INTRODUCTION

Agriculture is defined as the systematic raising of useful plants and livestock under the management of
man. This industry involved the production of plants and animals for food and fiber, the provision for agricultural
supplies and services, and the processing, marketing and distribution of Agricultural products (Herren and Donahue,
1991. The Agricultural Dictionary, Delmar Pun. Inc.)

Agriculture can be therefore define as the art, science, and business of raising useful plants and animals for
economic purposes. The development of agriculture arose from man’s realization of the difference between him and
other forms of life.

Hunting or collectional economy – prior to agricultural economy, people subsist from nature by gathering
plants for medicinal, cosmetic, aphrodisiac and food value. Early people also hunt for games using any randomly
acquired weapons. This took place during the Pleistocene era or Paleolithic age between 8500 B.C. and 2500 AD.
People are nomadic or they move from one place to another in search of food.

Pastoral Economy

Middle stone age took place in between 10,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C. This is the onset of agriculture and
leads into the rise of settlement by the early people. Although some people still subsist on hunting and collecting,
some Mesolithic people practiced the initial stage of domestication. Mesolithic people use bow and arrows; they
catch, dried and stored fishes; and stored seeds, nuts and fruits. The devices they use are made of microliths
(small/chipped sharp stones) and bladelets.

New stone age or Neolithic age (started between 6,000 to 7,000 B.C). It is characterized by the following:

1. Discovered the relation of seed to pant

2. Domestication of plants and animals - domestication – was the invention that made possible the development of
pastoral and agricultural economies and therefore, made populous and complex human societies possible. It has
proved to be the single most important intervention man has ever made in his environment.
3. Villages began to grow and man made the transition from food collection to the deliberate raising of crops. They
practice both “seed agriculture” and vegeculture. ( the latter refers to the vegetatively propagated plants like taro,
sweet potato, yam banana, arrowroot etc. while the former includes most of the cereals and clearing of vast areas
and seeds are sown o masses and harvested at the same time. They consist mostly of annuals of plants with a life
cycle of less than a year or one season).

Agriculture does not by itself create civilization but without agriculture cannot develop.

Origin, domestication, and history of some important crops.

Earlier the diet of man considered mostly of the animals that he hunted with occasional supplements from
plant sources. Subsequently his diet began to change. Apparently, at a number of different sites, e.g. Near East, the
Far east, Asia, Mexico, and Peru, quite independently, man began to turn towards plants as a food source. The
reason for this chance are obscure, but are probably associated with population pressures in environments which
were initially favorable for the game he hunted. As the availability of game decreased alternative food sources
became imperative; so man looked towards the vegetation which had been a feedstuff for many of the animals and
birds he hunted.
A map showing the region in the world where major food crops were domesticated.

Credit for the earliest domestication, which seems to have occurred in the Middle East, is generally given to
a remarkable race of people called Cushites, who not only experimented with culture ; in effect these people may be
regarded as the first agriculturist. The Cushites are believed to have been semi-nomadic, establishing a community
on burned land, planting their gardens with stored seeds, and then experimenting with domestication of any suitable
local vegetation. After a period of cultivation fertility declined in the gardens, and the community, having collected
suitable quantities of seeds, then travelled far distances to a new predetermined site, and again established a new
community. At each settlement, local people learned by demonstration and so their primitive agriculture spread from
the Middle and Near East to India, Africa and over much of Europe. As these people were great seafarers as well as
land travelers it has been suggested that they may have even journeyed as far as the Americans and to South East
Asia, during a period some 5,000 B.C before their dispersal, and in this time, the Cushites must have made a
valuable contribution towards general plant domestication and to early agriculture.

Early man, intuitively realized that in a vegetative diet he needed three major components i.e. carbohydrate
for energy, protein for muscle development, and supplementaries to augment different types of proteins and
minerals. It is of interest that from the multitude of plants from which the early domesticators had to choose, two
plants families achieved absolute dominance in regard to carbohydrate and protein sources, namely the Graminae

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and Leguminoceae respectively. In fact all subsequent civilizations have since been established around a diet
originating largely from these basic plant sources. For Example:

Americans – maize and peanuts

Africa - sorghum and beans
The Middle East - wheat, barley and beans
Asia - rice and soybeans

In areas where this combination of cereal and legumes was less adapted, community development has
tended to be slower and remained more scattered, diverse plant families for example, bananas,seet potatoes, taro,
yam and coconuts.

a) The origin and domestication of soybean

The soybean Glycine max is a member of leguminoceae family and subfamily Papilionoideae. Beginning its
history as a human food, later developing as a hay and forage crop and finally as a vegetable oil and protein source,
it now occupies a position of pre-eminence as the world’s largets source of vegetable oil.
The plant is widely distributed on a global basis from the tropics and its center of origin was Asia where its
close relative and likely progenitor, Glycine ussuriensis (wild soybean) is abundant. Hymowitz (1970) suggests that
historical and geographical evidence points to the eastern half of China as center origin and the area of
domestication of soybean commenced around the 11th century B.C. Nagata (1960) postulated that cultivated soybean
reached Korea directly from China between 200 B.C and 300 A.D. and from Korea it was introduced to Japan from
where it was widely distributed throughout the Asian-European knew of the crop but have not succeeded in
establishing a commercial crop.
According to Morse and Carter (1973) the first mention of soybeans in the U.S was in 1804 when clipper
ship captain carrying soybean from China, sold the beans in San Francisco. Systematic introduction of soybean
germplasm was continued by the U.S.D.A so that by 1923 more than 700 additional lines were introduced from
China, Manchuria, Korea, Japan and India. By 1929-31 about 6,000 new accessions were added to the American
germplasm collection. By 1968 the U.S produced 76% of the world’s soybean crop, whereas China produced 17%.
Other countries with large areas are Brazil, Indonesia, South Korea and the U.S.S.R.

