Crop production provides most of the world’s food. Its products are also raw materials for the textile, chemical, pharmaceutical, furniture, construction and other industries. The region is closely related to animal husbandry, being a supplier of fodder for livestock and a consumer of fertilizers produced by it.
Today more than 20 thousand agricultural crops are cultivated in the world, of which about 650 are of paramount importance for the development of civilization. Modern production technologies are aimed at the strict accounting of conditions and factors that affect the final yield and quality of cultivated crops.
Crop production appeared in the Neolithic era, when people began to consciously cultivate fruits and vegetables. The first pockets of ancient agriculture were recorded in China, India, Mexico, Syria, Peru, Egypt, Bolivia. At the initial stage, the goal was to increase the yield of fruits available in the wild. Later, people learned to cultivate the soil and grow grain. As farming developed, the resulting crops and seeds began to migrate to other parts of the world, expanding their range of cultivation. The importation of different crops increased the range of sowing of cereals, legumes, and root crops in one area or another. And the adaptation of imported seeds contributed to the development of new varieties and changes in cultivation conditions.
The whole variety of plants grown on an industrial scale is conventionally divided into 7 main branches, depending on their type, specificity of cultivation, place of growth and other factors:
- field farming,
- grassland farming,
- horticulture,
- horticulture,
- viticulture,
- floriculture,
- silviculture.
The choice of industry for development, as well as specific crops, largely depends on the region of cultivation, soil features, climate, number of sunny days, rainfall and other factors. Therefore, the geographical factor is decisive in the success of agricultural production.
Geography of crop distribution
The heterogeneity of climate, soil and natural conditions result in different crops being grown in different regions. In a private garden it is possible to try to adapt an exotic plant to the local weather conditions, while in an industrial scale cultivation of non-adapted species is unprofitable and inexpedient.
Cereal crops are the main source of food for about 75% of the world’s population. Most species show good growth and high yields in regions with relatively low rainfall and temperate climates. At the same time, natural conditions contributed to the wide spread of rice in Asian countries, corn in the USA, and wheat in Western Europe.
Fruit crops are common in almost all inhabited regions. Countries with dominant subtropical and tropical climates are among the most successful in fruit and berry growing. Vegetable production is also widespread. The largest volume of production of this sphere falls on the countries of Europe, USA, North Africa.