Knowledge base
Crops
Field, cereal, oilseed, and horticultural crops — with botanical classification, climate and soil requirements, agronomy, and associated pests and diseases.
153 entries · every entry is sourced and dated
Agronomic details such as sowing dates, input rates, and yields are highly region-specific. Entries describe principles and requirements rather than universal prescriptions.
- Forage crop
Alfalfa
Medicago sativa
Alfalfa is a deep-rooted, nitrogen-fixing perennial legume grown primarily as hay and forage for livestock. Stands can remain productive for several years, with multiple cuttings taken each season.
- Tree nut crop
Almond
Prunus dulcis (syn. Prunus amygdalus)
Almond is a temperate deciduous tree grown for its edible seed, botanically a drupe closely related to peach and plum. Commercial orchards depend on cross-pollination between compatible cultivars and are managed as long-lived perennial plantings.
- Specialty crop
Aloe vera
Aloe vera (syn. Aloe barbadensis)
Aloe vera is a drought-tolerant perennial succulent grown commercially for the gel and latex contained in its thick leaves, used as a raw material by the cosmetic, personal-care, and food and beverage industries.
- Pseudocereal and leafy vegetable
Amaranth
Amaranthus (A. cruentus, A. hypochondriacus, A. caudatus)
Amaranth is a fast-growing warm-season crop grown both as a gluten-free grain (pseudocereal) and as a nutritious leafy vegetable, valued for heat and drought tolerance and highly efficient C4 growth.
- Tree fruit crop
Apple
Malus domestica (syn. Malus pumila)
Apple is a temperate deciduous tree fruit grown worldwide for fresh consumption, juice, and processed products. Orchards are established from grafted trees and cropped for many years before replanting.
- Tree fruit crop
Apricot
Prunus armeniaca
Apricot is a deciduous stone fruit tree grown for fresh, dried, and processed fruit. It blooms early in spring in many regions, which makes bloom-time frost a particularly important production risk.
- Vegetable crop
Artichoke
Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus
Artichoke is a perennial thistle-like plant of the daisy family grown for its large, immature flower buds, harvested and eaten as a vegetable before the flower opens.
- Vegetable crop
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis
Asparagus is a long-lived perennial vegetable grown for its tender young shoots (spears), harvested seasonally from an established underground crown that can remain productive for many years.
- Tree fruit crop
Avocado
Persea americana
Avocado is a subtropical to tropical evergreen tree grown for its nutrient-dense, oil-rich fruit. Orchards are established from grafted trees, and management centers heavily on root-zone drainage because of the crop’s vulnerability to Phytophthora root rot.
- Legume crop
Bambara Groundnut
Vigna subterranea
Bambara groundnut is an African indigenous grain legume that develops its seed underground, prized for drought tolerance and its ability to yield on poor soils, providing a complete, protein- and carbohydrate-rich pulse.
- Fruit crop
Banana
Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana and their interspecific hybrids; most dessert cultivars are triploid Musa acuminata (AAA group) types such as Cavendish
Banana is a large, perennial, herbaceous plant grown throughout the tropics for its edible fruit. Plantings are propagated vegetatively and regrow from the underground rhizome across successive cropping cycles.
- Cereal crop
Barley
Hordeum vulgare
Barley is a temperate cereal grown for malting, animal feed, and food uses, cultivated as winter or spring types across cool and semi-arid regions and generally noted for tolerating a somewhat broader range of growing conditions than wheat.
- Culinary herb crop
Basil
Ocimum basilicum
Basil is a warm-season annual herb grown for its aromatic leaves, used fresh and dried as a culinary herb and as a source of essential oil for the food and fragrance industries.
- Vegetable crop
Beetroot
Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris
Beetroot is a root vegetable grown for its sweet, deeply colored taproot, closely related to sugar beet and spinach, and notable among vegetables for a beneficial response to sodium fertilization.
- Legume crop
Black Gram
Vigna mungo
Black gram is a warm-season pulse of South Asia grown for its small, dark, protein-rich seed, widely used split and ground in staple foods, and valued as a short-season rotation and rice-fallow crop.
- Spice crop
Black pepper
Piper nigrum
Black pepper is a perennial climbing vine grown for its dried fruit (peppercorns), traditionally cultivated trained onto living or artificial support trees in humid tropical regions.
- Fruit crop
Blackberry
Rubus fruticosus aggregate (cultivated blackberries are largely complex Rubus hybrids)
Blackberry is a perennial cane fruit related to raspberry, grown for its dark aggregate fruit on a permanent root system, with modern thornless and primocane-fruiting cultivars widely used in commercial production.
- Fruit crop
Blackcurrant
Ribes nigrum
Blackcurrant is a temperate deciduous bush grown for its aromatic, vitamin-C-rich berries, used mainly for juice, cordials, and processing, and valued for winter-hardiness and a distinctive requirement for winter chilling.
