Living Components Of The Environment

Subject: Agricultural Science
Topic: Benefits Of Environmental Components to Humans
Period: Single
Duration: 45 Minute
Date: May 11, 2020

INTRODUCTION
There are a lot of useful things we can derive from plants and animals. They are called resources, hence, we have plant resources and animal resources used to satisfy human needs.
Plants and animals provide us with food and shelter. Coal, oil gas and other things are formed from plants and animals.

Today, we shall particularly discuss different types of plant resources and their usefulness to the human body.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
At the end of this study, students should be able to;

1. List some farm products
2. List resources that we can get from plants.

RESOURCES FROM PLANTS
Any part of a plant that is used as food is called a vegetable. Vegetables are grown because they provide us with leaves, fruits, stems and roots. Those vegetables are resources from plants.
There are five main types of plant resources namely
i) Food crops
ii) Textile crops
iii) Wood crops
iv) Medicinal crops
v) Cash crops

Food Crops
Food crops are produced to be consumed locally and where there is surplus, it is taken for sale in the market. Food crops include

i) Leafy vegetables, like fluted pumpkin, water leaf (talinum), cabbage and lettuce which can eaten cooked or fresh as in salads. They provide the body with minerals like calcium and iron and vitamins such as vitamins A and C

ii) Fruits like orange, pawpaw, mango, pineapple, lemon, lime, banana are important, because they provide mineral salts and vitamins to the body (Vitamin C).

iii) Underground crops, as the name implies, grow under the ground. They provide the body mainly with starch. They are classified into three, stem tubers or swollen stems, such as yam, cocoyam and Irish potato; root tubers such as cassava, sweet potato, carrot, radish; and bulbs like onions.

iv) Oil plants: Oil plants include oil palm, groundnut, cotton, coconut and olive. They are called oil plants, because their seed or fruits produce cooking oil. They are an important source of fats, vitamins and minerals, such as, calcium and iron.

Textile Crops
Textile crops are crops we use to make cloth, ropes, baskets and dyes.

1. Cloth: The fibers produced by cotton plants around the seeds are used for making cloths.
2. Ropes: Plants like sorrel plant, guinea hemp, sisal and jute, produce materials for sacks and nets.
3. Baskets: Materials for making hats, bags, baskets and other things are provided by palm leaves.
4. Dyes are color pigments and can be extracted from flowers, leaves and barks.

Wood Crops
Wood crops are cultivated because they provide us with wood. There are two types of woods, namely; hard wood and soft wood.
Hardwood include mahogany, ebony and camphor. Hardwood is used for building, like making windows, doors, frames, decking etc. and furnitures like tables, chairs, beds, cupboards, room dividers etc.
Softwood is used for wood pulp and paper as well as for buildings. Leaves of some plants are also used for roofs, fences and for making furniture. Palm leaves are used for roofing and fencing. Plants also provide us with firewood, which is a source of energy.

Medicinal Plants (Crops)
Leaves, barks, roots and stems of some plants are used in producing drugs or even taken directly as medicine. For example:

1. Penicullium, produces penicillin which is described as the lifesaving antibiotic.
2. Roots, barks and leaves of some plants are taken as medicine
   a) Against many diseases like malaria, fever.
   b) To make wounds heal
   c) To cure indigestion
   d) To put an end to frequent stooling.

Cash Crops
Cash crops are produced primarily for export, that is, for sale, particularly to people in other countries. Some may as well be sold locally.
Some very well known cash crops are:

1. Fibre crops, e.g., cotton
2. Oil crops, e.g., groundnuts and palm oil
3. Wood crops, e.g., mahogany and ebony.
   Others are rubber, coffee, tea, cola, coconut, cocoa, sugar cane, tobacco, beniseed and shea butter.

Exercise.
Explain briefly the importance of any four plant resources

#Staysafe