Grains (agronomic)

Grains are small, hard, dry seeds (with or without hull or fruit layers attached) harvested for human food or animal feed ^[1] Agronomists also call the plants producing such seeds grains or grain crops. In botany, the term is synonymous with caryopses, the fruits of members of the grass family, but in agronomy seeds or fruits from other families are also called grains if they resemble caryopses.

Classification

• 1. Cereal grains: cereal crops are all members of the grass family^[2] Cereal grains contain much starch, a carbohydrate that provides dietary energy.
     • Warm-season (C4)cereals
       • maize or corn
       • sorghum
       • pearl millet
       • proso millet
       • finger millet
       • foxtail millet
       • fonio
     • Cool-season (C3) cereals
       • wheat
       • rice
       • rye
       • barley
       • oat
       • triticale
  2. Pseudocereal grains: starchy grains from broadleaf (dicot)plant families
     • amaranth: Amaranth family (Amaranthaceae)
     • quinoa: Goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae)
     • buckwheat: Smartweed family (Polygonaceae)
  3. Grain legumes or pulses: members of the pea family (Fabaceae). Pulses have higher protein than most other plant foods. They may also contain starch or oil. Most widely grown include:
     • soybean (could also be classified as an oilseed)
     • Common bean (many types, including pinto, black bean, etc.)
     • Chickpea
     • Lima bean
     • Runner bean
     • Pigeon pea
     • Lentil
     • Field pea or Garden pea
     • Lupin
  4. Oilseeds: grains grown primarily for the extraction of their edible oil. Vegetable oils provide dietary energy and some essential fatty acids. They can be used as fuel or lubricants.
     • Mustard Family (Brassicaceae)
       • rapeseed (including canola)
       • India mustard
       • black mustard
     • Aster Family (Asteraceae)
       • sunflower seed
       • safflower
     • Other families
       • flax seed (Linaceae)
       • hemp seed (Cannabaceae)
       • poppyseed(Papaveraceae)

Historical Impact of Grain Agriculture

Grains--being small, hard and dry--can be stored, measured, and transported more readily than other kinds of food crops, such as fresh fruits, roots and tubers. The advent of grain agriculture allowed excess food to be produced and stored easily for the first time which could have led to both the creation of the first permanent settlements and the division of society into classes. Kings, priests and soldiers could easily measure and "tax" a portion of a farmers grain crop, allowing the non-farming classes to pursue activities other than farming, hunting or gathering full-time.^[3]

References

1. ^ Babcock, PG., ed. 1976. Webster's Third New International Dictionary. G. & C. Merriam Co. Springfield Massachusetts.
2. ^ JG Vaughan, C Geissler, B Nicholson, E Dowle, E Rice. 1997. The new Oxford book of food plants. Oxford University Press.
3. ^ Wessel, T. 1984. The agricultural foundations of civilization. Journal of Agriculture and Human Values 1:9-12

See also