- Fruit crop
Blueberry
Vaccinium corymbosum (northern highbush blueberry); other cultivated Vaccinium species and hybrids are grown regionally
Blueberry is a perennial deciduous shrub of the heath family grown for its fresh and processed fruit, distinguished by a strict requirement for acidic, well-drained, organic-rich soil.
- Fruit and staple crop
Breadfruit
Artocarpus altilis
Breadfruit is a large tropical tree grown for its starchy, carbohydrate-rich fruit eaten as a cooked staple, valued as a long-lived, low-maintenance food tree across the Pacific, Caribbean, and humid tropics.
- Vegetable crop
Broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italica
Broccoli is a cool-season brassica grown for its immature flower heads, harvested before flowering and valued for reliable performance in temperate and Mediterranean climates.
- Pseudocereal crop
Buckwheat
Fagopyrum esculentum
Buckwheat is a fast-maturing, broadleaf pseudocereal grown for its triangular seed, used as a gluten-free grain and flour, and widely valued as a short-season cover and smother crop.
- Vegetable crop
Cabbage
Brassica oleracea var. capitata
Cabbage is a biennial brassica vegetable grown worldwide for its dense leafy head, used fresh, cooked, fermented, and processed, and cultivated across a wide range of temperate and subtropical climates.
- Spice crop
Cardamom
Elettaria cardamomum
Cardamom is a perennial, rhizomatous understorey herb of the ginger family grown for its dried seed capsules, one of the most highly valued spices by weight in global trade.
- Vegetable crop
Carrot
Daucus carota subsp. sativus
Carrot is a biennial root vegetable grown for its edible taproot, cultivated worldwide for fresh consumption, processing, and, in some systems, livestock feed.
- Tree nut crop
Cashew
Anacardium occidentale
Cashew is a tropical evergreen tree grown for its true fruit — the kidney-shaped nut — which develops externally on a fleshy, edible stalk known as the cashew apple. It is notably drought- and heat-tolerant and widely grown on marginal soils in smallholder and agroforestry systems.
- Root and tuber crop
Cassava
Manihot esculenta
Cassava is a woody perennial shrub grown throughout the tropics for its starchy storage roots, valued for drought tolerance and its ability to crop on soils too poor for many other staples.
- Vegetable crop
Cauliflower
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis
Cauliflower is a cool-season brassica grown for its compact, undeveloped flower head (curd), notably more sensitive to temperature fluctuation than related cole crops such as broccoli and cabbage.
- Vegetable crop
Celery
Apium graveolens var. dulce
Celery is a cool-season vegetable grown for its crisp leaf stalks (petioles), notably demanding of consistent moisture and susceptible to boron-deficiency disorders during production.
- Aromatic and culinary herb crop
Chamomile
Matricaria chamomilla (German chamomile); Chamaemelum nobile (Roman chamomile) is also cultivated
Chamomile is a low-growing flowering herb of the daisy family grown for its small, daisy-like flower heads, dried and used in herbal teas, food flavoring, and fragrance products.
- Tree fruit crop
Cherry
Prunus avium (sweet cherry); Prunus cerasus (sour/tart cherry)
Cherry is a temperate deciduous stone fruit grown as sweet cherry for fresh eating and sour/tart cherry mainly for processing, both propagated by grafting and requiring substantial winter chilling.
- Tree nut crop
Chestnut
Castanea sativa (European chestnut); other cultivated species include Castanea dentata (American chestnut) and Castanea mollissima (Chinese chestnut)
Chestnut is a deciduous nut tree of the beech family grown for its starchy, relatively low-oil nut, eaten roasted or boiled and processed into flour and other products.
- Legume crop
Chickpea
Cicer arietinum
Chickpea is an annual pulse legume grown for its protein-rich seed, cultivated in two principal market types across semi-arid regions worldwide, and valued in rotation for its nitrogen-fixing ability.
- Vegetable and forage crop
Chicory
Cichorium intybus
Chicory is a versatile crop of the daisy family grown as a leafy salad vegetable, a forcing crop for Belgian endive, a root crop for inulin and a coffee substitute, and as a productive forage.
- Vegetable crop
Chili pepper
Capsicum annuum (and related cultivated Capsicum species)
Chili pepper is a fruiting Solanaceous crop grown for pods ranging from mild to intensely pungent, used fresh, dried, or processed as a vegetable and spice across a wide range of climates.
- Spice crop
Cinnamon
Cinnamomum verum (syn. Cinnamomum zeylanicum); bark of related Cinnamomum species (notably C. cassia) is also traded commercially as cinnamon or cassia
Cinnamon is a perennial evergreen tree grown for its inner bark, which is peeled, dried, and rolled into the familiar quills used as a culinary spice, traditionally managed by regular coppicing rather than allowed to grow to full tree height.
