Industrial crops are a complex and broad group of cultivated plants that, unlike cereals, belong to very different botanical species and therefore have very different ecophysiological characteristics, management, and uses, some of which are not for food.
Industrial crops are those whose final product cannot be consumed directly or for which processing is much more profitable.
Beets, cotton, sugarcane, quinoa, tobacco, tea, and cassava are examples of industrial crops.
Depending on the type of crop, fertilizer requirements vary. For example, cotton requires a high demand for nitrogen distributed throughout the growth cycle, phosphorus in the initial stages and during seed development, and potassium for boll formation and development.
Beets, on the other hand, require high levels of nitrogen and even higher levels of potassium. Iron and magnesium must also be supplied significantly.
And proper fertilization plays an important role in determining leaf quality parameters, such as color, texture, and sugar and alkaloid content. It is very sensitive to low temperatures and frost.