b) The origin and domestication of sorghum

In order of importance of world cereal grains, Sorgum vulgare ranks 4th behind wheat, rice and maize.
Doggett (1970) concluded that the cultivated sorghums originated from Abyssinia (Northeast Africa) and were
probably first domesticated about 3-4000 B.C in Africa around Ethiopia by the Cushites, who subsequently spread
the culture to both West and East Africa. The latter country became an important center for distribution via the
Bantu and other tribes to Central and South Africa, and via Arab traders to Arabia which, because extensive Arab
sea and land trade network, became the most significant distribution center of modern times. The earliest
establishment from this center appears to have been in India slightly before the beginning of the Christian era.
From India it spread down the trade routes of S.E. Asia through Malaya and Indonesia to China between the 4 th
and 8th centuries A.D and to the Middle East and Mediterranean areas a little later. The slave traffic to North
America appears to have been the means of sorghum’s earliest entry to the American continent. The discovery of
natural dwarf mutants among the earlier populations introduced, established the sorghum in the Americas as a
grain crop. The final evolutionary development has occurred in Texas area during the past 40 years in the
development of temperate-type hybrids which are those now grown extensively in America, South Africa,
Australia, the U.S.SR and much of the Middle Eastern countries. These are now commonly referred as the Texas
type, hybrids and behave in some characters quite differently from true tropical sorghum.

3) The origin and domestication of maize

Maize has the Central and Southern portion of the Americas (Mexico through Andean regions of latin
America) as its center of origin (Purseglove, 1972). Zea mays is a gramminaceous grass of the tribe Maydeae. The
species has been divided by Shmarear et.al. (1973) into / sub-species. It is distributed in all continents.

The wild forms of Zea mays were widespread over the highlands of Mexico and possibly over Central and
South America well before man’s first appearance on the American continent, and may or may not have originated
from an earlier progenitor of the Teosinte type. Between 5,200- 3,400 B.C the wild maize was gathered as food in
the Tehaucan Valley, perhaps the first site for plant domestication in the new world. Slightly later around 2,300 B.C.
the Tripsacum source was introduced into the initial germplasm, possibly from Peru with which there appears to
have been some form of communication with people of the Tehaucan area.
Today maize occupies a position of pre-eminence among the world’s cereal food grains. It is adapted to a
wide range of environments and has a high yield potential higher than any other cereal. As a crop and as a plant it
has been extensively studied in America, in Europe and in many other countries and as a result it has contributed
greatly to the present knowledge of the genetics and physiology of many other crops. The main international
research center for maize id CTMMYT (Centro International de Meyoramiente de Maize y Trigo) in Mexico.

4) The origin and domestication of rice

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 The cultivated rice Oryza sativa is a semiaquatic annual grass that grows erect. It has been cultivated for
several thousand years as the principal cereal of Southeast Asia. In terms of hectarage the major producers are
China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Japan and Thailand.
Oryza sativa is thought to have been domesticated in India more than 4,000 years ago from the wild
species of O. perennis. The only other cultivated species in the genus is O. glaberrima, African rice, which
probably originated around the swampy headwaters of the Niger River in West Africa. Three sub-species are
recognized in O. Sativa, and they correspond to the geographical races of the crop: sub-species indica, japonica,
and javanica. Based on the chemical characteristics of the starch and grain aroma, rice may be classified as either
(a) waxy or glutinous (endosperm contains no amylose), (b) common type (endosperm contains ¼ amylose and ¾
amylopectin) and (c) aromatic or scented types. They may also be classified as either lowland rice (grown
continuously irrigated or pond flooded condition) and upland rice (non-irrigated or irrigated but not pond flooded).
Another way of classifying rice is based on maturity (the number of days required to reach 50% heading). Very
early maturing cultivars requires less than 90 days, early maturing require 90-105 days and late maturing cultivars
require more than 105 days.

5) Origin and domestication of other crops of importance to the Philippines.

Oil Crops

1) Peanut native to South America.

2) Coconut – palms of the sub-family Cocoideae, closely related to C. nucifera, have a center of diversity in north-
west South America, though believed to have originated from South American, it was dispersed widely before
coconuts were eventually domesticated in Papua New Guinea – Fiji region of the Pacific, between longitudes
145⸰ and 180⸰ E. It is believed that coconut was carried by man as a source of food and drink during sea voyages,
and that some fruits also floated in ocean currents and germinated after they were washed shore in new locations.

Vegetable Crops

1. Beans, snap or green and Lima beans – probably native to tropical America. Phaseolus vulgaris is the most
widely grown of the 4 cultivated species of Phaseolus.

2. Eggplant – also known as eggfruit, aubergine, or guinea squash is probably is native to South and Eastern Asia,
but was also grown in China for many centuries. It was thought to have been domesticated in India where wild
plants now grow, but it was spread throughout the warm tropics.

3. Muskmelon, (reticulate group) – is believed to have originated in Asia, Particularly in Iran and India.

4. Okra also called gumbo, gombo, gobo or lady’s finger either Asian or African in origin.

5. Tomatoes – native to tropical Central and South America where it was cultivated in pre-Columbian times. Its wild
progenitor is thought to have been the Cherry tomato which now grows in the wild in Peru-Ecuador area though
tomatoes were probably domesticated from weedy forms which had spread as far as Mexico.

6. Asparagus – native to Southern Russia, has been found growing wild in Europe, England, Poland, and around
Mediterranean Sea.

7. Onion – an ancient crop thought to have been domesticated in Central Asia.

Cultivated Tropical Fruits

1. Bananas – originated in Southeast Asia, spreading to India, Africa and finally to tropical America.

2. Citrus – original home of the genus Citrus is not known with certainly, but the history of the cultivated species
suggest that they may have been domesticated in the drier tropics of South-east Asia. Though the crop is of
tropical origin, it is now cultivated more extensively in the sub-tropics with Mediterranean climate.

3. Mango - originated in the India-Bangladesh-Burma region and had spread into cultivation and common use in the
Indian sub-continent by 2,000 B.C.