- Spice crop
Clove
Syzygium aromaticum
Clove is a tropical evergreen tree grown for its aromatic, unopened flower buds, hand-picked and dried to produce the familiar dark brown spice used worldwide in cooking and flavoring.
- Beverage crop
Cocoa
Theobroma cacao
Cocoa is a tropical understory tree grown for the seeds inside its large pods, which are fermented, dried, and processed into cocoa and chocolate products, traditionally cultivated under a canopy of taller shade trees.
- Tree crop
Coconut
Cocos nucifera
Coconut is a tall tropical palm grown across coastal and lowland tropical regions for its versatile fruit, yielding oil, food, fiber, and shell products from a single long-lived tree.
- Beverage crop
Coffee
Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora (robusta)
Coffee is a perennial tropical shrub grown for its seeds (beans), cultivated mainly as Coffea arabica in cooler highland areas and Coffea canephora (robusta) in warmer lowland areas, often under shade in smallholder systems.
- Legume crop
Common Bean
Phaseolus vulgaris
Common bean is an annual legume grown worldwide for its edible seeds and pods, valued as a major dietary protein source and for its symbiotic nitrogen fixation in cropping systems.
- Culinary herb and spice crop
Coriander
Coriandrum sativum
Coriander is an annual herb grown for two distinct products from the same plant: fresh leaves, known as cilantro, and dried ripe seeds used whole or ground as the spice coriander.
- Fiber crop
Cotton
Gossypium hirsutum (upland cotton); Gossypium barbadense (extra-long-staple cotton, including Pima and Egyptian types)
Cotton is a warm-season crop grown for the fiber (lint) surrounding its seeds, along with cottonseed oil and meal. It is cultivated as an annual across tropical and warm-temperate regions.
- Legume crop
Cowpea
Vigna unguiculata
Cowpea is a heat- and drought-tolerant grain legume of the tropics and subtropics, grown for protein-rich dry seed, edible green pods and leaves, and fodder, and valued in rotations for nitrogen fixation.
- Fruit crop
Cranberry
Vaccinium macrocarpon
Cranberry is a perennial evergreen shrub of the heath family grown for its tart fruit, cultivated in specially constructed acidic, sandy wetland beds and distinguished by tolerance of waterlogging unusual among fruit crops.
- Vegetable crop
Cucumber
Cucumis sativus
Cucumber is a warm-season annual cucurbit vine grown for its edible fruit, cultivated in open fields, high tunnels, and greenhouses for both fresh-slicing and pickling markets.
- Spice crop
Cumin
Cuminum cyminum
Cumin is a low-growing annual herb of the carrot family grown for its small, ridged seeds, dried and used whole or ground as one of the most widely traded culinary spices.
- Tree fruit crop
Date Palm
Phoenix dactylifera
Date palm is a long-lived, dioecious palm grown for its fruit (dates) across hot, arid, and semi-arid regions. It is notably drought-, heat-, and salinity-tolerant relative to most tree fruit crops, and commercial groves rely on pollination of female flowers using pollen from separate male palms.
- Culinary herb and spice crop
Dill
Anethum graveolens
Dill is a fast-growing annual herb grown for its feathery aromatic leaves, used fresh as a culinary herb, and its dried seeds, used as a spice and in pickling.
- Fruit crop
Dragon Fruit
Selenicereus undatus (syn. Hylocereus undatus)
Dragon fruit is a climbing cactus grown in warm, dry-adapted conditions for its striking, mildly sweet fruit, valued for drought tolerance, night-blooming flowers, and production on trellised, long-lived plants.
- Vegetable crop
Eggplant
Solanum melongena
Eggplant is a warm-season solanaceous fruiting vegetable grown for its glossy, variably shaped and colored fruit, cultivated in open fields and protected culture across warm and temperate regions.
- Legume crop
Faba Bean
Vicia faba
Faba bean is a cool-season grain legume grown for protein-rich seed used as food, feed, and a fresh vegetable, and valued as one of the more effective nitrogen-fixing crops in temperate and Mediterranean rotations.
- Culinary herb and vegetable crop
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
Fennel is grown either for its aromatic dried seeds, used as a spice, or, in the case of Florence fennel, for its swollen leaf-base bulb eaten as a vegetable, typically managed as an annual crop.
- Tree fruit crop
Fig
Ficus carica
Fig is a subtropical deciduous tree fruit grown for fresh and dried fruit, notable for its unusual enclosed inflorescence and for tolerating heat and drought better than many other tree fruits.
- Fiber crop
Flax
Linum usitatissimum
Flax is a slender annual grown in two distinct forms: fiber flax, cultivated for the bast fiber in its stem, and linseed (oilseed) flax, grown for its oil-rich seed.
- Cereal crop
Fonio
Digitaria exilis
Fonio is a fast-maturing West African cereal with very small grains, valued for growing on poor, sandy soils and producing food during the pre-harvest hungry season, and used as a nutritious gluten-free grain.
