Crop Production Lab 1 Complete ID and Crop Classifications

Grain Crops

any plant where the seed (grain) is harvested

Grain Crops Examples

• Corn
• Beans: soy, lima, kidney, etc.
• Chickpeas
• Peanuts
• Flax
• Buckwheat
• wheat, oat, barley, rye

Cereal Crops

grasses that produce an edible crop

Cereal Crops examples

• Wheat
• Rice
• Corn
• Barley
• Sorghum

Pulse Crops

Legumes grown for their high protein seeds

Pulse Crops examples

Beans, lentils, dry peas, chickpeas, lupins, vetches, soybens

Forages

crops produced for livestock feed

forage examples

range, pasture, silage

Fiber crops

plants whose harvested portion is fiber that can be used to make clothing, rope, paper, and baskets

Fiber crops examples

cotton, flax, hemp, ramie

Root & Tuber crops

starch rich organs stored underground

Root & Tuber crops examples

Root- sweet potatoes, cassava; Tuber- potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke

Cover Crops

established outside cash crop window to prevent soil erosion, maintain soil activity, increase nutrients, and suppress weeds. 

cover crop examples

winter rye, clover, field peas, hairy vetch, turnips, radishes

Green manure crops

crops that are tilled into the soil, provide nutrients and enhances soil quality

Green manure crops examples

sweet clover, hairy vetch, alfalfa, crimson clover, winter rye

Bio energy crops

production of energy from biological systems. two types: biomass and biofuel

sources of biofuels

• Corn
• Soybean
• Sorghum
• Sugarcane
• Canola
• Switchgrass
• Miscanthus
• Carinata

Sugar crops

crops from which sugar is obtained

Sugar crop examples

Sugar beets
• Sugarcane
• Corn
• Sweet sorghum

Oil crops 

oil rich seeded crops that are processed for the oils they contain

Oil crops examples

soybean, sunflowers, flax, canola, peanuts, and cotton

Protein crops

seeds are naturally high in protein (pulse crops)

Protein crops examples

Examples include soybean, peas, field beans, peanuts, sunflower,
cotton, and quinoa

STARCHY SEED CROPS

Can be from grasses or non-grasses
• Examples include corn, wheat, oat, barley, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat,
and amaranth

starchy seed crops

Crops with seed naturally high in starch

Annuals

complete their life cycle in one year/growing season. The termination of their life cycle is seed production.

Summer Annuals

Planted in the spring, grow in the summer, and mature in late summer/early fall. ex: corn, soybean, spring wheat, Weed examples: pigweed, velvetleaf, foxtails, ragweed

Winter annuals

planted late summer/early fall, grow vegetatively before winter, go dormant in winter, then flower in the spring. flowers in response to lengthening days in the spring. Crop examples: winter wheat, winter rye, some canola varieties. weeds- chickweed and wild mustard

biennials

complete their life cycle in two growing seasons. crop examples: sugar beets, sweet clover, weeds: wild carrot, bull thistle

perennials

plants that persist for three plus years or growing seasons crops: alfalfa, white clover, big bluestem, and switchgrass. Weeds: Quack grass, johnsongrass, dandelion, Jerusalem artichoke. 

What is this weed?

red root pigweed

What is this weed?

Canada Thistle

What is this weed?

Common Lambsquater

Field Bindweed

Dandelion

Velvetleaf

Wild Buckwheat

Barnyardgrass

Green foxtail

Quack grass

common cocklebur

common ragweed

prostrate knotweed

yellow foxtail

large crabgrass

leafy spurge

edible bean

wheat

Grain Sorghum

peas

Barley

Oats

Rye

Sunflower

Flax

Birdsfoot trefoil

White Clover

Kentucky Bluegrass

chickpeas

lentils

canola

alfalfa

proso millet

red clover

switchgrass

big blue stem

smooth bromegrass