Agriculture

Plant Types: III. Cam Plants, Examples, and Plant Families

CAM plants are those which photosynthesize through Crassulacean Acid Metabolism or CAM photosynthesis.

They are expectedly succulent plants. That is, they are fleshy plants having a low surface-to-volume ratio.

Pineapple is a CAM plant
Pineapple is a CAM plant. It is widely grown around the world primarily for its fruit but fiber from leaves is also used in cloth making and other products

However, not all succulents belong to this plant type.

Many halophytes (plants adapted to salty soils) are succulents but are not CAM (Hopkins 1999; Moore et al. 2003).

These plants are adapted to dry, desert habitats.

They comprise up to about 20,000 species in about 40 families, equivalent to some 8% of all land plants.

They are found in the families Isoetaceae (lycophytes), Polypodiaceae (ferns), Vittariaceae (ferns), Zamiaceae (cycads), and Welwitschiaceae (Gnetales), as well as in numerous families in the angiosperms (Simpson 2010).

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The Transpiration Pull, Other Mechanisms Explaining the Ascent of Water in Plants

The transpiration pull is just one of the mechanisms that explain the movement or translocation of water in plants, particularly water ascent in tall trees.

There is no single exacting explanation as yet for the ascent of water but several theories have been proposed.

Of these, the one which has gained wide support is the cohesion-tension theory which recognizes the crucial role of transpiration pull as a driving force. These theories are briefly described below.

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What Is Agriculture, Definition of Agriculture

There are many online queries on what is agriculture although its history started more than 10,000 years ago.

I used to think that this is quite amazing because the word agriculture is of common usage.

On second thought, I now realize that this seemingly high interest in clarifying the term is justified in view of its large coverage, its varied application as a science, practice, business, and for other purposes including legal matters, and with new technologies and specialized fields continuously added into its fold.

I use one definition as a compressed answer to the main question “What is Agriculture?“

It is thus described as both an art and a science (needs skill and is founded on scientifically verified facts) and thus includes specialized disciplines; the words “growing” and “raising” are descriptive of enterprise, activity, or practice.

It has two main divisions: plant or crop production and animal or livestock production.

And its ultimate purpose is for food production, other human needs such as clothing, medicines, tools, artistic display, dwelling, and feed for animals, or for economic gain or profit. 

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List of Grain Legumes or Pulses: Top Producers in the World

Grain legumes, also called pulses, are plants belonging to the family Leguminosae (alternatively Fabaceae) which are grown primarily for their edible seeds.

These seeds are harvested mature and marketed dry to be used as food or feed or processed into various products.

Being legumes, these plants have the advantage of fixing atmospheric nitrogen for their own needs and for soil enrichment, thereby reducing the cost of fertilizer inputs in crop farming.

Crops that are harvested green for forage and for vegetables are excluded, as well as those grown for grazing or green manure.

Also excluded are the leguminous crops with seeds that are used exclusively for sowing, such as alfalfa and clover (FAO, 2010).

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What Is Plant Propagation, Sexual and Asexual Methods Compared

Plant propagation is the branch of horticulture that deals with the deliberate (or intentional) production of new plants using various starter materials (e.g. organs, tissues), including their intensive but temporary care.

It is primarily practiced to produce seedlings or clones of nursery crops for outplanting, or for planting in containers for display or decor, or other uses.

Nursery crops are those which commonly require the use of pre-grown planting materials for outplanting, or field planting.

A plant nursery is a place where seedlings, clones, and potted plants are raised temporarily under intensive care.

The basis of plant propagation is totipotency, the capability of cells to regenerate missing parts and, subsequently, an entire organism.

Applied to plants, it means that any live part that is separated from the parent plant is composed of live cells, can possibly produce missing organs of an intact plant, such as roots and shoot, and give rise to an entire plant.

It means that all plant organs with live cells, such as seeds, stems, etc., either intact or segmented, are potential propagules, or propagating materials.

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Plant Seed: The Reproductive Organ of the Angiosperms

The plant seed is an organ found in plant shoot, attached to the stem, and originating from a flower.

It is a structure that is formed by the maturation of the ovule within the ovary of the angiosperms.

It is often described as a “mature ovule”. 

In angiospermous plants, the natural process of seed development occurs through double fertilization.

This proceeds after pollination, the transfer of pollen grains from an anther to the stigma of a flower.

In double fertilization, one of the two sperm nuclei (1N) in the germinating pollen (pollen tube) unites with the egg nucleus (1N) in the female gametophyte or embryo sac within the ovule to form the diploid (2N) embryo of the seed.

The other sperm nucleus (1N) in the pollen tube unites with the polar nuclei (2N) in the embryo sac to form the triploid (3N) endosperm.

Meanwhile, the surrounding integuments of the ovule form the seed coat (2N).

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List of Fruits in the Tropics (A-L)

Table F-1a shows a list of fruits that should serve as a reference for fruit crops that are common in the distribution or grown as commercial crops in the tropics.

Emphasis is given to crops with fleshy dessert fruits including cashew which produces a pseudofruit.

Most of these crops are listed in E.D. Merrill’s A Flora of Manila published in 1912 but many of the scientific names have since been modified.

The crops are arranged alphabetically by their common names, generally English names.

This web page is one of two pages and consists of a list of fruits in the tropics with common names that start from A (acerola) to L (lychee).

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List of Vegetables: IV. Examples of Fruit Vegetables

Fruit vegetables are collectively one of the many high-value crops that entrepreneurial farmers grow.

Consequently, many companies engage in the breeding of superior varieties of vegetable crops such as tomato, eggplant, peppers (Capsicum), bitter gourd, bottle gourd, string beans, and many more.

bell pepper
Freshly harvested fruits of bell pepper

These vegetables are a common scene in wet market stalls. Likewise, these are commonly grown in residential backyards.

Some even utilize the boundary fences as trellises for climbing plants such as string beans or pole sitao, lima beans, and winged beans.

Standing trees are likewise used for climbers with relatively large fruits like bottle gourd, luffa, and chayote.

But did you know that one fruit vegetable became the subject of a legal controversy?

In the case of tomatoes, the issue of whether it was a fruit or a vegetable had to be decided by the US Supreme Court. Click here to read.

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The Functions of Fruits Are Inherent in Plants & Also Used in Plant Propagation

The functions of fruits in the angiosperms are mainly in relation to reproduction by which plants perpetuate their species.

The fruit is in fact described as a reproductive organ of plants just like the flower and seed.

However, the functions that fruits perform in reproduction are indirect. 

jackfruit
A well-developed fruit of jackfruit, indicating that the seeds inside are fully developed as well as the edible parts

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Simple Fruits and Unit Fruits, Description and Crop Examples

Simple fruits are those fruits in the angiosperms that develop from a single ovary of one flower.

This ovary may be either simple or compound. Unit fruits or true fruits are those that represent the individual components of an aggregate or multiple fruits.

Various types of fruits are here listed and described.

However, there are fruits having characteristics that do not perfectly fit into the specific description of any fruit type for which such terms as drupe-like, berry-like, and nut-like are used.

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