- Vegetable crop
Garlic
Allium sativum
Garlic is a bulb crop in the Allium genus, propagated vegetatively from cloves rather than true seed, grown worldwide for its pungent, storable bulb used as a culinary staple and flavoring.
- Spice crop
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
Ginger is a perennial herbaceous plant grown for its aromatic underground rhizome, propagated from rhizome pieces and cultivated across warm, humid regions as a spice crop.
- Fruit crop
Grape
Vitis vinifera (European grape); interspecific hybrids and American Vitis species such as Vitis labrusca are also cultivated
Grape is a woody perennial vine grown worldwide for wine, table fruit, raisins, and juice. Vineyards are established from grafted or own-rooted vines and cropped over many years on trellised training systems.
- Tree fruit crop
Grapefruit
Citrus × paradisi
Grapefruit is an evergreen subtropical citrus tree grown for fresh fruit and juice. Unlike many citrus species, it is a comparatively recent hybrid rather than an ancient, naturally occurring citrus type.
- Legume crop
Grass Pea
Lathyrus sativus
Grass pea is an exceptionally hardy grain and forage legume that yields under drought, waterlogging, and poor soils, valued as a food-security crop despite a neurotoxin in its seed that requires careful use.
- Legume crop
Groundnut
Arachis hypogaea
Groundnut is an annual legume grown for its oil- and protein-rich seed, distinguished by geocarpy — its pods develop and mature underground — and valued both as a major oilseed and as a widely consumed food crop.
- Tree fruit crop
Guava
Psidium guajava
Guava is a hardy, adaptable evergreen tree grown across tropical and subtropical regions for fresh fruit and processed products such as juice, nectar, and paste.
- Tree nut crop
Hazelnut
Corylus avellana
Hazelnut is a temperate deciduous nut plant, grown as a multi-stemmed shrub or trained to a single trunk, that flowers unusually early and is wind-pollinated rather than insect-pollinated. Orchards typically interplant multiple cultivars to align pollen availability with female flower receptivity.
- Fiber crop
Hemp
Cannabis sativa
Industrial hemp is a fast-growing annual grown for bast fiber, seed oil, and seed meal, cultivated from low-cannabinoid cultivars under regulatory frameworks that govern seed source and permitted THC content.
- Fruit crop
Jackfruit
Artocarpus heterophyllus
Jackfruit is a large tropical tree bearing the biggest tree-borne fruit, eaten ripe as a sweet fruit and unripe as a starchy vegetable and increasingly as a plant-based meat substitute, valued for hardiness and high yield.
- Fiber crop
Jute
Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis
Jute is a tall annual fiber crop grown mainly in the monsoon-fed floodplains of South Asia, valued for the strong, biodegradable bast fiber extracted from its stems.
- Vegetable crop
Kale
Brassica oleracea var. acephala (syn. var. sabellica)
Kale is a non-heading leafy brassica grown for its edible leaves, valued for cold tolerance and a long harvest window across temperate and Mediterranean climates.
- Vine fruit crop
Kiwifruit
Actinidia deliciosa (fuzzy/green kiwifruit); Actinidia chinensis (gold kiwifruit)
Kiwifruit is a deciduous woody vine trained on a trellis or pergola system and grown for its fuzzy or smooth-skinned fruit. Vines are typically dioecious, requiring separate male and female plants for fruit set.
- Vegetable crop
Kohlrabi
Brassica oleracea (Gongylodes group)
Kohlrabi is a cool-season brassica grown for its swollen, edible stem, a fast-maturing crop of the cabbage family eaten raw or cooked, valued for its mild, crisp, turnip-like flesh.
- Legume crop
Lablab
Lablab purpureus
Lablab is a vigorous, drought-tolerant tropical legume grown for dry seed, edible green pods, high-quality forage, and as a cover crop and green manure, valued for its adaptability and nitrogen fixation.
- Aromatic and essential oil crop
Lavender
Lavandula angustifolia
Lavender is a woody, evergreen or semi-evergreen Mediterranean shrub grown for its fragrant flower spikes, used for dried flowers, culinary applications, and steam-distilled essential oil.
- Vegetable crop
Leek
Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum
Leek is a hardy allium vegetable grown for its blanched, cylindrical stem (shank), valued for good cold tolerance and a long harvest season compared with onion and garlic.
- Tree fruit crop
Lemon
Citrus limon
Lemon is an evergreen citrus tree grown on grafted rootstocks for fresh fruit, juice, and zest across subtropical and mild-winter regions. It is notably frost-sensitive relative to many other citrus types and, under favorable conditions, can flower and fruit somewhat continuously through the year.
- Legume crop
Lentil
Lens culinaris
Lentil is an annual pulse legume grown for its small, disc-shaped edible seeds, valued as a dietary protein source, for its short growing season, and for its role as a nitrogen-fixing crop in semi-arid rotations.
