Is it obligatory to pay Zakat on crops and fruits first, or to pay off debts, and then pay Zakat on the remainder if it reaches the nisab?

The scholars differed on the issue of the debt's effect on the obligation of Zakat. Some of them held that debt prevents Zakat on all types of wealth or only on hidden wealth, but does not prevent it on apparent wealth like crops. According to this view, the owner of the crops deducts his debt first, and then pays Zakat on the remainder if it reaches the nisab. Others held that debt does not prevent Zakat on crops at all; rather, one pays Zakat on all that is harvested from them if it reaches the nisab. This latter view is more cautious and absolves one's responsibility, and it is supported by the fact that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to send tax collectors to take Zakat from apparent wealth, and they did not inquire about debts.