4. Pineapple – native to tropical regions of South America, and was grown in the New World for food, for its
medicinal properties and for the production of wine long before the discovery of the New World.

5. Papaya – probably originated in Central America, perhaps as a natural hybrid between other species.

Origin of Some Cutflowers

1. Chrysanthemum – native to China and was brought to Europe sometime in 1789 by Captain M. Blanchard of
Marseilles.

2. Carnation – indigenous to the Mediterranean area. Cultivated by man for over 2,000 years. Man’s improvement of
the native Dianthus (Greek word which means Divine flower) began in the 16 th century. The perpetual flowering
race which gave rise to the American types was developed in France in 1840.

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3. Rose – native to the northern temperate one. The earliest record ofne a rose is thought to be of a Damascene, rose,
a natural hybrid between Rosa gallica and Rosa pheonicea, found in frescoes at Knossos a ruid City in the
Island of Crete and at one time Capital of the Minoan civilization, about 3000 – 1000 B.C. Depending upon the
taxonomic system followed, the hybrid tea rose of today traces its ancestry back to Rosa gigantea and Rosa
chinensis , which were interbreed in China before 1800 to produce Tea china or China roses. All present hybrids
are designated as Rosa hybrid.

4. Gladiolus – gladiolus species were recognized over 2,000 years growing in the field of Asia Minor and were
called “corn lilies”. Modern hybrids, designated as G. grandifloras, are a complex of atleast 11 species.

5. Easter Lily – Lilium longiflorum is a native of Japan and its Center of origin is apparently Japan’s three small
southernmost islands. The local counterpart of easter lily which endemic to the Philippines is Lilium
philippinense.

Man has domesticated plants and transferred them from their centers of origin to other continents
Purseglove (1968) and Jennings and Cock (1977) have shown that the principal production areas for many major
economic crops are distant from the regions in which they originated.

Civilization Agriculture

The “Neolithic Revolution” or the food production revolution and the interval between the achievement of
agriculture and the advent of urban life lasted almost 4,000 years. The establishment of permanent human
settlements which is still continuing has certain disadvantages. Closely build villages promote the spread of
communicable diseases. Stored surpluses invite enemy attack, and the growing of crops are subject to destruction by
storms, floods and insect infestations. Villages that are overly dependent on a few food staples may suffer from
nutritional deficiencies. With the advent of farming gathering did not stop. Moreover, some communities continue to
be nomadic. People caring for a large animal herd may move from one place to another to search for greener
pastures for their animals.

Centers of early Agriculture

1. Southwestern Asia – includes most of what is now called the Middle East; area where earliest agricultural
activities were observed the “Cradle of Civiliation”.

2. Egypt – basic Agricultural ideas spread from SW Asia into Egypt before 4,500 B.C. Flood from Nile River made
farming along its banks productive. Production practices like land preparation, irrigation and pruning introduced.

3. Europe – the basic pattern of plant domestication which was imported from Asia Minor before 6,000 B.C further
developed domesticated plants include oats, certain apples, cherries, plums, cabbage and kale.

Greece – practiced fertilization and fallowing Greeks devoted their genius to Botany and this aided the transition
to scientific agriculture.

Rome – adopted and improved the Greek agricultural techniques. Practices like crop rotation, manure
fertilization, weed control, grafting and budding as well as use of greenhouses (Specularia). Some form of
postharvest storage also developed. It was during the Roman times that ornamental horticulture developed
considerably.

4. Africa – South of the coastal strip of Africa recieved the earliest crops by diffusion along the Nile.

5. Southern Asia – first crops spread overland from Iraq and Iran in SA about 3,000 B.C. in Indian Valley, 2,500
B.C the crops were wheat, barley, dates, coton and perhaps rice, in Southern India and Ceylon, irrigation
reservoirs were constructed as early as 1,500 – 1,300 B.C.

6. Central Asia – wheat and barley farming pattern was established and spread overland through Iran. Other crops
include, grapes, peaches, apricots and melons.

7. Eastern Asia – diffusion of SW Asian wheat complex by mainland diffusion. Root crops like yams, taro, bamboo,
bananas, sorghum, soybeans, and rice are native to the subtropical Far East region. Agriculture flowed from
Thailand and China to Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. Rice might have originated from China.

Plowing in China probably started before the Han Dynasty (202 B.C to 220 A.D). Horses were used for
plowing around 100 B.C. after the invention of the horse collar by the Chinese.

Japan adopted rice farming from China via Korea but Northern Japan remained as a hunting and fishing
area.

12th Century – tea introduced to Japan by the Chinese.

8. Southeast Asia – agriculture consisted of growing various root crops. Indigenous plants in each area may have
diffused from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Ceylon, and the Philippines. Many crops may have been
interchanged with other crops such as the spicies and dye plants.

9. Oceania – agriculture in New Guinea and Pacific Islands remained somewhat primitive until coconut, bananas,
sugarcane, mangoes, breadfruit, bottle gourds and melons.

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10.The Americas – North and South American agriculture stems from the domestication of indigenous American
plants.

- Southern Mexico – first Center of New World Agriculture.

- 1,500 B.C – maize entered South America and Coastal America.

- Peanut originated from Brazil and spread across the Pacific Coast.
- New forms of maize, avocados, sweet potato, beans and white potato were added.
- South America – focal area for some major domestication. The tropical forest lowlands of South America
developed agriculture based on root crops: sweet potato, cassava, peanut, also raised gourds, pineapple, tobacco,
dyestuff, bean, and cotton.

Dark Ages

Horticultural Art – survived in monastic gradens.

15 Century discovery of the New world.

Increased Variety of crops with Introduction from the New World.

16th and 17th century – Agricultural Revolution due to the introduction of the Scientific method. Cultivation
of plants is no longer based on trial and error method.

Basic knowledge on plant anatomy, systematic plant classification, knowledge on genetics and breeding
became known.