- Vegetable crop
Lettuce
Lactuca sativa
Lettuce is a fast-growing annual leafy vegetable grown mainly for fresh salad use, cultivated in open fields, high tunnels, and hydroponic systems across many climates.
- Tree fruit crop
Lime
Citrus aurantiifolia (key lime); Citrus latifolia (Persian/Tahiti lime)
Lime is an evergreen citrus tree grown on grafted rootstocks across tropical and warm subtropical regions. Two distinct commercial types are grown: key (Mexican) lime and Persian (Tahiti) lime, which differ in fruit size, seed content, and market role.
- Fruit crop
Loquat
Eriobotrya japonica
Loquat is a subtropical evergreen tree of the rose family grown for its sweet-tart, early-ripening pome fruit, distinctive for flowering in autumn or winter and fruiting in early spring ahead of most tree fruits.
- Legume crop
Lupin
Lupinus (L. albus, L. angustifolius, L. luteus)
Lupin is a grain legume grown for high-protein seed used in animal feed and, as low-alkaloid sweet types, in human food, notable for thriving on acidic sandy soils and fixing large amounts of nitrogen.
- Tree fruit crop
Lychee
Litchi chinensis
Lychee is an evergreen subtropical tree grown for its sweet, aromatic fruit. Unusually among subtropical trees, it has a genuine winter cool-period requirement to induce flowering, and its fruit is notable for rapid post-harvest quality decline.
- Tree nut crop
Macadamia
Macadamia integrifolia and Macadamia tetraphylla, and hybrids between the two, which make up most commercial cultivars
Macadamia is an evergreen tree native to Australia, grown for its round, hard-shelled nut valued for its rich kernel and used mainly as a premium snack and confectionery ingredient.
- Cereal crop
Maize
Zea mays
Maize (corn) is a warm-season cereal grown worldwide for grain used in food, feed, and industrial products. It is cultivated across a wide range of climates, from temperate to tropical, typically completing its life cycle within a single growing season.
- Fruit crop
Mango
Mangifera indica
Mango is a tropical and subtropical evergreen tree grown widely for its fresh fruit. Orchards are established from grafted trees, which take several years to reach significant bearing.
- Vine fruit crop
Melon
Cucumis melo
Melon is a warm-season annual vine crop encompassing cantaloupe, honeydew, and other Cucumis melo market types. It is direct-seeded or transplanted each season and grown for its aromatic, sweet fruit.
- Cereal crop
Millet
Pennisetum glaucum (pearl millet); also cultivated as Panicum miliaceum (proso millet), Eleusine coracana (finger millet), and Setaria italica (foxtail millet)
"Millet" refers to a group of small-seeded, warm-season cereal grasses grown mainly in semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia for grain and fodder, valued for tolerating heat, drought, and low-fertility soils.
- Culinary herb crop
Mint
Mentha × piperita (peppermint) and Mentha spicata (spearmint), among other cultivated Mentha species and hybrids
Mint is a perennial, rhizome-spreading herb grown for its aromatic leaves and essential oil, used fresh and dried in food, beverages, confectionery, and oral-care and fragrance products.
- Fruit and tree crop
Mulberry
Morus (M. alba, M. nigra, M. rubra)
Mulberry is a fast-growing deciduous tree grown both for its sweet berries and, above all, for its leaves, which are the essential food of silkworms, making it the foundation crop of silk production (sericulture).
- Legume crop
Mung Bean
Vigna radiata
Mung bean is a fast-maturing, warm-season pulse grown across Asia for its small green protein-rich seed, widely used whole, split, sprouted, and as flour, and valued as a short-season rotation and catch crop.
- Oilseed and spice crop
Mustard
Brassica juncea (brown/Indian mustard); Brassica nigra (black mustard); Sinapis alba (white/yellow mustard)
Mustard is an annual Brassica crop grown mainly for its seeds, used as a spice and condiment, pressed for oil, or grown as a cover and biofumigant crop in some rotations.
- Spice crop
Nutmeg
Myristica fragrans
Nutmeg is a tropical evergreen tree that uniquely yields two distinct spices from a single fruit: nutmeg, the dried seed kernel, and mace, the dried lacy aril that surrounds it.
- Cereal crop
Oats
Avena sativa
Oats is a cool-season cereal grown for grain used in human food and livestock feed, and for its straw and whole-plant forage value. It tolerates cooler, wetter conditions and less fertile soils than many other cereals.
- Tree crop
Oil palm
Elaeis guineensis
Oil palm is a tropical palm grown for its fruit bunches, which yield both palm oil from the fruit mesocarp and palm kernel oil from the seed, making it the highest-yielding major vegetable oil crop per unit area.
- Oilseed crop
Oilseed rape
Brassica napus
Oilseed rape is a cool-season brassica grown for its oil-rich seed, used for cooking oil, industrial oil, biodiesel, and protein-rich meal. It is grown as winter or spring types depending on climate.
