12.

STIMULANT CROPS AND DERIVED PRODUCTS

COFFEE is a tropical shrub that yields fruits or cherries which are processed so as to
free the seeds or "beans" from the fruit pulp and then from the mucilage and silver
skin covering the beans. Coffee with the mucilage and skin retained is called
parchment coffee.

By weight, the fresh cherries consist of 45-55 percent pulp, mucilage and skin, and
45-55 percent beans. The clean beand are called "green coffee" or "clean coffee" and
this is considered to be a primary crop. Coffee contains caffeine, an alkaloid. Coffee is
a stimulant, not a food crop.

COCOA is a rain-forest tree that is cultivated for its beans. The beand are contained
in ovoid pods that grow directly on the trunk and on major branches. The beand and
the white mucilage or pulp that surrounds them represent about one-third of the total
weight of the pods. The fermented and dried beand are considered to be a primary
crop from which various processed products are derived, including roasted beand (still
in the shell) and nibs, or fragments of roasted, shelled and crushed beans. The nibs are
ground to give cocoa mass, from which cocoa fat or butter is extracted by pressing.
Pods, shells, pulp and cake have only limited use as an animal feed owing to their
high alkaloid content.

Cocoa beand contain carbohydrates, protein and particularly fat, making them a food
crop as well as a stimulant.

TEA is a shrub of the Camellia family that is cultivated for its tender leaves. The two
main varieties are assamica and sinensis. The primary crop consists of the tender
leaves, which may be withered, rolled, fermented and dried (black tea). Green tea is
black tea that is not fermented. Tea is a stimulant, not a food crop.

Each of these crops and products appears in the list below, along with its code, name,
or names, and any remarks.

Stimulant crops and derived products

Green coffee

FAOSTAT COMMODITY DEFINITIONS, COVERAGE, REMARKS

 CODE

COFFEE, GREEN Coffea spp.

0656 Raw coffee in all forms.
(arabica, robusta, liberica)

0657 Coffee, Roasted With or without caffeine, and whether or not ground.

0658 Coffee Substitutes Coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion.

Essences and concentrates, including instant coffee, roasted

0659 Coffee Extracts chicory and other coffee substitutes, extracts and essences
thereof.

0660 Coffee Husks and Skins

Cocoa beans

FAOSTAT
COMMODITY DEFINITIONS, COVERAGE, REMARKS
CODE
COCOA
The seeds contained in the fruit of the cacao- tree, including
0661 BEANS Theobroma
whole or broken, raw or roasted.
cacao
Obtained by grinding roasted cocoa beans. Also called
0662 Cocoa Paste
liquor. Not defatted.
Cocoa Husks and
0663 Including skins and other cocoa waste.
Shells
Obtained by hot-pressing either cocoa paste or the whole
0664 Cocoa Butter
bean. Includes the fat and oil.
Cocoa Powder and Wholly or partly defatted paste (cake) and cake reduced to
0665
Cake powder, without added sugar or other sweeteners.
Includes sweetened cocoa powder, chocolate and other food
Chocolate Products preparations containing cocoa, as well as sugar
0666
nes confectionery containing cocoa in any amount. Excludes
white chocolate (see 0168 in Chapter .).

Tea

FAOSTAT
COMMODITY DEFINITIONS, COVERAGE, REMARKS
CODE
Includes green tea (unfermented), black tea
TEA Camellia sinensis; Thea
0667 (fermented), and partially fermented tea. Excludes
sinensis; Thea assaamica
green tea eaten as a vegetable.
 The dried leaves of certain shrubs of the holly family
0671 MATE Ilex paraguayensis which grow in South America. Prepared in a way
similar to tea.
Includes essences, concentrates and preparations of tea
0672 Extracts of Tea and Mate
and mat‚.
Various plants used for making infusions like tea, i.e.
0674 TEA NES
herbal teas.
otal 20 crops found in category Stimulants
1) Betel leaf
2) Betel nut
3) Cacao
4) Chili pepper Capsicum annuum
5) Chili pepper Capsicum baccatum
6) Chili pepper Capsicum chinense
7) Chili pepper Capsicum frutescens
8) Chili pepper Capsicum pubescens
9) Chili peppers
10) Coca
11) Coffee
12) Coffee Arabica
13) Coffee Robusta
14) Cola nut
15) Khat
16) Liberian coffee
17) Tea
18) Tobacco
19) Wild betel
20) Yerba maté
Miscellaneous Food Crops

Miscellaneous food crops (Crop Group 20) include 20 diverse unique crops including
asparagus, grapes, okra, strawberries and sunflowers. Descriptions of the acreage and
values of these crop types are shown in Table 19.

