TAMIL NADU AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

PBG 101 FUNDAMENTALS OF CROP BOTANY (1+1)

COURSE MATERIAL

Prepared by
Dr.S.Juliet Hepziba

DEPARTMENT OF PLANT BREEDING AND GENETICS

Agricultural College and Research Institute,
Madurai-625 104.
2006
PBG.101 FUNDAMENTALS OF CROP BOTANY 1+1

THEORY SYLLABUS
Introduction to field crops : Agricultural Classification of field crops.

Family description, economic parts, economic uses, value additions, in the following
crops:

Cereals and Millets: Rice, Wheat, Maize, Sorghum, Pearl millet, Finger millet, Foxtail millet,
Little millet, Barn yard millet, Proso millet and Kodo millet.

Pulses: Redgram, Blackgram, Greengram, Soybean, Bengalgram, Horsegram, Cowpea, Lablab

and Dew gram.

Oilseeds: Groundnut, Gingelly, Castor, Sunflower, Safflower, Niger, Rape and Mustard, jatropha.

Fibre crops: Cotton, jute, Mesta, Sunnhemp, Agave and Silk cotton.

Sugars: Sugar cane, Sugar Palm and Sugar beet.

Forage Crops: Grasses - Napier, Pearl millet ? Napier, Guinea grass, Cenchrus sp., Johnson
grass, Marvel grass, Spear grass, Buffalo grass and Bermuda grass.

Cereal Fodders: Sorghum, Pearl millet, Maize and Minor-millets.

Legume fodders: Lucerne, Cowpea, Desmanthus, Desmodium, Stylosanthus, Clitoria and

Siratro.

Tree fodders: Agathi, Glyricidia, Erythrina, Subabul and Acacia sp.

Green and green leaf manures: Sunnhemp, Sesbania, Daincha, Tephrosia, Glyricidia, Neem
and Pungam.

Narcotics : Tobacco

LECTURE SCHEDULE
1. Introduction to field crops - Agricultural Classification of field crops.
Family description, economic parts, economic uses, value additions, in the following crops:
2. Cereals: Rice.
3. Cereals: Wheat and maize.
4. Millets : Sorghum, Pearl millet and
5. Finger millet, Small millets- Foxtail millet, Little millet,
6. Barn yard millet, Proso millet, and Kodo millet.
7. Pulses : Redgram, Blackgram, and Greengram.
8. Pulses : Soybean, Cowpea, Bengal gram, Lab-lab and Dew gram.
9. MID SEMESTER EXAMINATION.
10. Oilseeds: Groundnut, Gingelly.
11. Oilseeds: Castor, Sunflower, Safflower.
12. Oilseeds: Rape, Mustard, Niger and jatropha.
13. Fibres Cotton.
14. Fibres: Jute, Mesta, Sun hemp, Agave and Silk cotton.
15. Sugars: Sugar cane, Sugar palm and Sugar beet.
16. Forage Crops: Grasses - Napier, Pearl millet-Napier, Guinea grass, Cenchrus and Johnson
grass. Cereal fodders: Sorghum, Pearl millet, Maize, Minor millets. Legume fodders:
Lucerne, Cowpea, Desmodium, Desmanthus, Stylosanthus, Clitoria and Siratro.
17. Tree fodders: Agathi, Glyricidia, Erythrina, Subabul and Acacia. Green and Green leaf
manures: Sunhemp, Sesbania, Daincha, Tephrosia, Glyricidia, Neem, Pungam, Narcotics.

REFERENCES
Albert F. Hill and O.P. Sharma, 1996. Economic Botany. Tata McGraw - Hill Publishing Co. Ltd.,
New Delhi.
Chalam, G.V., J. Venkateswarlu. 1966. Agricultural Botany in India - Vol:1. Asia publishing house,
Bombay, New Delhi.
Daniel Sundararaj, D. and G. Thulasidas, 1993. Botany of field crops. Macmillan India Ltd. New
Delhi.
Kochar, S.L. 1988. Economic Botany in the tropics, Macmillan India Ltd. New Delhi.
Purse glow. 1988. Tropical crops - Dicotyledons. The English language book Society and
Longman Co., Singapore.
Purse glow, 1988. Tropical crops - Monocotyledons. The English language book Society and
Longman Co., Singapore.
Sambamurthy, V.S. and N.S. Subramanian, 1989. Text Book of Economic Botany, Wiley Eastern,
New Delhi.
Sen, S. 1990. Economic Botany. New Central Book Agency. Calcutta -9.