- Vegetable crop
Okra
Abelmoschus esculentus
Okra is a warm-season fruiting vegetable grown for its ridged, mucilaginous seed pods, valued for strong heat and drought tolerance across tropical, subtropical, and warm-temperate regions.
- Tree fruit crop
Olive
Olea europaea
Olive is a long-lived evergreen tree grown across Mediterranean-type climates for oil and table fruit, tolerant of drought, heat, and poor soils once established.
- Vegetable crop
Onion
Allium cepa
Onion is a biennial Allium grown worldwide for its pungent, storable bulb, one of the most widely traded vegetable crops and a foundational culinary ingredient in most world cuisines.
- Fruit crop
Orange
Citrus sinensis (sweet orange)
Orange is an evergreen citrus tree grown in subtropical and tropical regions for its fresh fruit and juice. Orchards are established from grafted trees and remain productive for many years.
- Culinary herb crop
Oregano
Origanum vulgare
Oregano is a perennial Mediterranean herb grown for its aromatic leaves, used fresh and dried as a culinary herb and as a source of essential oil.
- Tropical fruit crop
Papaya
Carica papaya
Papaya is a fast-growing, short-lived tropical perennial grown for its fleshy fruit. It has a soft, herbaceous-woody trunk rather than true wood, and its sex expression — dioecious, monoecious, or hermaphrodite — shapes orchard design.
- Culinary herb crop
Parsley
Petroselinum crispum
Parsley is a biennial herb grown for its fresh leaves, used widely as a culinary garnish and flavoring, typically harvested in its first year before the plant flowers and sets seed in its second.
- Fruit crop
Passion Fruit
Passiflora edulis
Passion fruit is a fast-growing climbing vine grown in the tropics and subtropics for its aromatic, juicy fruit, used fresh and for juice, produced in purple and yellow forms on a trellised, relatively short-lived crop.
- Legume crop
Pea
Pisum sativum
Pea is a cool-season annual legume grown for its edible seeds and pods, used in both food and feed systems and valued for its symbiotic nitrogen fixation in crop rotations.
- Tree fruit crop
Peach
Prunus persica
Peach is a temperate deciduous stone fruit grown for fresh and processed fruit, encompassing both fuzzy-skinned peach and smooth-skinned nectarine, with cultivars bred across a wide range of chilling requirements.
- Tree fruit crop
Pear
Pyrus communis (European pear); Pyrus pyrifolia (Asian pear)
Pear is a temperate deciduous tree fruit grown from grafted trees for fresh consumption and processing. European and Asian pear types differ notably in texture and ripening behavior, and most cultivars require cross-pollination.
- Tree nut crop
Pecan
Carya illinoinensis
Pecan is a large deciduous nut tree native to North America, grown commercially for its oil-rich kernel used as a snack nut and in baking and confectionery.
- Tree fruit crop
Persimmon
Diospyros kaki (Asian/Japanese persimmon)
Persimmon is a deciduous tree grown for fruit that falls into two broad classes, astringent and non-astringent, depending on natural tannin content, requiring different handling before the fruit is eaten.
- Legume crop
Pigeon Pea
Cajanus cajan
Pigeon pea is a deep-rooted, drought-tolerant grain legume grown mainly in the semi-arid tropics for its protein-rich dry seed, and valued in mixed cropping and rotations for its nitrogen-fixing ability.
- Tropical fruit crop
Pineapple
Ananas comosus
Pineapple is a tropical, herbaceous perennial bromeliad grown for its compound fruit. Plantings are established from vegetative propagating material rather than seed and are commonly cropped over a plant cycle plus one or more ratoon cycles.
- Tree nut crop
Pistachio
Pistacia vera
Pistachio is a deciduous, dioecious tree adapted to hot, arid, continental climates that nonetheless carries a genuine winter chilling requirement. Male and female trees are interplanted for wind pollination, and the crop is well known for pronounced alternate bearing.
- Fruit and staple crop
Plantain
Musa × paradisiaca
Plantain is a starchy cooking-type banana grown across the humid tropics as a year-round staple, eaten cooked at all stages of ripeness, and a major source of dietary carbohydrate in West and Central Africa and Latin America.
- Tree fruit crop
Plum
Prunus domestica (European plum); Prunus salicina (Japanese plum)
Plum is a temperate deciduous stone fruit grown as two distinct groups, European plum used fresh and for drying into prunes, and Japanese plum grown mainly for the fresh market, both propagated by grafting.
- Tree fruit crop
Pomegranate
Punica granatum
Pomegranate is a deciduous or semi-deciduous fruiting shrub or small tree adapted to semi-arid and Mediterranean-type climates, grown for its juice-filled seed arils used fresh and in processed products.