Aloe vera. A perennial succulent grown from vegetative parts (“pups”)

lasting four to seven years producing juice for cosmetic, juice and pulp uses, or for
healing wounds. Three to five basal leaves are hand harvested every six to eight weeks.
New apical leaves continue to emerge. The fleshy, pulpy leaves are crushed, pressed to
extrude juice or aloe gel, placed in barrels, and hauled to buying points; later juice is
concentrated, pasteurized, and/or freeze-dried. Aloe is used in beverages, cosmetics,
herbal products, and other uses in a rapidly growing market. Production ranges from
small plantings of individual families (as a cottage industry) to commercial fields of 200
acres or more in the U.S. Aloe is also imported from Mexico and Central America.
Insect pests include mealybug. Weeds include annual and perennial weeds. Diseases
include Phytophthora and Pythium root rot, Erwinia soft rot, and some slime molds.

Amaranth grain. Seed of improved selections are sown to produce a high

protein seed grain crop. Commercial amaranth grows 5 to 7 feet and is harvested after
frost. Sometimes 2,000 to 4,000 acres planted in Great Plains; at least 100 acres in
Texas. Some yard plantings for edible amaranth foliage.
Asparagus. Some commercial production in Zavalla County near Crystal City and
roadside sales near Bonham, from sandy soils. Insect pests include asparagus beetle,
and aphids. Weeds include annual broadleaf weeds. Diseases include Fusarium crown
rot and Cercospora leafspot.
 Canola. Rape seed produced for oil production is not a
commercial crop in Texas. Some breeding in Kansas indicates some livestock forage
potential. Commercial production common in northern plains states and prairie
provinces of Canada.

Corn – human food use. More than 100,000 acres of corn

grown in Texas for snack and staple foods processing including extruded products
(chips), ethnic baked goods, tortillas, corn flakes, meal and other products. Food-grade
corn is 80% white types and is produced under contract with irrigation and close
adherence to pest management, mycotoxin avoidance, and quality assurance. Key
production areas are Winter Garden/Uvalde area and High Plains. Pests include corn
earworm, annual weeds, molds, and head diseases similar to corn grown for grain.
Corn – pop. Production irrigated to assure good yields and consumer quality.
Harvested with a special combine with smaller screens and modified cylinder bars to
avoid kernel damage. Hard starch absorbs moisture with a 40-fold expansion when
heated; kernels invert to make a snack food. Production is similar to field corn but with
more pest scouting and treatment to avoid corn earworm damage. Pest problems
similar to those of field corn. Quality assurance includes close adherence to pesticide
labels.

Corn – sweet. High sugar content at soft dough stage

distinguishes it from field corn. Commercial production for processing as canned or
frozen product. Grown in small plots for fresh product; local sales in East Texas. Some
shipped to area grocery stores in August and September. Both white and yellow types.
Most common pests include fall armyworm, corn earworm, summer annual weeds, and
foliar diseases. Other pests are similar to field corn.
Figs. Low growing, highly branched shrub-like tree in southern part of state. Easy to
grow and a common backyard crop. Subject to freeze kill but usually regrows. Soft pear-
shaped fruit has rough texture but tender exterior and a delicious rose-colored flesh,
great for fresh use or jams. Types include “wild turkey” (a land race) and “Alma”.
Grasshoppers love the foliage and fruit in some years. Diseases include root rot

nematodes, rust, and fruit rots.

Grapes-fresh. Production in small plantings for local, self-pick or retail sales. Pests
similar to wine grapes.
Grapes – wine types. The early history of grapes in Texas goes back three centuries to
when early Spanish missionaries brought favorite selections (“Mission”) from Mexico
and set up mission outposts. Major expansion occurred in the past three decades, as
grapes moved from a backyard crop to a major industry. Today wine grapes are
produced in: Far West Texas/Ft. Stockton (1,000

acres), High Plains (1,000 acres), Hill

County/Fredericksburg (500 acres), North Central Texas/Stephenville (500 acres).
Industry employs about 2,300 workers and generates over $100 million economic
impact. Texas ranks fifth in U.S. wine production and over 95% of the production is
marketed within the state. Insect pests includes the glassy-winged sharpshooter. A host
of diseases including Pierce’s disease, black rot, downy and powdery mildews, cotton
root rot, and virus complex.
Okra. A common backyard and roadside market crop in East Texas, and grown
commercially in LRGV and WGfor freezer plants Some production is imported from
Mexico. Insects pests include white fly and fire ants. Diseases include soil borne wilts,
root and crown rots, nematodes, leaf spot, and cotton root rot.