20th Century – Technological change in agriculture yielded new plant cultivars, improved nutrition and
irrigation techniques.

Late 40’s – Basic research led to the development of a wide range of agricultural chemicals including
herbicides (weed killers), fungicides, and insecticides.

Mid 60’s to Mid 70’s – Green Revolution particularly in developing countries where the high-yielding
varieties (HYV’s) mostly cereals were introduced.

Postproduction technologies also given emphasis.

World food situation and centers of production.

As of 2020 the world population is increasing at the rate of 1.1% per year. The global population as of 2020
was 7.8 billion.

The world can be divided into the ‘have’ (developed) and the “have not” (developing countries). Table 1
shows the food and population situation in the developed and developing countries.

Table 1. Comparison of developing and developed areas.

Developing Developed
Population High Low
Population growth High Low
Per capita income Low High
Calories from cereals & starchy vegetables High Low
High protein food like meat, fish etc. 9-23 kg/year 40-136/year
Agric land per capita 0.4 hectare 0.8 hectare
Pop. In agriculture 60-90% of total 2-25% of total
Capital input for Agric low high

Table 2. Food producing capacity in relation to population.

Country Population Density Arable Land

(Persons/Ha) (Ha./person
Congo 37.5 3.60
Canada 12.5 2.26
Australia 7.5 2.10
Argentina 47.5 1.50

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USA 122.5 1.09
USSR 60.0 1.09
India 825.0 0.32
Italy 1090.0 0.32
United Kingdom 1375.0 0.12
China 450.0 0.12
Netherlands 2200.0 0.08
Japan 1625.0 0.08
__________________________________________________________________________

World population from 2010 to 2018

Year World Population Yearly Density Urban

Change (P/Km²) Pop %
2018 7,632,819,325 1.09 % 51 55 %
2017 7,550,262,101 1.12 % 51 54 %
2016 7,466,964,280 1.14 % 50 54 %
2015 7,383,008,820 1.16 % 50 54 %
2014 7,298,453,033 1.18 % 49 53 %
2013 7,213,426,452 1.20 % 48 53 %
2012 7,128,176,935 1.21 % 48 52 %
2011 7,043,008,586 1.22 % 47 52 %
2010 6,958,169,159 1.23 % 47 51 %

Arable land:

If greater than 1.0 ha. – food supply adequate

If greater than 0.40 to 1.0 – 80% self sufficient

If less than 0.4 – vegetable diet, importation of food required for adequate diet.

With increasing global population growth, food production needs to increase by 70% by 2050, placing
pressure on food quality standards. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) forecasts
that global food production will need to increase by 70% if the population reaches 9.1bn by 2050
(https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2017/11/10/Population-growth-a-threat-to-food-quality). In order to keep
abreast with the increase in population, food production should be increased. The 20% increase is the result of
expansion of new production areas. the remaining 80% is due to technological advances in production like
approved irrigation , crop protection, better cultivars, postharvest handling etc. As postulated by Malthus, if
population increase is not stabilized so that rate of food increase is less than population increase starvation results.

Philippine Agriculture

Stages of Development

(1) Pre-colonial period

Indo-Malayan migrants brought with them wet-rice agriculture and carabao was also used as source of
animal power for cultivation. This type of agriculture predominated near bodies of water like rivers and lakes.

Slash-and-burn kaingin culture or non-plow farming predominated in other areas. This indicated shifting
agriculture rather than sedentary type of rice culture and the tribe were mainly nomadic.

Main crops consisted of rice, gabi, yams, bananas, corn, millet, coconuts, citrus, ginger, clove, cinnamon,
and nutmeg.

No agricultural specialization existed. Pattern of agriculture chiefly subsistence. Farms were small, chiefly
backyard in coastal and riverbank settlements.

Most Barangays were self-sufficient. Land was abundant and population was estimated to be about 500,000
by the mid-16th century. Private land ownership did not exist.

Absence of food surpluses were attributed to:

1. Absence of full-blown ruling class who could exploit producers for surplus.
2. Limited foreign trade.
3. Food scarecity in some settlements.

(2) Colonial Period

This period introduced a non-producing class for which Filipinos produced surpluser, leading to an increase
in agricultural production.

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 Plant introductions include: mulberry, cocoa, wheat, cucumber, , cantaloupe, watermelon, coffee, new
varieties of cereals, peas, and other vegetables.

The development of haciendas allowed for the introduction of technological innovations in production and
processing, e.g. steam or hydraulic – powered sugar mills.

March 6, 1906 – the college of Agriculture founded in Los Banos as a unit of the University of the
Philippines.

(3) Post-war period

Introduction of technological improvements

50’s – campaign for use of modern farm inputs and farm mechanization.

60’s – building up of market for tractors and power tillers

Establishment of International Rice Research Institute.

Introduction of the high yielding rice varieties.

Further development and expansion of international agricultural trading especially for coconut and its by-
products, tobacco, sugar, pineapple etc.

Problems of Philippine Agriculture

1. Physical

a. Climate

The strategic location of the country in relation to the Pacific Ocean made the country vulnerable
to extreme climatic condition and frequent occurrence of typhoons. These erratic climatic conditions
affect crop production negatively.

b. Soil

The excessive and long-term use of inorganic/synthetic fertilizers causes the

deterioration of the soil and thereby results into lower production. In order to address the issue and
revitalized the Philippine soils, Republic Act 100068 or the Organic Agriculture Law of 2010 was
enacted. This law aims to encourage organic crop and animal production to advance the health of the
soil, the consumers, and the environment.