- Tuber crop
Potato
Solanum tuberosum
Potato is a tuber crop grown for its starchy underground tubers, a major staple food and vegetable crop cultivated across temperate regions and highland areas of the tropics.
- Vegetable crop
Pumpkin
Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata (species cultivated as pumpkin vary by region and type)
Pumpkin is a warm-season vining crop grown for its large, hard-rinded fruit, harvested mature and valued for both food use and long storage life compared with summer squash types.
- Pseudocereal crop
Quinoa
Chenopodium quinoa
Quinoa is an Andean broadleaf grain crop grown for its protein-rich, gluten-free seed, notable for its tolerance of drought, cold, and saline or alkaline soils at high altitude.
- Vegetable crop
Radish
Raphanus sativus
Radish is a fast-maturing brassica root vegetable grown for its crisp, pungent taproot, notable for one of the shortest times from sowing to harvest of any common vegetable.
- Fruit crop
Raspberry
Rubus idaeus
Raspberry is a perennial cane fruit grown for its soft, aggregate fruit, cultivated on a permanent root system whose above-ground canes typically live for two seasons in traditional (floricane) types.
- Cereal crop
Rice
Oryza sativa
Rice is a cereal grass cultivated across a wide range of flooded, rainfed, and upland systems, and is a staple food for a large share of the global population, particularly across Asia.
- Leafy vegetable
Rocket
Eruca vesicaria (also Diplotaxis tenuifolia, wild rocket)
Rocket is a fast-growing leafy salad crop of the cabbage family valued for its peppery leaves, harvested young over multiple cuttings, and widely grown as a quick catch crop and in protected and baby-leaf production.
- Culinary herb crop
Rosemary
Salvia rosmarinus (syn. Rosmarinus officinalis)
Rosemary is a woody, evergreen Mediterranean shrub grown for its narrow, aromatic leaves, used fresh and dried as a culinary herb and as a source of essential oil.
- Industrial crop
Rubber
Hevea brasiliensis
Rubber is a tropical tree grown for the latex tapped from its bark, which is processed into natural rubber, cultivated on long-term plantations that remain productive for several decades.
- Cereal crop
Rye
Secale cereale
Rye is a hardy temperate cereal grown for grain used in bread, distilling, and animal feed, and widely used as a cover crop and forage. It tolerates colder winters and poorer soils than most other cereals.
- Oilseed crop
Safflower
Carthamus tinctorius
Safflower is a spiny, deep-rooted annual oilseed grown for its seeds, valued for drought tolerance and its ability to use residual soil moisture in semi-arid cropping systems.
- Spice crop
Saffron
Crocus sativus
Saffron is a perennial corm-forming plant grown for the dried stigmas of its autumn-flowering blooms, hand-harvested in a labor-intensive process that makes it one of the most valuable spices by weight.
- Culinary herb crop
Sage
Salvia officinalis
Sage is a woody-based perennial herb of Mediterranean origin, grown for its soft, gray-green aromatic leaves, used fresh and dried as a culinary herb and as a source of essential oil.
- Oilseed crop
Sesame
Sesamum indicum
Sesame is a warm-season annual oilseed grown for its small, oil-rich seeds, valued for drought tolerance and adaptability to marginal soils across tropical and subtropical regions.
- Cereal crop
Sorghum
Sorghum bicolor
Sorghum is a warm-season cereal grass valued for its drought and heat tolerance, grown for grain, forage, and sweet-stalk products across semi-arid and tropical regions.
- Legume crop
Soybean
Glycine max
Soybean is an annual legume grown worldwide for its protein- and oil-rich seed, used extensively in food, animal feed, and industrial products, and valued in cropping systems for its symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
- Vegetable crop
Spinach
Spinacia oleracea
Spinach is a fast-growing, cool-season annual leafy vegetable grown for its tender leaves, used fresh, cooked, and in a range of processed and frozen products.
- Fruit crop
Strawberry
Fragaria × ananassa (garden strawberry)
Strawberry is a low-growing perennial fruit crop widely grown for fresh consumption and processing. Commercial production ranges from perennial matted-row systems to annual plasticulture, depending on climate and market.
- Root and industrial crop
Sugar beet
Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (Altissima Group)
Sugar beet is a biennial root crop grown as an annual for its sucrose-rich storage root, providing a temperate-climate alternative to sugarcane for sugar production.
- Industrial crop
Sugarcane
Saccharum officinarum and interspecific Saccharum hybrids (Saccharum spp.)
Sugarcane is a tall, perennial tropical grass grown for its sucrose-rich stalks, used to produce sugar, ethanol, and molasses. A single planting is harvested over several successive ratoon cycles before replanting.
- Oilseed crop
Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
Sunflower is a broadleaf annual grown mainly for its oil-rich seed, cultivated across temperate and semi-arid regions and generally regarded as more drought-tolerant than many other oilseed crops.
