Field crop – a crop (other than fruits or vegetables) that is grown for agricultural purposes; “cotton, hay, and grain are field crops” crop – a cultivated plant that is grown commercially on a large scale. field corn – corn grown primarily for animal feed or market grain.
Field crops may be classified in more than one way.
It may be on the basis of:
- The climate in which they are grown
- The season in which grown
- Life of the crop plant
- Source of water
- Root system of the crop plant
- Economic importance of the crop
- Botanical or morphological similarity in crops.
For cultivation following classifications are used commonly:-
Classification on the basis of climate
Tropical crops – rice, sugarcane etc
Temperate crops – wheat, gram etc
Classification on the basis of season
Kharif Crops – Crops which are grown in monsoon months (from June to October)
e.g. Rice, Jowar, Bajara, Groundnut.
Rabi Crops – Crops which are grown in winter season (from October to March)
e.g. Wheat, gram, safflower, etc.
Summer Crops – Crops which are grown in summer (from March to June)
e.g. summer groundnut, water melon, cucumber etc.
Classification on the basis of Botanical or morphological similarity in crops
Classification on the basis of Economic Importance
| Cereals: | Jowar, Maize, Ragi, Paddy, Wheat etc. |
| Pulse: | Green gram, red gram, black gram etc. |
| Legumes: | Cowpea, Field bean |
| Oilseeds: | Sunflower, sesame, groundnut etc. |
| Fibre crops: | Cotton, Jute, Sugarcane etc. |
| Fodder crops: | Jowar, Bajara, Maize, Lucerne etc |