2. Biological

a. insect pest – the occurrence of pest is one of the crippling factors in Philippine Agriculture such as the,
rice bugs, Brontispa in coconut, mango pulp weevil, and others.

b. diseases – these are caused by pathogenic microorganism like, bacteria, nematodes and fungi. Examples
are tungro in rice bunchy tops in banana and abaca, antrachnose in mango and banan and etc.

c. weeds – are those plants growing in areas where they are not wanted. They are competitors to crops in
terms of nutrients, water, sunlight and other resources. They cause decline in crop production if not
controlled at early infestations.

d. physiological disorders – these usually resulted from attack of pests and diseases or erratic
environmental factors. Physiological disorders, render the crop less marketable.

e. genetic make-up of different crops

Variability in the genetic make up of the crop may be a problem in terms of cultural management but may
be advantageous to prevent pest and disease outbreak.

3. Socio-economic

a. Family profile – Filipino farmers belong to the poorest of the poor and therefore do not have the means
to support farm inputs resulting to low yield and low farm income.

b. Community profile – Generally, there is inadequate support services for optimum production within the
community in terms of postharvest facilities, irrigation system, farm to market road and financial
assistance.

c. Government support – the absence or inadequate incentives for efficient and effective agricultural
production results to low yield. Besides, the bureaucratic way of rendering support to the farmers most
often hamper the farmers to avail the support.

Sustaining Agricultural Development

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 The Philippine is an archipelago, and the wide diversity of climate and soil allows the production of a wide
variety of crops all year round.

Adoption of improved technology to increase production per unit area, e.g use of better fertilization and
irrigation techniques, better crop protection, better varieties, multiple cropping, use of growth regulators.

Improved postharvest handling to reduce postharvest losses and provision of easy access financial
assistance to farmers.

Population and Food supply

Man and crops in an ecosystem

Man whether viewed as an individual or as group or community is surrounded by the his environment and
must invariably interact with it for the following:

a. energy supply

b. supply and materials

c. removal of wastes product

the term ecology derived from the Greek word oikos, meaning house, and ology meaning to study. As used
today, it is the sciences which investigates organisms in relation to their environment.

The ecosystem concept is the basic functions unit of nature which includes both organisms and their non-
living environment, each interacting with the other and influencing each other’s properties and both necessary for
maintenance and development of the systems.

The fundamental steps in the operation of the ecosystem are: 1. Reception of energy, 2. Production of
organic materials by producers, 3. Consumption of these materials by consumers and its further elaboration, 4.
Decomposition of organic compounds, and 5. Transformation to forms suitabl for the nutrition of the producers.

The three fundamentals concepts of productivity of an ecosystem are:

1. standing crop - abundance of organism in the area expressed as number of individuals, as biomass or energy
content.

2. material removal – includes yield to man, organism removed from the ecosystem by migration and material
withdrawn as an organic abundance.

3. production rate – is the speed at which growth processes is progressing.

Population and food production

Food procurement has always been the preoccupation of man. If food production cannot keep with
population increase, food scarcity occurs and subsequent starvation of popultions.

The Malthusian Theory – according to Malthus the rate food availability increases in arithmetic progressing
while that of population increases in geometric progression. Consequently famine will come about unless population
will be chacked by war, pestilence, famine, and premarture mortality.

Realizing the bad consequences of uncontrolled population increase many goverments have instituted
measure to regulate it within manageable levels.

Factors affecting food adequacy

a. Food beliefs – there are many religious beliefs and customs that may prevent people from consuming certain
foods, consequently malnutrition may occur. Ex. In India, they have plenty of a protein but the people are chiefly
vegetarian.

b. personal preferences for certain foods – some may prefer food of particular taste, ex. Children usually dislike
vegetables that the parents often cajole them to consume more.

c. food preparation and storage – poor preparation and storage may result to loss of nutrients and food spoilage
leading to total food loss.

d. Purchasing power- economic capacity to obtain food from the available supply often determines the nutritional
status of a family or nation.

e. food availability – availability of food in terms of quantity and quality is governed by such factors as climate,
efficiency of distribution, proper postproduction handling methods, etc.

f. family size – the bigger the size of the family, the more mouth to share of the food available. Unless family
income keep with increase on family size, the nutritional status of the family will deteriorate.

g. geography and distribution – the further the distance from the production center especially under conditions where
distribution efficiency is low, the less available the food becomes.

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Recommended food allowance according to age, sex and activity.

Levels of specific nutrients and food recommended for population groups are designed to:

a. Maintain good nutrition in healthy persons.

b. covers nearly all variations in individual requirements.

c. provide a margin of safety above minimal requirements to provide buffers against added needs for various
stresses.

d. make possible other potential improvements of growth and functions.

Food consumption is largely influenced by age, sex, and activity.Examples of calories intake of male and female at
different age levels are as follows:

Age 154 lb Male 128 lb Female

25 3,200 calories 2,300 calories
45 3,000 2,200
65 2,550 1,800

Children
Age Wt. in lbs Calories
1-3 34 1,300
4-6 43 1,700
7-9 51 2,100
10-12 57 2,500

Boys
13-15 64 3,100
16-19 69 3,600

Girls
13-15 63 2,600
16-19 64 2,400

Meaning and Scope of Crop Science

Crop production as a science, art and business

Definitons:

Plant – any organism belonging to kingdom plantae, typically lacking of locomotion or obvious nervous or
sensory organs and has photosynthetic ability.

Crop – domesticated/cultivated plants that are grown for profit. It usually connotes a group or population of
cultivated plants.

Science – systemically accumulated and tested knowledge.

- The ordered knowledge of natural phenomena and the rational study of the relationship
between the concepts in which these phenomena are expressed.
- It is not a set of facts but a way of giving unity and intelligibility to the facts of nature
so that may be controlled and new facts predicted.

Crop Production as a science, art and business

As a science – Modern crop production is not based on guess work or trial and error method. Its science is
derived from the adoption or application of the basic sciences of chemistry, mathematics, physics, and from various
applied sciences lie physiology, meteorology, anatomy and plant breeding etc.

Crop science which is concerned with the knowledge concerning economically cultivated crops and the
establishment of verifiable principles regarding their growth and development for the purpose of deriving, the
optimum benefit from them. It is divided into areas.