- Vegetable crop
Sweet Pepper
Capsicum annuum
Sweet pepper is a warm-season solanaceous fruiting vegetable grown for its mild, non-pungent fruit, cultivated in open fields and increasingly in protected culture such as greenhouses.
- Root and tuber crop
Sweet Potato
Ipomoea batatas
Sweet potato is a tropical and subtropical vining crop grown for its starchy, nutrient-dense storage roots, valued for good performance on lighter soils and reasonable drought tolerance.
- Vegetable crop
Sweetcorn
Zea mays var. saccharata (and var. rugosa)
Sweetcorn is a vegetable form of maize bred for high sugar content in the kernel, harvested immature at the milk stage and eaten fresh, canned, or frozen rather than dried for grain or feed.
- Leafy vegetable
Swiss Chard
Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris (Cicla group)
Swiss chard is a leaf beet grown for its large, tender leaves and colorful, succulent stalks, a hardy, productive, cut-and-come-again vegetable of the same species as beetroot and sugar beet.
- Fruit and tree crop
Tamarind
Tamarindus indica
Tamarind is a long-lived tropical legume tree grown for its tangy, pulpy pods used as a souring agent and flavoring, valued for hardiness, drought tolerance, and multipurpose products across the semi-arid tropics.
- Root and tuber crop
Taro
Colocasia esculenta
Taro is a tropical aroid grown for its starchy edible corms and nutritious leaves, cultivated in both wetland and upland systems, and an important staple across the Pacific, Africa, and Asia.
- Beverage crop
Tea
Camellia sinensis
Tea is a perennial evergreen shrub maintained through regular pruning as a low, flat-topped "plucking table," grown mainly in highland and monsoon-influenced regions for its young leaves and buds.
- Cereal crop
Teff
Eragrostis tef
Teff is a fine-grained, gluten-free warm-season cereal native to the Ethiopian highlands, the staple grain for the flatbread injera, valued for adaptability to varied conditions and grown for both grain and forage.
- Culinary herb crop
Thyme
Thymus vulgaris
Thyme is a low-growing, woody-based perennial herb of Mediterranean origin, grown for its small aromatic leaves, used fresh and dried as a culinary herb and as a source of essential oil.
- Industrial crop
Tobacco
Nicotiana tabacum
Tobacco is a warm-season annual grown for its leaves, which are cured through various methods after harvest to produce the raw leaf used in manufactured tobacco products.
- Vegetable crop
Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum (syn. Lycopersicon esculentum)
Tomato is a fruiting vegetable crop grown worldwide for fresh consumption and processing, cultivated in open-field, high-tunnel, and greenhouse systems across a wide range of climates.
- Cereal crop
Triticale
×Triticosecale spp. (intergeneric hybrid of wheat, Triticum, and rye, Secale)
Triticale is a human-made cereal hybrid of wheat and rye grown mainly for livestock feed and forage, combining wheat-like grain yield potential with rye-like hardiness and tolerance of poorer soils.
- Spice crop
Turmeric
Curcuma longa
Turmeric is a perennial rhizomatous herb grown mainly in South and Southeast Asia for its bright yellow-orange rhizome, used as a culinary spice and natural food colorant.
- Spice crop
Vanilla
Vanilla planifolia
Vanilla is a climbing, vine-like orchid grown for its long seed pods, hand-pollinated and cured through a lengthy process to develop the characteristic aroma used in flavoring and fragrance.
- Tree nut crop
Walnut
Juglans regia
Walnut is a temperate deciduous tree grown for its edible kernel and, in some regions, for valuable timber. Flowering biology that separates male and female maturity on the same tree makes cultivar interplanting an important orchard-design consideration.
- Aquatic leaf vegetable crop
Watercress
Nasturtium officinale
Watercress is a semi-aquatic leaf vegetable traditionally grown in beds of clean, flowing water over sand or gravel, valued for its peppery, fast-growing edible leaves and stems.
- Vine fruit crop
Watermelon
Citrullus lanatus
Watermelon is a warm-season annual vine crop grown for its large, juicy fruit. It is direct-seeded or transplanted each season and requires warm soil, ample space, and typically insect pollination to set fruit.
- Cereal crop
Wheat
Triticum aestivum (bread wheat); Triticum durum (durum wheat)
Wheat is a temperate cereal grown worldwide for grain used in flour, feed, and processed foods. It is cultivated as winter or spring types across a wide range of climates and soils.
- Root and tuber crop
Yam
Dioscorea spp., principally Dioscorea rotundata, D. alata, and D. cayenensis
Yam is a climbing tropical vine grown for its starchy underground tubers, propagated from seed tubers or setts and a staple and culturally significant crop across parts of West Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific.
- Vegetable crop
Zucchini
Cucurbita pepo
Zucchini is a fast-growing warm-season summer squash grown for its immature, tender fruit, valued for rapid, prolific production over a relatively short growing period.