Crop
plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence
A crop is a plant or plant product harvested for human use. Crops are cultivated at scale to produce food, fiber, fuel, and other products. Crops have been central to human civilization since the first agricultural revolution, a key stage in the broader history of agriculture, when early societies domesticated plants for food and trade. Today, a small number of staple crops such as rice, wheat, maize, and sugarcane account for the majority of global production. Because of their economic importance, crops are studied within several scientific disciplines, including agronomy, agricultural science, horticulture, and forestry.
Types
According to the classification of crops by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the following table is a simplified list of crop types, common examples, and their primary end use. A crop may have several end uses, and according to the FAO: "End use refers to the purpose of the crop. Crops may be grown for use as food for human consumption or as feed for animals, for producing biofuels or for non-food products, such as tobacco and flowers. A single crop may have more than one use, such as maize being grown partly for human consumption, partly as a fodder crop and partly for producing biofuels."
In agriculture, the term crop is sometimes applied to plants that are not grown for direct harvest but instead serve supporting roles. A cover crop is planted to protect and improve soil health, reduce erosion, and enhance fertility rather than for sale.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Crop” is plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Crop, plant and grown, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q235352. The Library of Congress control number is sh85034249. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Crop”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Crop primary sources, Crop archive and Crop research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Crop”?
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Crop” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.