Olives. The drought-tolerant evergreen olive tree is native to

the Mediterranean. Texas has small plantings in Hays County and southward into the
Hill Country. Production mostly for novelty fruit and oil production. Makes a nice
ornamental planting in southern areas. Several pests, including xylella – bacterial leaf
scorch.
 Prickly pear cactus. Cactus infests over 100,000 acres of
range and pastureland in Texas but produces a pear-like fruit that may be eaten fresh or
processed. Most cactus lines have thorns but some are thornless. Plant parts are
harvested (carefully) by hand or processed. The cladophylls or pads are processed for
an ethnic food with a flavor similar to watermelon, with a seedy, moist flesh. Pads may
be sliced or chopped for salads or cooked like snap beans. “Nopalitos” are green pads
shredded in a French green bean style and canned, with a tangy green bean taste. The
“pearfruit” is also harvested after the cactus has bloomed and the fruit has turned colors
(usually yellow to red). “Pears” are rolled in sand to remove spines, blanched, and
cooked into a preserve, jelly, or salsa-like material. No known economic pests. “Pear” is
an important reserve forage and in times of severe drought ranchers burn off the spines
so livestock can forage on the pads.
Safflower. This summer annual produces seed in 120 to 150 days; primarily raised for
vegetable oil and residual meal for livestock. Head and seeds sometimes used as a
spice. Periodically grown in Texas.
Sesame. Acreage varies with federal farm program and weather. Planted as a “catch
crop” after storm-damaged cotton. Planted in the Winter Garden/Uvalde area, extending
northward into the Rolling Plains/Vernon area. Contract production extends into
southwest Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Since sesame is a poor competitor as a
seedling, soil-applied herbicides are essential. Seed pods shatter easily and some foliar
and pod diseases reduce yields. Also planted in wildlife food plots for doves (see Non-
food crops – Wildlife). Check out the awesome crop profile on this unique crop and its
history.

Strawberries. Produced under irrigation south of San Antonio

for roadside, local markets, or self-pick. In East Texas, crop produced under plastic row
covers promotes early spring crop and protects blossoms. Harvested April to June.
Insect pests include slugs, fire ants, flea beetles, and birds. Weeds include annual
weeds. Diseases include Cercospora leaf spot, red stele, anthracnose, virus complex,
and Verticillium wilt.
Sugarcane. Grown in three counties in the LRGV with three to six years of production
from the ratoon or stubble. Products include sucrose, molasses, and bagasse (the
residual fiber usually burned for steam generation and electricity to operate the mill).
Insect pests include borers but biological control suppresses them. Weeds include
sunflower, pigweed, guineagrass, johnsongrass, nutsedge, bermudagrass,
morningglory, and winter annual broadleafs. 100% of the crop is sprayed. Diseases
include ratoon stunting disease, leaf scald, rust, smut, yellow leaf syndrome but no
fungicides are applied. See pests and pesticides in U.S. sugarcane, crop profile or brief
for full details.

Sunflower. Seed produced in the High Plains; has good color

and high oil content; meal is used for livestock feed. Crop has both cold and drought
tolerance and adversity resistance (hail, wind, sand abrasion) yet is not highly profitable
since returns are tied to world vegetable oil prices. Texas usually grows 17,000 to
20,000 acres for oil and 40,000 to 46,000 acres for confectionery use (60%) and bird
seed (40%). Yields average 1,400 pounds per acre. Insect pests include sunflower head
moth and seed weevil. Diseases include downy and powdery mildew, Rhizopus head
rot, cotton root rot, and Sclerotinia wilt. Clearfield herbicide-resistant hybrids make weed
control easier. Weeds are similar to those in soybeans and grain sorghum.
Sweet sorghum. High-sugar sorghum lines are crushed to extract juice which is then
boiled and evaporated to produce cane syrup or molasses. Mostly grown east of I-45 in
Texas on less than 10 acre tracts. Majority of U.S. production is in TN and KY. Pest
problems similar to those of grain sorghum. Insect pests include aphids/greenbugs.
Weeds include annual weeds. Diseases include downy mildew, maize dwarf mosaic
virus, smut, anthracnose, rust, charcoal rot, bacterial spot and stripe.