In addition to being consumed directly by humans (often in the form of masa), maize is also used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other maize products, such as corn starch and corn syrup. Whether or not the kernels fall off the cob on their own is a key piece of evidence used in archaeology to distinguish domesticated maize from its naturally-propagating teosinte ancestor. However, a widespread problem of malnutrition soon arose wherever maize was introduced as a staple food. This randomly selects half the genes from a given plant to propagate to the next generation, meaning that desirable traits found in the crop (like high yield or good nutrition) can be lost in subsequent generations unless certain techniques are used. This is likely the reason that domesticated Z. mays has not seen as much of an increase in diversity within areas of higher density as in regions of lower density, although there is more evidence in other plants. The increase in food prices the consumer has been seeing is mainly due to the higher energy cost. [50] The leaves arise from the nodes, alternately on opposite sides on the stalk,[54] and have entire margins. High fuel prices in mid-2007 led to higher demand for ethanol, which in turn led to higher prices paid to farmers for maize. With each step down in classification, organisms are split into more and more specific groups. Some of the maize chromosomes have what are known as "chromosomal knobs": highly repetitive heterochromatic domains that stain darkly. Erin W. Hodgson, Utah State University Extension and Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Laboratory. )[90], This recombination/diversity effect is seen throughout plants but is also found to not occur or not as strongly in regions of high gene density. This reduces the supply of the other food crops and increases their prices. Masa (cornmeal treated with limewater) is the main ingredient for tortillas, atole and many other dishes of Central American food. A colorful model for genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, and biotechnology", "The maize unstable factor for orange1 is a dominant epigenetic modifier of a tissue specifically silent allele of pericarp color1", Structural And Transcriptional Analysis Of The Complex P1-wr Cluster In Maize. [106]:10 It is supported experimentally and by recent studies of the plants' genomes. Are They Development Strategies? [citation needed], Maize is a facultative short-day plant[61] and flowers in a certain number of growing degree days > 10C (50F) in the environment to which it is adapted. As maize matures, DIMBOA levels and resistance to the corn borer decline. [155], Some forms of the plant are occasionally grown for ornamental use in the garden. Marion Eugene Ensminger and Audrey H. Ensminger. Modern farming techniques in developed countries usually rely on dense planting, which produces one ear per stalk. There are two major species of the genus Zea (out of six total): Z. mays (maize) and Z. diploperennis, which is a perennial type of teosinte. [34], The word "corn" outside the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand is synonymous with grain referring to any cereal crop with its meaning understood to vary geographically to refer to the local staple,[39] such as wheat in England and oats in Scotland or Ireland. United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. [citation needed], Corncobs can be hollowed out and treated to make inexpensive smoking pipes, first manufactured in the United States in 1869. Modern breeding began with individuals who selected highly productive varieties in their fields and then sold seed to other farmers. [42] Other common names include barajovar, makka, silk maize, and zea. [17], According to a genetic study by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), corn cultivation was introduced in South America from Mexico, in two great waves: the first, more than 6000 years ago, spread through the Andes. Before the 20th century, all maize harvesting was by manual labour, by grazing, or by some combination of those. "In the view of Europeans, it was the food they ate, even more than the environment in which they lived, that gave Amerindians and Spaniards both their distinctive physical characteristics and their characteristic personalities. [26] However the Spanish may have misidentified the plant. [19], The earliest maize plants grew only small, 25-millimetre-long (1in) corn ears, and only one per plant. [82], In 2005, the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) formed a consortium to sequence the B73 maize genome. "Teosinte" redirects here. The effect of biofuel production on other food crop prices is indirect. [citation needed], The genus is divided into two sections: Luxuriantes, with Z. diploperennis, Z. luxurians, Z. nicaraguensis, Z. perennis; and Zea with Z. mays. In moderate amounts, they also supply dietary fiber and the essential minerals, magnesium and phosphorus whereas other nutrients are in low amounts (table). This technique reduces moisture evaporation from the soil, and thus provides more moisture for the crop. [124], For storing grain in bins, the moisture of the grain must be sufficiently low to avoid spoiling. allow for phenotypic parameters prediction of maize plants by spectral data and different phosphorus contents identication with unknown phosphorus fertilizer status. [7] The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn. Sometimes a third crop, winter wheat, is added to the rotation. Early study in several angiosperm models including Z. mays was the beginning of research into the molecular evolution of floral structure in general, as well as their role in nonflowering plants. [129] Based on conditions as of August 2016, the expected yield would be the highest ever for the United States. Cambridge University Press. Native Americans cleared large forest and grassland areas for the new crop. Later breeding efforts included ear to row selection (C. G. Hopkins c. 1896), hybrids made from selected inbred lines (G. H. Shull, 1909), and the highly successful double cross hybrids using four inbred lines (D. F. Jones c. 1918, 1922). Drying is vital to prevent or at least reduce mycotoxin contamination. "Foods & Nutrition Encyclopedia, Two Volume Set." Northern armyworm, Oriental armyworm or Rice ear-cutting caterpillar (, Byerlee, Derek. There is potential that diesel can be created from the biogas by the Fischer Tropsch method. [5][6] The term maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage as the common name because this refers specifically to this one grain whereas corn refers to any principal cereal crop cultivated in a country. [36] The US and a handful of other English-speaking countries primarily use corn, though most countries use the term maize. [91] By the 1930s, companies such as Pioneer devoted to production of hybrid maize had begun to influence long-term development. When maize is planted in rows, it also allows for planting of other crops between these rows to make more efficient use of land space. Maize silage. [119] Maize provided support for beans, and the beans provided nitrogen derived from nitrogen-fixing rhizobia bacteria which live on the roots of beans and other legumes; and squashes provided ground cover to stop weeds and inhibit evaporation by providing shade over the soil. The combined length of the chromosomes is 1500 cM. [citation needed], Mapuches of south-central Chile cultivated maize along with quinoa and potatoes in pre-Hispanic times; however, potato was the staple food of most Mapuches, "specially in the southern and coastal [Mapuche] territories where maize did not reach maturity". Zea mays L. has 10 pair of chromosome. The ear of maize is too large to pass between slots in a plate as the snap rolls pull the stalk away, leaving only the ear and husk to enter the machinery. [15][113], A primitive corn was being grown in southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America 7,000 years ago. [citation needed] Corn on the cob was hawked on the streets of early 19th-century New York City by poor, barefoot "Hot Corn Girls", who were thus the precursors of hot dog carts, churro wagons, and fruit stands seen on the streets of big cities today. Since then, even earlier dates have been published. The annual teosinte variety called Z. m. mexicana is the closest botanical relative to maize. The maximum size of kernels is reputedly 2.5cm (1in). Pellagra still exists today in food-poor areas and refugee camps where people survive on donated maize. According to OXFAM UK, after NAFTA went into effect, the price of maize in Mexico fell 70% between 1994 and 2001. [52] The stem is commonly composed of 20 internodes[53] of 18cm (7in) length. [160] Because starch utilization in fermentation for ethanol production leaves other grain constituents more concentrated in the residue, the feed value per kg of DDGS, with regard to ruminant-metabolizable energy and protein, exceeds that of the grain. [171], Fungicide application does not reduce fungal growth or mycotoxin dramatically, although it can be a part of a successful reduction strategy. Widespread cultivation most likely began in southern Spain in 1525, after which it quickly spread to the rest of the Spanish Empire including its territories in Italy (and, from there, to other Italian states). FAO-Grassland Species Profiles (ZEMA) GRAMENE-Browse the Maize Genome (ZEMA) IA-Grasses of Iowa (ZEMA) IN-Center for New Crops and Plants Products (ZEMA) MaizeGDB (ZEMA) [34] It is known by other names including "corn" in some English speaking countries. [citation needed], In 1939, George Beadle demonstrated that the kernels of teosinte are readily "popped" for human consumption, like modern popcorn. [72] The p1 gene encodes an Myb-homologous transcriptional activator of genes required for biosynthesis of red phlobaphene pigments, while the P1-wr allele specifies colorless kernel pericarp and red cobs, and unstable factor for orange1 (Ufo1) modifies P1-wr expression to confer pigmentation in kernel pericarp, as well as vegetative tissues, which normally do not accumulate significant amounts of phlobaphene pigments. This process makes use of the whole plant rather than simply using the kernels as in the production of fuel ethanol. [114] Some have argued it would have taken too many generations of selective breeding to produce large, compressed ears for efficient cultivation. They feature a large hopper that feeds the uniformly sized maize kernels (or wood pellets or cherry pits) into the fire. Teosinte seed exhibits some resistance to germination, but will quickly germinate if treated with a dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide. Aspergillus and Fusarium spp. Now, let's go to the taxonomical classification: The best-known species is Z. mays (variously called maize, corn, or Indian corn), one of the most important crops for human societies throughout much of the world. It is the main ingredient of corn tortilla, tamales, pozole, atole and all the dishes based on them, like tacos, quesadillas, chilaquiles, enchiladas, tostadas and many more. "Bt maize" is widely grown in the United States and has been approved for release in Europe. [105] The two plants have dissimilar appearance, maize having a single tall stalk with multiple leaves and teosinte being a short, bushy plant. Insect-resistant maize was grown in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, the European Union, Honduras, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United States, and Uruguay. What many consider to be the most puzzling teosinte is Z. m. huehuetenangensis, which combines a morphology rather like Z. m. parviglumis with many terminal chromosome knobs and an isozyme position between the two sections. How about field corn? The two perennials are sympatric and very similar and some consider them to be one species. ", This page was last edited on 17 June 2023, at 23:22. [32], The word maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Tano word for the plant, mahiz.

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