest. The names of
string beans varieties usually refer to the
type of plant they are grown
9. Alugbati/ Basella alba Vines Annual Alugbati is commonly grown as a
Malabar backyard plant in the garden. Also known
spinach as Malabar Spinach, it is a leafy green
vegetable, which is popular in the
Philippines. It has heart-shaped leaves
that grow along a bright red stem. It bears
fruit that ranges from dark green to red
color.
Fruit Crops
1. Durian Durio Tree Perennial It's most commonly yellow or white, but
zibethinus L. can also be red or green. Durian grows in
tropical regions around the world,
particularly in the Southeast Asian
countries of Malaysia, Indonesia, and
Thailand. The fruit can grow up to 1 foot
(30 cm) long and 6 inches (15 cm) wide.
2. Banana Musa Herb Perennial A banana is a curved, yellow fruit with a
thick skin and soft sweet flesh. If you eat
a banana every day for breakfast, your
roommate might nickname you "the
monkey." A banana is a tropical fruit
that's quite popular all over the world. It
grows in bunches on a banana tree.
3. Mango Mangifera Tree Perennial Mango trees are symmetrical, evergreen
indica trees with extensive roots that reach
heights of 90 feet and widths of 80 feet.
Young mango trees have simple
alternating lanceolate leaves that range in
length from 12 to 16 inches and are
colored yellow-green, purple, or copper.
The mature leaves are leathery, lustrous,
and a dark shade of green.
4. Santol Sandoricum Tree Perennial Santol fruits are round to ovate, averaging
koetjape 4 to 7 centimeters in diameter, and have a
slightly flattened shape. The skin is
leathery, somewhat fuzzy, and wrinkled,
ripening from green to golden yellow,
and is sometimes covered in a red blush.
5. Pomelo Citrus Tree Perennial The fruit of a growing pomelo tree is the
maxima largest citrus fruit in the world, from 4-12
inches (10-30.5 cm.) across, with a
sweet/tart interior covered by a greenish-
yellow or pale yellow, easily removable
peel, much like another citrus. The skin is
fairly thick and, therefore, the fruit keeps
for long periods of time.
6. Mangosteen Garcinia Tree Perenial Mangosteens have a thick, hard, deep red
mangostana rind surrounding snow-white flesh, which
is in segments resembling those of a
mandarin orange. Seedlings take 8 to 15
years to bear fruit. Individual trees have
been reported to yield more than 1,000
fruits in a season, but the plants usually
produce good crops only in alternate
years.
7. Papaya Carica Herb Perennial Though the fast-growing plant resembles
papaya a tree, the papaya is actually an herb that
 reaches 20-30 ft in. height with a rough
stem is typically 12-16 in. thick (Morton).
The large leaves have long stems (1-3.5
ft) and their blades are spit into 7-11 main
lobes.
8. Dragon Fruit Hylocereus Vine Perennial The dragon fruit plant is an enormous,
undatus climbing, and creeping cactus plant. It
grows tall, with chunky, succulent-like
branches, and bears brilliant pink or
yellow, leathery-skinned fruit with
dazzling white flesh containing small,
glossy black seeds.
9. Guyabano or Annona Tree Perennial Guyabano is a small tree, usually less
Sour soup muricata L. than 7 meters high. Leaves are smooth,
glossy, shiny, oblong-obovate to oblong,
7 to 20 centimeters in length, pointed on
both ends, with petioles about 5
millimeters long. Flower is solitary, large,
solitary, yellow or greenish-yellow.
10. Siling labuyo Capsicum Herb Perennial Erect, branched, smooth, annual herb, 30-
frutescens 50 cms long, pointed at both ends.
Flowers are solitary and axillary, 1 to 1.8
cm in diameter. Petals are white to straw-
colored. Fruit is of various sizes and
varieties
Ornamental Crops

