Maize

:This article is about the cereal. For the town, see Maize, Kansas.

Cultivation

Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain. While the United States produces almost half of the world's harvest, other top producing countries are as widespread as China, India, Brazil, France, Indonesia, and South Africa. Worldwide production was over 600 million metric tons in 2003, just slightly more than rice or wheat.

Related Topics:
United States - China - India - Brazil - France - Indonesia - South Africa - Metric ton - 2003 - Rice - Wheat

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Maize is planted in the spring to take advantage of spring rains. Its root system is shallow and the plant is dependent on steady rain or irrigation. In the United States, a good harvest was predicted traditionally if the corn was "knee-high by the Fourth of July", although modern hybrids often exceed this growth rate. Maize used as silage is harvested while the plant is green and the fruit unmatured. Otherwise, maize is left in the field very late in the autumn in order to dry thoroughly. In fact, it is sometimes not harvested until winter or even early spring. The importance of regular rain is shown in many parts of Africa, where periodic drought regularly causes famine by causing maize crop failure; the older traditional African native millet (which is however less palatable than maize, and much less productive in good years) would have survived and produced a small crop in these conditions.

Related Topics:
Spring - Rain - Irrigation - United States - Fourth of July - Hybrid - Silage - Winter - Africa - Drought - Famine - Millet

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Maize was planted by the Native Americans in hills, in a complex system known to some as the Three Sisters: beans used the corn plant for support, and squashes provided ground cover to stop weeds. This method was replaced by single species hill planting where each hill 60–120 cm (2–4 feet) apart was planted with 3 or 4 seeds, a method still used by the home gardener. A later technique was checked corn where hills were placed 40 inches apart in each direction, allowing cultivators to run through the field in two directions. In more arid lands this was altered and seed were planted in the bottom of 10–12 cm (4–5 inch) deep furrows to collect water. Modern technique plants maize in rows which allows for cultivation while the plant is young.

Related Topics:
Native American - Three Sisters

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In North America, fields are often planted in a two-crop rotation with a nitrogen-fixing crop, often soybeans. Sometimes a third crop, winter wheat, is added to the rotation. Fields are usually plowed each year, although no-till farming is increasing in use.

Related Topics:
Crop rotation - Soybeans - Winter wheat - No-till farming

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Before about World War II, most maize was harvested by hand. This often involved large numbers of workers and associated social events. Some one- and two-row mechanical pickers were in use but the corn combine did not get adopted until after the War. By hand or mechanical picker, the entire ear is harvested which then requires a separate operation of a corn sheller to remove the kernels from the ear. Whole ears of corn were often stored in corn cribs which is a sufficient form for some livestock use. Some modern farms store maize in this manner and later shell it for sale in the off-season to capture better prices. The combine with a corn head (with points and snap rolls instead of a reel) cuts the stalk near the base and then separates the ear of corn from the stalk so that only the ear and husk enter the machinery. The combine separates the husk and the cob, keeping only the kernels.

Related Topics:
World War II - Combine

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