Agronomy – from the Greek word “agros” meaning field and “nomos” to manage. Thus agronomy deals
with the principles and practices of managing field crops and soils.

Horticulture – from the Latin words “hortus” which means a garden a term derived from the Anglo-saxon
word gyrdan, which means enclose and “colore” to cultivate. The concept of gardens or plants within an enclosure is
distinct from the culture of field crops, a medieval concept. It also implies a more intensive cultivation of crop as
contrasted from the extensive cultivation of field crops.

As an art – it is an art because it require skills to produce crops even if require skills to produce crops even
if one has little or no training. The art of crop science reaches its greatest expression in horticulture specifically in

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ornamental horticulture where plants are raised for their aesthetic qualities, e.g in floral arts as well as in
landscaping.

As business – plants are not grown simply to satisfy the needs of man but to realize some profit in the
process of reducing it. Thus, maximization of output plants is utilized so that they are produced at the time when
sold, e.g the production of off-season tomatoes and flowers, raising disease-resistant filed crops to reduce cost of
crop protectant chemicals.

1.32. Development of Crop Science

Man’s needs for raw materials required to meet their basic needs of food clothing and shelter and the
increasing requirement of the processing and food industry have served as incentives to further improve crop
production practices. Early recognition of the importance of agricultural research, was made by the British Empire
by the establishment of agricultural research stations. Similarly to the U.S experiment stations were also established
upon establishment of the land-grant state colleges. It may thus be presumed that the formal start of scientific
agriculture dates back to the time when these agricultural experimental research stations were established.

In the Philippines, agricultural research has been established through schools and experiment statins, both
private and public as;

1. State and Universities in Agriculture.

2. Department of Agriculture Research Network

3. Commodity Research Centers

- CRDI – Cotton Research and Development Institute

- PTRTC – Philippine Tobacco Research and Training Center

- FPRDI – Forest Products Research and Training Center

- PRRI – Philippine Rice Research Institute

4. Specialized Research Center

- TPB – Institute of Plant Breeding

- NCPC – National Crop Protection Center

- NPGRL – National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory

- FSSRI – Farming Systems and Soils Research Institutes

5. International Research Organization

- IRRI – International Rice Research Institute
- CIMMYT – Centro International da Meroyamiente de Maize y Trigo
- IPC - International Potato Center
6. UP at Los Banos College of Agriculture and Central Experiment Station

Method of accumulating knowledge in Crop Science

The method of accumulating in Crop Science is as those based in all Sciences, i.e the Scientific Method.
This method consist of the following steps.

1. Recognition or Identification of the Problem

2. The collection of data by observation which would serve as basis for a hyphothesis.
3. Formulation of a hypothesis (which is an intelligent guess).
4. Verification of the hypothesis by experiments and further observations.
5. Drawing up a conclusion which should be tested according to the following questions;
a. sufficient evidence?
b. will differences accounted for?
c. biases and prejudices is eliminated?
d. all related facts considered?
e. any conflicts established information?
f. available evidence supportive of conclusion? (Best solution to the problem?)

Contribution of related sciences to crop production.

Some of the scientific fields and areas of knowledge related to crop production are the following;
1. Crop breeding and Genetics – concern with the improvement of the inherent or heritable properties of crops.
2. Botany or (plant morpho-anatomy, plant physiology, plant systematics ajnd Plant ecology) – concern with plant
structure processes and relationships among plants as well as to their environment.
3. Soil Science – study the nature and properties of soil; fundamental principles upon which proper soil management
is based.
4. Plant Pathology and Entomology – concerned with insect pests, pathogens and weeds; their nature, as well as their
control.

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5. Agricultural Engineering – concerned with farm structures, machineries, water management as well as waste
disposal.
6. Agricultural economics – concerned with the economics of production and marketing of agricultural products.

1.4 Major Crops of the Philippines

The most important and, most commonly used of classifying plants is the botanical method which is based
on the phylogenetic relationship of plants. There approximately 300,000 plant species identified and classified into 4
main divisions in the plant kingdom as follows:
1. Thallophytes
2. Bryophytes
3. Pteridophytes
4. Spermatophytes – all sead-bearing plants which are in turn divided 2 subdivisions;
a.) gymnosperms – include all plants with naked seeds like pine trees.
b.) angiosperms –seeds enclosed in a vesse and are in turn divided into 2 classes;
1. Monocotyledons – one cotyledon
2. dicotyledons – two cotyledons

An example of a botanical classification of a dent corn is as follows:

Classification unit
Kingdom Plantae Plantae
Division Spermatophyte
Subdivision Angiosperm
Class Monocotyledonae
Order Graminales
Family Graminae
Genus Zea
Species mays
Cultivar Identata
Scientific name Zea mays

Carl vonn Linne better known as Carolus Linneaus was the originator of this binomial system of plant
nomenclature and the publication of his book entitled Genera Plantarum led to the modern taxonomy or
classification of plants.
In crop science, plants are classified in many ways; either based on the manner of culture (agronomic or
horticultural), on their use (food, fiber, beverage, oil, medicinal) on their climatic requirement (temperate, sub-
temperate, tropical), on the length of their life cycle (annuals, biennials, or perrenials)on their habitat whether
aquatic, terrestrial, or aerial.

1.41. Horticultural crops

1. Vegetables - crops usually grown for culinary purposes;
a. leafy vegetables – pechay,kangkong, mustard
b. cole crops or crucifers – cabbage, chines cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli
c. root and bulb crops – sweet potato, Irish potato, bulb onions and garlic etc.
d. legumes and pulses – sitao, bush sitao, pole sitao
e. solanaceous vegetable – eggplant, pepper, tomato
f. cucurbits – cucumber, muskmelon, watermelon, squash, ampalaya etc.

