The key difference between crop and plant is that crop is an economically important plant used to cultivate and obtain a harvest while plant is any member that belongs to Kingdom Plantae.
According to the classification of biological organisms, all plants belong to the kingdom Plantae. This kingdom consists of a vast range of plants with different morphological and molecular characteristics. Based on the similarities and differences, there are different subgroups of plants. The evolution of plants, morphological features, pattern of growth, and ecology are some of the criteria frequently used in classification. However, agriculturists classify plants according to their usage. They use the word ‘crop’ for a plant which has an agricultural value. Let’s try to understand the difference between crop and plant.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Crop
3. What is a Plant
4. Similarities Between Crop and Plant
5. Side by Side Comparison – Crop vs Plant in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What is a Crop?
A crop is a plant. However, it differs from an ordinary plant due to its’ agricultural value. Therefore, a crop can be defined as a plant humans cultivate with the purpose of having a beneficial output. This output is the harvest that we collect at the end of the cultivation period. However, a plant that grows under normal environmental conditions without having any interference by humans cannot be called a crop.
Figure 01: Crops
In addition, there are several categories of crops based on the purpose of cultivation. Agricultural, medicinal, horticultural and manure crops are popular categories of crops. Most grains, fruits, and vegetables are agricultural crops. In addition, we use herbs as medicinal crops in order to cure or prevent diseases. Manure crop is another category used as green manure, fertilizers in compost making, or energy supplement. Furthermore, horticultural crops have a value in decorations and landscaping.
What is a Plant?
A plant is a member that belongs to Kingdom Plantae. Plants are living organisms. They are multicellular, photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. Plant cell is the smallest structural unit of the biological body of a plant. Plant cells have a cell wall made up of cellulose, hemicelluloses or pectin. Not all these are perfectly similar to each other, but have various specific adaptations to carry out specific functions. Plant cells form various units called tissues to work as functional systems. Some of the well-known tissues in plants are xylem, phloem, epidermis, mesophyll layer and cambium.
Figure 02: Plants
There are several basic functions happening inside a plant: respiration, photosynthesis, transpiration, absorption and transportation of water and minerals, etc. Plants are capable of making their own food by photosynthesis. Hence, they are photoautotrophs. They are the primary producers of all food chains since they can directly absorb the energy coming from sunlight using their chlorophyll pigments and synthesize carbohydrates. However, there are some other plants, which are parasites or semi parasites.
What are the Similarities Between Crop and Plant?
- A crop is a plant.
- They are photoautotrophs.
- Both of them contain chlorophylls and chloroplasts.
- Moreover, they are multicellular eukaryotic organisms.
- They have a shoot system and a root system.
What is the Difference Between Crop and Plant?
A crop is a plant cultivated for the purpose of obtaining benefits while a plant is a photoautotrophic eukaryotic organism that belongs to kingdom Plantae. Thus, this is the key difference between crop and plant. Plants grow naturally in the environment while we cultivate crops in the agricultural fields.
The below infographic summarizes the difference between crop and plant.
Summary – Crop vs Plant
Crops are plants that are grown on a large scale commercially, so we grow them under intense care. In contrast, a plant is a member that belongs to the kingdom Plantae. In fact, crops are a subgroup of plants. Crops are economically beneficial while most plants are not economically valued. This summarizes the difference between crop and plant.
Reference:
1.“Crop.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 3 June 2019, Available here.
2.“Kingdom Plantae.” Kingdom Plantae – an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “4422087” (CC0) via Pixabay
2. “2942477” (CC0) via Pixabay