1. Golden Allamanda Vine Perennial An evergreen tropical climber with large,

Trumphet cathartica deep yellow trumpet flowers and glossy
green leaves. Native to Brazil, its flowers
are visited by bees, sunbirds and
butterflies.Allamanda makes a lush
addition on trellises or fences in parks
and gardens and flowers freely all year.
2. Gumamela Hibiscus Shrub Perennial Gumamela is a fast-growing evergreen
rosa-sinensis shrub with dark green and glossy leaves
with dicot flowers. The leaves are oval in
shape, and they measure between 3
inches to 4.2 inches long. The edges of
the leaves often are slightly serrated.
They arrange themselves in a spiral
pattern and alternate around a long stalk.
3. Pandakaki Tabernaemon Shrub Perennial Pandakaki is an erect, branched and
tana smooth shrub, 1 to 4 meters high. Leaves
pandacaqui are elliptic-lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, 5
P. to 12 centimeters long, narrowed at both
ends, shining and short-stalked.
Inflorescences are axillary and terminal,
peduncled, and have rather few flowers.
Calyx is green, ovoid, and short. Corolla
is white, tinged with green, slender-tubed,
1.7 centimeters long and slightly enlarged
upward; limb is 2 to 2.5 centimeters in
diameter, composed of five, spreading,
falcate, lanceolate lobes. Follicles are red
or yellowish-red, oblong, 2 to 4
centimeters long, and longitudinally
ridged or keeled.
4. Bougainvillea Bougainvillea Shrub Perennial The leaves are large and ovate, with
spinosa C. rippling along the edges and hairs on the
underside. The bracts are red, dark pink,
or purple, while the small flowers are
 cream colored. Its thorns are large and
may be curved. The growth habit is
dense, and the colorful bracts appear up
and down the branches.
5. Santan/ West Ixora Shrub Perennial Santan is an erect and smooth ornamental
Indian Jasmine coccinea L. shrub, growing to a height of 2 to 3
meters. Leaves are stalkless or on very
short stalks, oblong, 5 to 9 centimeters
long, heart-shaped or rounded at the base
and blunt-tipped. Flowers are many, pink
or red, and borne in terminal, stalkless or
shortly stalked, hairy cymes.
6. Century plant Agave Shrub Perennial Century plant is quite striking, with large
americana succulent leaves that are greenish-blue
color and boldly textured. The leaves are
very large, reaching up to 6 feet long and
10 inches wide. The spread of the mature
plant is quite an impressive sight for any
landscape—up to 12 feet.
7. San Francisco Codiaeum Shrub Perennial San Francisco has a multi-colored foliage
variegatum with a leathery texture. The edges of its
leaves turn dark as it age. This plant
grows in an different shapes and colors
like: red, orange, violet, pink, yellow, and
green.

2. Mode of Reproduction Sexual Asexual (specify method)

Cereals
1. Corn 

Legumes
1. Blue Ternatea 
2. Pigeon Pea 
3. Pinto Peanut 

Root Crops
1. Cassava vegetatively propagation from stems
2. Sweet Potato  vegetative propagation from the actual
storage roots or from the plant vines
3. Onion vegetative propagation through their
bulbs

Fiber Crops
1. Kapok Tree 

Oil Crops
1. Coconut 
2. African Oil Palm 

Beverage Crops
1. Robusta Coffe 
2. Cacao 
Medicinal Crops
1. Asthma weed/ Tawa- 
tawa
2. Guyabano/ Sour soap 
3. Serpentina/ Indian 
snakeroot
4. Malunggay/ Moringa  vegetative propagation from stem
5. Mangosteen agamospermy or apomixis
Vegetable Crops
1. Eggplant 
2. Lady Finger 
3. Upo/Calabash 
4. Bitter Gourd 
5. Patola/ Sponge gourd 
6. Squash 
7. Cucumber 
8. String beans/ Yardlong 
bean
9. Alugbati/ Malabar vegetative propagation from stems
spinach
Fruit Crops
1. Durian budding or grafting onto a rootstock
2. Banana vegetative propagation from stem or
roots
3. Mango  Propagated through grafting, layering,
cutting or budding
4. Santol  Propagated trough inarching or
budding
5. Pomelo Propagated through grafting, air-
layering, budding, and stem cuttings
6. Mangosteen Propagated through bud grafting and
approach grafting or though
agamospermy or apomixis
7. Tibbig 
8. Papaya 
9. Dragon Fruit  vegetative propagation through stem
cuttings
10. Guyabano 
11. Siling labuyo 
Ornamental Crops
1. Golden Trumphet Vegetative propagation through stem
tip cuttings
2. Gumamela 
3. Pandakaki Vegetative propagation through stem
tip cuttings
4. Bougainvillea  Vegetative propagation through
cutting and stem fragments
5. Santan/ West Indian Vegetative propagation through stem
Jasmine cutting
6. Century plant 
7. San Francisco Vegetative propagation through stem
cutting