- Common name- Corn
- Botanic name- Zea mays
- Origin- Southern Mexico, Central America
Introduction:
-
Maize is a cereal grain also known as queen of cereals.
-
Maize possesses highest genetic yield potential among the cereals.
-
It is one of the world’s most important food crop.
-
Maize is a cross pollinated crop.
-
Maize is typically yellow in color due to presence of cryptoxanthin. Maize is also available in different colors like red, orange, purple blue white and black.
-
India produces 5.4% of maize in the world.
Nutritive Value:
-
Maize contains protein in range of 10-15%, depending on the variety.
-
Corn contains a sufficient quantity of fiber. We can obtain 16 gram of fiber form common bag of cinema popcorn.
-
Enough quantity of ubiquinone, Vitamin E and phytosterols are available in maize.
Maize grain contains |
% |
Protein |
10% |
Carbohydrate |
70% |
Oil |
4% |
Crude fiber |
2.3% |
Albuminoids |
10.4% |
Climate:
-
Maize is suitable for humid and warm weather, as it is a tropical plant.
-
In the world maize is cultivated in different climatic situations.
-
Maize requires 21°C of temperature for germination.
-
500-750 mm of rainfall is quite appropriate for its ideal growth.
Season:
Maize is grown in all three seasons in India.
Season |
Month |
Rabi |
Oct-Nov |
Spring |
Jan-Feb |
Kharif |
June-July |
However, best result of cultivation can be seen in Rabi and spring season.
Soil:
-
pH range- 5.5 to 7.5
-
Heavy soil should be avoided.
-
Proper drainage is mandatory.
-
Prevention from salinity and water logging is must.
Fertilizers and Manure:
Fertilizers provide balanced nutrients to soil for better productivity. Maize requires following fertilizers:
-
Nitrogen- 100-120Kg/ha
-
Phosphorus- 60Kg/ha
-
Potassium oxide- 40Kg/ha
Application of 1/3rd of the Nitrogen and Phosphorus is required to be done before sowing.
Land preparation:
-
Fine tilth field is required for the cultivation of maize.
-
Ploughed to a depth of 25-30cm with the application of mould board.
-
Before completing last harrowing, 10-15 tons of FYM or compose would be enough to enhance the productivity.
Seed rates:
Seed rates can differ depending on their varieties.
-
Grain- 20Kg/ha
-
Sweet corn- 8Kg/ha
-
Baby corn- 25Kg/ha
-
Popcorn- 12Kg/ha
-
Green cob- 20Kg/ha
-
Fodder- 50Kg/ha
Plant spacing:
Generally adopted spacing is 60×20
Yield:
-
Yield- 10 to 20 quintal per hectare.
-
Up to 40 quintal per hectare can be obtained with hybrids.
Variety:
Name of hybrid |
Grain type |
Important facts |
'Ganga Safed-2 |
Medium, white, semi-flint |
Generally adapted, resistant to foliar diseases, medium maturing hybrid. |
'Deccan' |
Bold, yellow, semi-flint |
Suitable for peninsular India, good husk cover, resistant to leaf blight and downy mildew. |
'Ganga-5' |
Bold, yellow, semi-flint |
Resistant to leaf, Downy mildew, Maturing days- 105-110 |
'Himalayan' |
Bold, white, dent |
A medium maturing hybrid, adopted by the starch industry, high starch recovery. |
Harvesting:
-
The right time harvesting is when sheath turns brownish, grains become hard with less than 20% moisture.
-
After harvesting crop should be piled up for 24 hours and then sun dried for 5 to 6 days to reduce the moisture to 10% to 12%.
Irrigation:
-
The crucial stages of irrigation is silking and tasseling.
-
Water storage would reduce 20% of yield.
-
500-600mm water is required for irrigation.
-
Light soil requires 10 irrigations while clay loam soil requires 8 irrigations.