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Zea mays ssp. mays

Authority	L.
Family	Liliopsida:Commelinidae:Cyperales:Gramineae
Synonyms
Common names	corn
Editor
Ecocrop code	238663

Notes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION A tall, coarse grass and grain crop up to 40-700 cm with strong erect stalks and long narrow leaves. USES It is mainly grown for food and fodder. The grain is ground to flour and used in starchy foods and breads. It is used in breakfast foods, i.e. corn-flakes. Fermented grain is made into wiskey and industial alcohol. Corn starch is used in cosmetics, adhesives, glucose, and syrup. Oil is extracted from the seed embryo and used as salad oil, and to make linolium, paints, varnishes, soaps, glycerine, and high fructose syrup. Mentioned as a useful agroforestry species. GROWING PERIOD Annual. In Kenya quick-maturing lowland varieties flower in 60 days and mature in 120 days, varieties grown between 1200-2100 m in elevation flowers in 105 days and mature in 210 days, while varieties grown at 2100-3200 m may take 195 days to flower and more than 365 days to mature. In the United States corn on average mature within 130-140 days and some cultivars only require 90 days. COMMON NAMES Maize, Mais, Maiz, Sweet corn, Mealies, Corn, Green maize, Bok'olo, Indian corn, Blue corn. FURTHER INF Maize can be found at elevations between sea level and 4000 m and it can be grown at latitudes from 48°N to 40°S. Photosynthesis pathway C4 III for tropical lowland and C4 IV for highland and temperate types. Hot, dry winds may reduce the amount of pollen available for fertilization and very humid conditions are not considered good for maize. Hail can do great damage to the crop. Since the crop leaves much of the ground uncovered, soil erosion and water losses can be severe. The optimum yield is 7-11 t/ha, world average 3.6 t/ha. High yields of maize make a heavy drain on soil nutrients and it has a high nitrogen requirement. The species is probably indigenous to Mexico and Central America. Some short-season varieties are able to develop with only 300 mm of rain.
Sources
SOURCES (Z. mays L. ssp mays) Sims D (pers. comm.) Maas E 1990 pp 279 Sys C 1984 pp 70 Rice R 1990 pp 334-336 [TEXT, DRA, RAIN, TEMP] Rehm S 1991 pp 19-21 [LIG, TMP, RAIN, PH] Dupe P 1982 pp 12 Doorenbos J 1979 pp 101 Landon J 1984 pp 280 284 287 290 297 Kassam A 1976 pp 21 Sys C 1990 pp 13 Bunting E 1981 pp 21 Roecklein J 1987 pp 36 Eswaran H 1986 Kung 1970 pp 205 Hackett C 1982 pp 61 [FER, PHO, DEP, PH, TEXT, TEMP] Edwards S up pp 103 Hartmann T 1981 pp 488-490 [RAIN, TEMP, LIG, PHO, DRA, FER, TEXT] Skerman P 1990 pp 752-757 [TEMP, KTMP, RAIN, SAL, FER] Bogdan A 1977 pp 296 Van Waveren E 1993 pp 25 Onwueme I 1991 pp 157-175 [TEMP, RAIN, DEP, TEXT, DRA, FER, PH] Janick J 1991 pp 228 Purseglove J 1972 pp 300-334 [USE, TEMP, RAIN, DRA, DEP, PH]