Maize.
Maize
Maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays, pronounced /ˈmeɪz/), known in many English-speaking
countries as corn, is a grass domesticated byindigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric
times. The Aztecs and Mayans cultivated it in numerous varieties throughout central and
southern Mexico, to cook or grind in a process called nixtamalization. Later the crop spread
through much of the Americas. Between 1250 and 1700, nearly the whole continent had
gained access to the crop. Any significant or dense populations in the region developed a great
trade network based on surplus and varieties of maize crops. After European contact with the
Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, explorers and traders carried maize back to
Europe and introduced it to other countries through trade. Maize spread to the rest of the world
due to its popularity and ability to grow in diverse climates.
Maize is the most widely grown crop in the Americas with 332 million metric tons grown
annually in the United States alone. Transgenic maizecomprised 85% of the maize planted in
the United States in 2009.[1] While some maize varieties grow up to 7 metres (23 ft) tall,
[2]
most commercially grown maize has been bred for a standardized height of 2.5 metres
(8.2 ft). Sweet corn is usually shorter than field-corn varieties.
Illustration depicting both male and female flowers of maize
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Commelinids
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Zea
Species: Z. mays
Binomial name
Zea mays
L.
The term maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taino word maiz for the plant.
This was the term used in the United Kingdom andIreland, where it is now usually called "sweet
corn", the most common form of the plant known to people there.[3]
Outside the British Isles, another common term for maize is "corn". This was originally the
English term for any cereal crop. In North America, its meaning has been restricted since the
19th century to maize, as it was shortened from "Indian corn."[4] The term Indian corn now refers
specifically to multi-colored "field corn" (flint corn) cultivars.[5]
In scientific and formal usage, "maize" is normally used in a global context. Equally, in bulk-
trading contexts, "corn" is used most frequently. In the UK,Australia and other English-speaking
countries, the word "corn" is often used in culinary contexts, particularly in naming products
such as popcorn andcorn flakes. "Maize" is used in agricultural and scientific references.[6]
In Southern Africa, maize is commonly referred to as mielie or mealie, from the
Portuguese milho.[7] Mielie-meal is the ground form.
Maize stems superficially resemble bamboo canes and the internodes can reach 20–
30 centimetres (8–12 in). Maize has a distinct growth form; the lower leaves being like broad
flags, 50–100 centimetres long and 5–10 centimetres wide (2–4 ft by 2–4 in); the stems are erect,
conventionally 2–3 metres (7–10 ft) in height, with many nodes, casting off flag-leaves at every
node. Under these leaves and close to the stem grow the ears. They grow about 3 millimetres a
day.
The ears are female inflorescences, tightly covered over by several layers of leaves, and so
closed-in by them to the stem that they do not show themselves easily until the emergence of the
pale yellow silks from the leaf whorl at the end of the ear. The silks are elongated stigmas that
look like tufts of hair, at first green, and later red or yellow. Plantings for silage are even denser,
and achieve a lower percentage of ears and more plant matter. Certain varieties of maize have
been bred to produce many additional developed ears. These are the source of the "baby corn"
used as a vegetable inAsian cuisine.
Maize is a facultative long-night plant and flowers in a certain number of growing degree days >
50 °F (10 °C) in the environment to which it is adapted.[8] The magnitude of the influence that
long nights have on the number of days that must pass before maize flowers is genetically
prescribed and regulated by the phytochrome system.[9] Photoperiodicity can be eccentric in
tropical cultivars, while the long days characteristic of higher latitudes allow the plants to grow
so tall that they do not have enough time to produce seed before being killed by frost. These
attributes, however, may prove useful in using tropical maize for biofuels.[10]
The apex of the stem ends in the tassel, an inflorescence of male flowers. When the tassel is
mature and conditions are suitably warm and dry, anthers on the tassel dehisce and release
pollen. Maize pollen is anemophilous (dispersed by wind) and because of its large settling
velocity most pollen falls within a few meters of the tassel. Each silk may become pollinated to
produce one kernel of maize. Young ears can be consumed raw, with the cob and silk, but as the
plant matures (usually during the summer months) the cob becomes tougher and the silk dries to
inedibility. By the end of the growing season, the kernels dry out and become difficult to chew
without cooking them tender first in boiling water. Modern farming techniques in developed
countries usually rely on dense planting, which produces one large ear per stalk.
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