2. Fruits – a fruit consist of those tissues which support the ovules of the plant and whose development is
dependent upon physiological changes occurring in these ovules. Some fruits in their juvenile or immature stage are
used as vegetable ex. Jackfruit and Papaya.

a. Tree fruit – mango, durian, lanones, santol

b. nut fruits – pili, cashew
C. small fruits – strawberry, grapes
3. Ornamental – this is rather an all-encompassing tem as it includes all plants that are used for their aesthetic value
or for decorative purposes.
a. cutflowers – roses, chrysanthemums, anthuriums, gladiolu, carnation, etc.
b. flowering pot plants – roses especially the miniature type, chrysanthemum, poinsettia, Bougainvillea
c. foliage – (both potted and as cut foliage) – fern, asparagus, coryline, palmera, pepperomia, dieffenbachia,
aglaonema etc.
d. landscape plants – usually consisting of trees (both flowering and evergreen) shrubs
e. TURf grasses – lawn grass as well as other species used in recreational areas.

4.Plantation crops – are loosely defined as crops usually perennial and require minor changes in the structure of the
product (primary processing) before utilization.

a. Oil crops – coconut, African oil palm and castor bean

b. beverage – coffee and cacao
c. spice – black pepper and vanilla
d. fiber crops – abaca, buri, kapok, cotton, maguey, kenaf, ramie
e. medicinal crops – niyog-niyogan, sambong, tsaang gubat, etc.
f. latex or resin – pili, rubber,almaciga

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Agronomic Plants
Agronomically, crop plants are most often accordingly to the way or ways in which they are used.
1. cereals – ex. Corn, rice, barley, oats, rye, grain sorghum, wheat
2. seed legumes (pulses) – ex. Soybeans , mungbeans, peas
3. Forage crops – feed for animals whether in the form of hay, silage or pasture.
4. Fiber – grown for their fiber ex. Cotton, abaca
5. Drug and beverage – ex. Cinchona, tobacco, tea and coffee
6. Sugar – grown for their sweet syrup ex. Sugarcane sweet sorghum, sugarbeets
7.oil – flax, soybeans, sunflower, coconut

Special Purpose of classification:

1. Green manure- legumes especially soybeans, cowpeas, and other crops which are grown then plowed
under to improve soil fertility.
2. Silage – corn and sorghum – crops most extensively grown to be cut and preserved in a succulent
condition for silage.
3. green crops – corn, sundagrass, soybeans and many other crops which are cut when green and succulent
and are fed to livestock without curing.
4. Catch / emergency crop – sundagrass, buckwheat, millet and other short season crops used to fill-in
when regulr crops have failed or when planting is for some reason delayed.

5. Cover crop – crops seeded on land needing protection against wind and water erosion and nutrient loss
through leaching. ex rye tropical kudzu.
6. Supplement – crop grown as secondary crop, such as sundagrass when used to provide grazing at a time
when other pastures cannot Be used or are not sufficiently productive.
7. Companion crop – included are the small grain crops like clover, alfalfa and crop is now used instead of
the farmers term nurse crop, in recognition of the fact that instead of nursing the new seedlings such crop really
compete with them.

Differences between agronomic and horticultural crops

Criteria Agronomic crops Horticultural crops

Commodities Cereals, grain, legumes, peanut, Vegetables, fruits, ornamental
forages, and sugarcane etc. plants, plantation crops etc.
Diversity Extensive intensive
Income/unit area Lower Higher
Adaptation Limited Wide
Utilization Eaten as staples Consumed with staples
Consumption Usually processed and are eaten in Usually consumed in fresh form and
the mature stage can be eaten at any stage depending
on purpose
Aesthetic value lower Higher
Nutritive value Carbohydrates, proteins and lipids Provides important vitamins and
minerals plus some carbohydrates
and proteins
Life cycle Semi-annual to annual Annual, semi-ann
Adaptability to cropping systems less Highly compatible
Moisture content after harvested Low high
product

______________________________________________________________________

NOTE: Differences between Horticultural crops depends upon the purpose for which a crop is grown, the type of
culture, traditions and custom of the country

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Self Assessment:

Name: ___________________________ Course: __________________

Test I. Multiple choice. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which is not a vegetative plant part?

a. leafb. root c. flower d. stem
2. The total agricultural land area of the country is?
a. 13 M ha b. 16. M ha c. 10 M ha d. 14 M ha
3. Which type of agriculture is not practice by the early human beings?
a. Vegeculture b. Subsistence Agriculture c. Seed Agriculture d. None of the above
4. The average farm size in the Philippines is?
a. below 3 ha. b. between 3-4 ha c. more than 4 ha e. none of the above
5. One hectare is equivalent to how many square meter?
a. 1,000 sq.m. b. 1000 sq.m. c. 10,000 sq.m. d. 100,000 sq. m.
6. Agriculture in the Phil. Developed 15,000 B.C. Together with
a. Plow b. Pottery c. Paintings d. Tools
7. The earth used to be solid mass of land surrounded by water, and it is called
A. Island c. Pangea d. Continent d. Globe
8. Organic Act of 2010 is known as R.A. (a. 10068 b. 100680 c. 1068 d. 11068.
10. Fruit with distinct exocarp, mesocarp and endocarp.
a. Pepo b. Pomec. Hespiridium d. Berry
11. Which country does not belong to East Asia?
a. South Korea b. North Korea c. Mongolia d. Laos
12. The race of people from the Middle East who are considered as the first agriculturist?
a. Incas b. Cushites c. Monks d. Arab Traders
13. Maize and peanuts are considered as the basic plant diet of the Americans at early agriculture to what
families do they belong? a. Cucurbitacea & Leguminacea b. Graminae & Leguminacea c.
Poacea & Graminae d. None of the above
14. Glycine max originated from? a. US b. Japanc. China d. Korea
15. Sorghum bicolor originated from ? a. Africa b. Middle East c. Asia d. US
16. Corn originates from? a. Americas b. Asia c. Africa d. Middle East
17. Rice originated from? a. Philippines b. India c. China d. Japan
18. It is considered as the cradle of civilization? a. Egypt b. Middle East d. Midditterean d. China
19. The stage in Phil. Agriculture characterized by the presence of non-producing class and haciendas. a. Pre-
colonial b. Colonial c. Post-war d. Monastic Period
20. Slash and burn or kaingin culture is an indicator of a. Sedementary agriculture
b. Subsistence agriculture c. Coastal agriculture d. None of the above
21. This took place in the 16th-17th century where agriculture is no longer based on trial and error
method
a. Green revolution b. Agricultural revolution c. Technological Revolution
d. Scientific revolution
22. They practice fertilization and fallowing which aided in the transition to scientific method
a. Romans b. Chinese c. Greeks d. Egyptians

