Maize
C.N: 20 (Diploid)
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Poales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Zea
Species: Z. mays
Introduction:
Maize, is the world's 3rd leading cereal crop, following wheat and rice. USA produces nearly 40% of the total world’s production and it is also the staple food of Americans. After the America, largest corn producing country, are the People's Republic of China & Brazil. Corn is the leading cereal in USA, with ordinary production 3 times that of triticum aestivum. Maize is the principal food particle in Mexico, America, South America, and is important as a food grain southern Africa & China. In the USA, maize is used basically as a feed for livestock and for manufacturing products. Corn is a naturally cross pollinated. The major contributions to maize development during the 20th century have been a technique for breeding hybrid corn and improvement of the frame for large scale, industrial production of hybrid seed, and genetic makeup improvements in the maize plant that add to its increased production, it is suitable that a system for breeding hybrid corn is the leading involvement of USA scientists in plant breeding.
Origin and geographical distribution of Maize: . The corn plant is native to America and staple food grain of Americans. Corn was cultivated from about 8000 years ago and no longer accomplished of survival in its wild form. Early Americans developed high-yielding, open-pollinated varieties adapted to the central Corn Belt and the eastern, southern regions of the USA. Recent co...
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Bio-fuel:
Maize is gradually used as a feed stock for the production of ethanol fuel. Ethanol is mixed with gasoline to decrease the amount of contaminants emitted when used to fuel motor vehicles.
Chemicals:
Starch obtained from maize can also be transformed into plastics, fabrics, adhesives, and other chemical food stuffs.
References:
1. Poehlman, J.M, D.A. Sleper. 1995. Breeding Field Crop. Blackwell publisher, Catalog card Number. 58-8798, USA. Fifth Edition.
2. Ministry of crop specific biology documents, “biology of Maize” issued by Ministry Of Environment and Stress Government of India, Department of Biotechnology Ministry of science and Technology Government of India.
3. An article on Issues to be consider; existing tools and, constraints in biofuels Sustainability valuations written by Electo, Silva Lora a and José C. Escobar Palacio.
Sheshadri, T. (2001, December 26). Student recognized for agricultural acumen. The San Diego Union Tribune, N1-4. Retrieved on March 20, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe (Newspapers) on the World Wide Web: http://www.lexisnexis.com/universe.htm.
Corn is a high commodity in the U.S; our ham, eggs and pancakes for breakfast, California BLT at lunch, or double cheese hamburger for dinner were all produced with U.S. Cor...
One of the most successfully crops was traded from the Americas to Europe. Once corn arrived in Europe it was used as animal fodder, but the value of corn as human food proved itself. Corn has been one of the stimulants to population growth in the ‘old’ world. It helped to improve diets by providing much needed nutrition and calories.
One of the most prominent crops in the GMO industry is Bt corn. The Bt pesticide stands for Bacillus Thuringiensis. Scientists transferred the Bt gene into the corn to create a crop that produces its own pesticides. As the corn matures, it grows stronger poi...
Given the amount of resources that the world as a whole has access to why use corn as a source of fuel? Some would say that countries, such as the United States have an overabundance of food produce. Logically, those countries that have an over surplus of food MUST have enough to put a dent into the rapidly increasing costs of oil and gasoline. Unfortunately, that is a misconception. In order to produce enough corn to fuel the global economy it is important to analyze what that actually means for farmers and the government, not to mention the actual food supply. In order to produce corn ethanol, we must first grow an abundance of corn. Simple right? Wrong, corn is very draining on the soil it is grown, which, in short, means that whomever is growing the corn would have to rotate the corn plantation with something that will restore the nutrients of the soil. Unfortunately, that takes both time and money to do. The task would cal...
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After potatoes were widely spread through Europe and Africa, they were introduced into East Asia. Following its introduction into China at the end of Ming Dynasty, potatoes became one of the most popular crops in the country. Ironically, despite of the distance of South America and North America, North...
Janick. J. (2011). Center for New Crops & Plant Products - Department of Horticulture and
The term GM foods or GMO (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques (Whitman, 2000). These plants have been modified in the laboratory to offer desired traits such as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. Also, genetic engineering techniques have been applied to create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and accurately. For example, this is done by the geneticist isolating the gene responsible for drought tolerance and inserts it into another plant. The new genetically-modified plant will now have gained drought tolerance as well.
...her combination of intoxicant. There are several better plants to use, sugar cane and algae all produce far more ethanol than corn does. Keep in mind that running on electric sometimes is better than running on gas all of the time, But to see for yourself go down to the car dealership and ask for yourself.
Throughout the history of the human race there have been a great number of crops that were discovered, planted, and over time domesticated. Wheat in the Middle East, rice in Asia, and rye in Eastern Europe are all some of today’s staple crops that feed millions every day. Crops like these make up over 50% of the world’s total food supply. However, the third most eaten crop in the world is maize, or corn, which provides 21% of human nutrition. Today maize feeds millions across the world, but its history is different from the others.
The "Emperor's New Crops. " Easton and Goldfarb 171-181.
7. Williams, C.N. 1979. Tree and Field Crops of the Wetter Regions of the Tropics,
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