World's Major Food Crops: Production, Climate, and Nutritional Content

This article discusses the production, climate, and nutritional content of the world's major food crops such as wheat, rice, corn, and soybean. It also provides information on how to grow them and their benefits. The article includes references and is suitable for students studying agriculture, food science, and related fields.

Running head: WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Table of Contents
Task 2:.............................................................................................................................................2
Task 3:.............................................................................................................................................6
References:......................................................................................................................................8

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WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Task 2:
Crop Climate Specific Growing conditions Production
amounts
(in millions
of tons)
Nutritional
content of
the food
crop
Population
of the main
country of
production
Wheat Wheat needs 12
to 15 inches (31
to 38
centimeters) of
water to produce
a good crop. It
grows best when
temperatures are
warm, from 70°
to 75° F (21° to
24° C), but not
too hot. Wheat
also needs a lot
of sunshine
Types of wheat are there --
winter wheat and spring-
planted varieties. Winter
wheat is germinated in fall
and needs to undergo a period
of cold weather so that it
produces its seed in the early
summer. Varieties for spring
planting ripen in late summer
or fall. Except for in arid
areas, it is possible to grow
wheat without additional
irrigation. It is not a heavy
feeding crop. It requires
compost prior to planting.
685.61 Energy,
Carbohydrat
e, Protein,
Zinc,
Copper,
Manganese,
Selenium,
Fiber, Iron,
Magnesium,
Potassium,
Vitamin B3,
Vitamin E
China
(1.34
billion)
Rice/
Paddy
Rice is a crop
of tropical
climate.
However, it is
Rice requires a long warm
growing season in tropical
lowalands. It can be grown
wherever nighttime
685.24 Energy,
Carbohydrat
e, Copper,
Manganese,
China
(1.34
billion)

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WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
also grown
successfully in
humid to sub-
humid regions
under
subtropical and
temperate
climate.
temperatures stay above 60
degrees for at least 3 months
of the year. Rice is
traditionally grown in flooded
fields. However, it does
require constant soil moisture
to grow. The growing area
should be kept weed-free and
well-fertilized with a source
of nitrogen.
Vitamin B5
Maize/
Corn
It is a warm
season annual
that germinates
easily when soil
temperatures
reach 70
degrees.
It needs warm season and the
crop is annual. Heaviest
feeding crop which needs
composted manure. It should
be planted only in soils which
are well-drained and well
irrigated. To grow full-
formed ears of corn, it needs
to be pollinated properly. Key
to effective pollination is
three to four short rows than
one long row.
818.82 Energy,
Carbohydrat
e, Zinc,
Potassium,
Phosphorus,
Magnesium,
Vitamin B2,
Vitamin B6,
Lutein +
zeaxanthin
USA
(311.1
million)
Soybean Warm season,
ample sunlight
and water
Moist well drained and loose
soil is best, thought soybean
can grow anywhere. %5 to 60
340.5 High level
of
carbohydrat
USA
(311.1

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WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
degree Fahrenheit is best. e, High fat
content,
different
kinds of
protein,
Vitamin A,
B3, K, B9,
C, Calcium,
Iron,
Potassium.
million)
Rice production can be done in any season and in any soils with adequate irrigation
facilities. Rice feeds the major population in the world. Rice is the main food crop in three of the
most populated countries China, India and Indonesia.
Wheat can be grown in the weather that is also comfortable for human beings to live in.
Low humidity is best for growth of wheat. During the filling time of wheat, production of weeds
in the farm needs to be kept on check (Varshney et al. 2012). Wheat is the highest feeding crop
in the world.
Corn needs proper pollination for growing fully. In USA, most corn production is
genetically modified (Séralini et al. 2013). Although DNA modification produces certain protein
which prevents spread of pests in the plants, it also produces allergic responses to those who
consume. Corn prevent anemia, colon cancer; enhance immunity and bone strength. It also
soothes irritation, and control diabetes.

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WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Soybean can grow in any soil. If the soil is too heavy, it is a problem (Wheeler 2013).
Soybean is also genetically modified to prevent spread of larvae of pests. USA has the highest
level of production. Soybean performs nitrogen fixation through a symbiotic relationship
between bacteria, enabling plant to create protein (Santi, Bogusz and Franche 2013).

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WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Task 3:
Wheat:
Too much humidity can lead to spread of diseases like fungi and insects. Farmers must
look after weeds in the field as it can hamper the growth of plants.
It prevents gallstones formation, breast cancer and childhood asthma, and assures healthy and fit
lifestyles. Wheat is also rich in various nutrients. It prevents chronic inflammation since it is
betaine rich. Wheat prevents Type 2 diabetes.
Lesser the grain is extracted, the more nutrients are preserved. Flour is extracted to the highest
degree (60%) thus it loses almost all the nutritional values that wheat originally had.
Rice:
It can be grown almost in any sort of soils and also in high temperature and it can grow in
all seasons (Singh 2016). However, rainfall or irrigation has to be adequate for proper growth of
plants.
Rice producing fields have been one of the main sources of methane as it exerts methane (natural
gas) when it grows (Muthayya et al. 2014).
There are mainly two sorts of rice, white and brown. Brown rice is rich in iron, magnesium ,
phosphorus and some other important minerals and vitamins.
Corn:
85% of corn produce in USA is genetically modified. Bt corn, a popular GM corn
prevents spread of a larvae and needs no supplemental pesticides during production. But
researchers have found that Bt endotoxin protein that replaces the original protein with genetic
modification, which goes into the body with every bite of corn, produces allergic response.
Adequate fiber content prevents hemorrhoid and digestive complications.

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WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
Soybean:
Soybean is one of the main crops in America, Brazil, and many other countries. Soybean
provides high content of protein, fat, many other important vitamins and minerals. Soybean is
not as tender as corn, thus it can be grown in any soil with warm temperature and proper water
and sunlight.

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WORLD’S MAJOR FOOD CROPS
References:
Muthayya, S., Sugimoto, J.D., Montgomery, S. and Maberly, G.F., 2014. An overview of global
rice production, supply, trade, and consumption. Annals of the New York Academy of
Sciences, 1324(1), pp.7-14.
Rajeev K Varshney, Jean-Marcel Ribaut, Edward S Buckler, Roberto Tuberosa, J Antoni
Rafalski & Peter Langridge. Can genomics boost productivity of orphan crops? (2012) Nature
Biotechnology 30, pp 1172–1176.
Santi, C., Bogusz, D. and Franche, C., 2013. Biological nitrogen fixation in non-legume
plants. Annals of botany, 111(5), pp.743-767.
Séralini, G.E., Mesnage, R., Defarge, N., Gress, S., Hennequin, D., Clair, E., Malatesta, M. and
De Vendômois, J.S., 2013. Answers to critics: Why there is a long term toxicity due to a
Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize and to a Roundup herbicide. Food and Chemical
Toxicology, 53, pp.476-483.
Singh, P.K. and Varshney, J.G., 2016. Adoption level and constraints in rice production
technology. Indian Research Journal of Extension Education, 10(1), pp.91-94.
Wheeler, T. and Von Braun, J., 2013. Climate change impacts on global food
security. Science, 341(6145), pp.508-513.