Crops often bear little resemblance to the product you buy in the store. Many people, when they find cultivated fields, wonder what can grow there. Although farmers can grow a multitude of different types of crops, including grains, vegetables, beans, tubers, fruit, nuts, hay, cotton and even flowers, there are ways to identify some of the more common crops.
Steps
Step 1. Look for wheat in winter and spring
There are exceptions in certain areas such as North America, where wheat can be easily distinguished from other crops in late summer or fall. Wheat usually grows in cool weather and is harvested when temperatures rise, although this is not often the case in the northern United States and Canada, where seeds are planted in colder times. In these cooler climates, farmers or producers grow spring wheat, which is planted in the spring and harvested in late summer or autumn when the weather becomes colder. In warmer climates, such as those in the Mediterranean area, farmers sow winter wheat in autumn and harvest it in spring.
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Wheat looks a lot like grass when it is young or in the vegetative phase, except for the leaves which tend to be a little wider than common lawn grass. When the grain is near harvest time, a brush-like seed head grows and takes on a golden brown color when ready for harvest.
Don't confuse wheat with barley. Barley has a grain-like seed tip, with the exception of the resta, or "beard," at the tip which are much longer than wheat, and the head is not as coarse
Step 2. Barley is grown in areas similar to where wheat grows, but is more common in more northern areas
Canada and Russia are known for the cultivation of barley, although this plant has its origins in the same areas as wheat: in the Fertile Crescent which is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. In warmer countries it is sown in autumn and harvested in spring. In northern climates where plants do not grow during the winter, it is sown in the spring and harvested in the fall.
Barley can be recognized by its long beard, or reste, with a finer seed head and a slightly golden color at harvest time
Step 3. Look for corn, or maize, in regions that enjoy hot summers
- Corn can grow up to 3 meters and has a thick stem, long thin leaves, and a head that looks like a yellow ribbon. Near the harvest, the beard turns brown and you can see the brown spikes sticking out or a brown beard between the leaves.
- The kernels of the corn are not visible, because they are covered by the husk, which is made up of numerous modified leaves.
- Corn is planted in rows even several times during a single growing season, so you can see the plants at different stages of growth.
Step 4. Look for oats in late spring or early fall
Oats grow very quickly and must be harvested quickly before the grains begin to fall from the plants. The seed heads of this plant are called racemes; these are the seeds that hang on the outside of the thin "stems" that are bent by the weight of the grains themselves.
Oats are more brownish than golden when harvested, although some plants may still be a little green
Step 5. Rice cultivation is done in water paddies, where seeds are planted and the field is flooded for a long period of time until the seed head begins to show
At this point the field is drained and left to dry to allow the plant to reach full maturity before harvesting. The seed heads are similar to those of oats, with more smaller grains per head than oats. Rice grows quite quickly and, like oats, must be harvested quickly to prevent the seeds from falling out after being harvested.
Step 6. Look for rows of spinach in spring or fall when temperatures get colder
Spinach are low bushy plants with dark green leaves. Some varieties may have crinkled leaves.
Spinach plants eventually go to seed, which means they grow tall stems with heads that spread the seeds. When they get to this point they have bitter leaves and are no longer considered edible
Step 7. Recognize late spring potato crops in cooler climates and early fall in warmer climates
Potato plants grow from 60 to 100 cm in height. Even if they are planted in rows, their growth often hides the space that separates them.
Potatoes have small white flowers if the weather has been cool and humid. If you see seeds that look like dead plants, as potatoes grow underground, they are ready to harvest
Step 8. Look for broccoli in the spring
These plants have large but short leaves that are all ridged. In this vegetable first a central head grows that contains a cluster of small unopened flower buds. Farmers typically cut off the central head thereby encouraging the growth of the side heads.
Step 9. Find alfalfa sprout fields in spring
When young, these plants are very small, with oval or heart-shaped clusters of leaves, often in clusters of three at a time. The plant itself is made up of more than one stem, it does not stand on just one like most of the plants indicated in this article; the main root can grow very deep, especially since it is not a cultivated and re-seeded plant like all the other crops described in this article, except for the harvesting of the salad sprouts. When alfalfa reaches its maximum maturity, it can reach a height of 0.9-1 m and sprout yellow or purplish flowers, depending on the variety. These flowers are very similar, albeit much smaller, to those of a pea or bean plant, growing in clusters of 6 or more. Alfalfa is usually harvested as forage for livestock, particularly as hay.
Alfalfa is actually related to the pea and bean family, as all three are considered legume crops
Step 10. Look for cotton crops in warm climates
Cotton is a slender shrub about 1.5m tall. Its flower is white, which turns pink and then falls off in about 3 days. The cotton grows inside the seed pod (capsule) until it bursts and opens.