23. This period lasted for 4,000 years before urban agriculture characterized by permanent human
settlements a. Food production revolution b. Green revolution c. Agricultural
revolution c. Technological Revolution
24. This fruit has a very hard endocarp and fibrous and containe single seed.
a. Pepo b. Drupe c. Hespiridium d. Pome
25. The rudimentary plant inside the seed that isa product of fertilization
a. Ovule b. Gametes c. Embryo d. Cotyledon
26. All are parts of an embryo except a. Testa b. hypocoty c. Epicotyl d. Radicle
27.Which is not part of the cross section of a stem?
a. Xylem b. Bud scale c. Pericycle d. Pith
28. Which is not part of the cross section of a leaf?
a. Vascular bundles b. Mesophyll c. Palisade d. Spines
29. All are leaf shapes except
a. Entire b. Spatulate c. Wedge d. Lanceolate
30. The female part of flower are composed of except
a. Ovary b. Stigma c. Style d. Ovule
31. Which is a type of inflorescence?a. Corymb b. Umbel c. Raceme d. All of the above

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 32. Which part is not found in the cross section of a root?
a. Periderm b. Pericycle c. Vascular cylinder d. Pith
33. A root system found among grasses
a. Tap rootb. Fibrous c. Adventitious d. Any of the above

34. If a Muslim is invited to attend a party and only one menu is without pork, what factor in food adequacy is
evident?
a. Preference b. Belief c. Preperation d. All of the above
35. This pertains to disease causing organisms
a. Insect b. bacteria c. Virus d. Pathogen
36. Jake planted pechay and Mars planted cabbage. Accidentally some of Mar’s cabbage seeds germnated in
Jake’s plot, based on the concept of weeds, what Jake should do?
a. Take care of the cabbage because it can augment its income
b. Pull out the cabbage since it is out of place.
c. Ignore the cabbage whether it will survive or not.
d. Allow it to grow in order to obtain seeds.
37. A single plant can be classified as both agronomic and horticultural, which among exemplified the dual
classification
a. papaya b. coconut c. cassava d. mungbean
38. A monocot differ from the dicot in terms leaf venation, which among the plants is not a dicot
a. rice b. coconut b. banana d. cassava
39. The tiny opening in the stem of the plants ( a. Lacticifers b. Lenticels c. Vascular
bundles d. Stomata).
40. This crop may have multiple classification except
a. Corn b. Rice c. Sorghum d. Coconut

Test II. Fill in the in the blank/identify the item described:

1. ____________ agronomic crops consumed as dry seeds and are rich in proteins and can fix atmospheric
nitrogen or the pod bearing crops.
2. _________ _________ the green coloring pigment in the leaves of the plant.
3. Pre-colonial agriculture is characterized by ____________________ agriculture/culture because of the
nomadic nature of men.
4. ____________leguminous crops raised up to flowering to improve soil fertility.
5. _________ is the food reserves of the seeds.
6. ___________ is a type of soil considered as the riches usually deposited in river banks.
7. Botanical classification of plant is based on _____________ relationship.
8. __________ are the tiny opening in the leaves of the plant which serves as the passage of water and air.
9. The father of the binomial naming of plants is _______________.
10. Crops seeded to cover the ground ______________.
11. _______________ are crops grown to fill in when regular crops failed.
12. _____________ are domesticated/cultivated pl;ants that are grown for profit .
13. _____________ is the science that deals with the organism and its environment.
14. ___________ is the period in Philippine agriculture characterized by the existence of producing & ruling
class.
15. _____________ is considered as self sufficiency stage in Phil. Agriculture which took place in the 1960’s-
70‘s.

Test III.Discussion
1. Why is crop production important to man?
2. Differentiate an agronomic from horticultural crops.
3. Draw a plant and label its parts.
4. Draw a complete flower and label its parts.
5. State and explain the Malthusian Theory
Test IV. Give the scientific name of the following crops (Observe proper way of writing scientific
names):
1. CacAo 2. Coconut 3. Mango 4. Lanzones 5. Rambutan
6. Papaya 7. Avocado 8. Durian 9. Jackfruit 10. Star Apple
11. Cabbage 12. Pechay 13. Eggplant 14. Cucumber 15. Upo
16. Patola 17. Sweet pepper 18. Carrots 19. Gauva 20. Radish
21. Rose 22.Gummamela 23. Santan 24. Sampaguita 25. Crotons

Test V. Define the following terms.

a. Agriculture 6. Crop production

b. Agronomy 7. Scientific names
c. Plant 8. Cereals
d. Horticulture 9. Companion crops
e. Crop 10. Ornamental plants

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 MODULE 1 IN AGRIC 101
(PRINCIPLES OF CROP PRODUCTION)

SALVACION J. LEGASPI, PhD.

Course Facilitator

Note: 1) Almost 90% lectures were lifted from the Lecture syllabus for Crop Science 1A by
Prof. Tito A. Rimando of College of Agriculture in UPLB

2) Laboratory exercises were developed by the course facilitator.

Note:

1) Pass the self assessment only.

2) Do not forget to write your name.
3) For the laboratory exercises, pass only the required answers. Use additional sheets for
the drawings and answers to question.

GOD BLESS!!!

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