Maize production

MAIZE (Zea mays.L)

• Maize is one of the important cereal crops in the world's
agricultural economy both as food for men and feed for
animals, because of its higher yield potential compared
to other cereal it is called as “Queen of Cereals”.
Origin: Mexico and Central America
Improvement
• CIMMYT
• International Centre for the improvement of Maize and
Wheat headquartered in Mexico.
Classification
• Classification is largely based on the character of the
kernels.
• Classified into seven groups.
•  
• Flint maize : Zea mays indurata 
• Starchy endosperm enclosed with hard hammy endosperm.
• Colour may be white or yellow.
• mostly grown in India.
 
• Dent Corn : Z. mays indentata 
• dent on the top of kernel having white or yellow.
• Maize kernels have both soft and hard starches.
• This type is widely grown in USA.
 
• Pop Corn : Z. mays averta 
• Kernel size is small. Presence of hard and corneous endosperm.
 
Sweet Corn: Z. mays saccharata 
• The sugar and starch make the major component of the endosperm
that results in sweet taste of kernels.
Flour Corn: Z. mays amylaceae 
• The grains are composed of soft starch and have little or no dent is
called as “Soft Corn”.
• It is widely grown in USA and South Africa.
 
Pod Corn: Z. mays tunicata 
• Each kernel is enclosed in a pod or husk in an ear, which is enclosed in
husks, like other types of corn.

Waxy Corn: Z. mays cerabina 

• The kernel looks to have waxy appearance and gummy starch in them,
because of amylopectin. Starch is similar to that of Tapioca starch for
making adhesive for articles.
 
Economic Importance and their uses
•  Most important cereal crops in the worlds’ agricultural
economy. 85% is consumed as human food.
• Several food dishes are prepared from maize flour.
• Green cobs are roasted and eaten by the people.
• Popcorn is used for popped form; green cob for table
purpose.
• Corn has low fibre content, more carbohydrate and most
palatable.
• Widely used in preparation of cattle feed and poultry feed.
• It can be used as green fodder It has no HCN content.
• Can be preserved as silage.
• Food product : Corn meal, Corn flakes.
• Industrial product : Alcohol, Corn Starch (Dextrose), Glucose,
Corn oil , corn syrup
• Used in canning Industry, production of polymer, making paper.
 
• Nutritional value
• Protein - 10%, Carbohydrates - 70%, Oil - 4% , Albuminoides -
10.4%, Crude fibre - 2.3%
• Maize protein “Zein” is deficient in two essential amino acids
viz., Lysine and Tryptophane.
• Maize grain has significant quantity of vitamin A, nicotinic acid,
riboflavin and vitamin E. Maize is low in Calcium, but fairly high
in ‘P’.
• Climatic requirement
• It is essentially a tropical crop.
• It is a C4 short day plant.
• Though it is a tropical crop, it has got high adaptability to wider
climate. 55 N to 45 S.
• It can be grown up to 2500 MASL.
• Water requirements:
• Requires considerable amount of moisture.
• Rainfall of 500 to 750 mm of well distributed rain is needed for
proper growth.
• Uses water economically and relatively drought- resisting crop.
• After germination and up to tasseling stage crop stands less
moisture.
• Requires more moisture during reproductive period.
• Requires less moisture when developing towards maturity.
• maize crop uses the majority (70%) of its water
requirement 3 weeks either side of tasselling
• Therefore if irrigation is limited, it is absolutely crucial to
irrigate during the critical period, from about 2-3 weeks
before tasselling until 2-4 weeks after tasselling.

The symptoms of maize plants experiencing water stress

are:
• Dull, lifeless leaves
• Rolled in leaf margins, causing the leaf to “spike” or stand
up
• Shorter plants with thinner stems
• Temperature:

• A warm weather crop;

• This crop is not suitable when night temperature drops below 15.6
°C.
• Maize requires moist and warm weather from germination to
flowering.
• Most suitable temperature for germination is 21° C and for growth
is 32° C.
• Extremely high temperature and low RH at flowering desiccate the
pollen resulting in poor pollen grain formation.
• Requires a mean temperature around 22°C and night temperature
above 15°C.
• Requires considerable warmth from germination to flowering.
• Cultivation not possible when day temperatures are less than 19°C
and night temperatures during the first 3 months falls below 21°C.
• Noon temperature above 35°C for several days destroys
pollen and yields drastically.
• Temperature more than 35°C reduce the pollen
germination. Temperature < 15° C delays silking and
tasseling.
Soil
• Maize is best adapted to well drain sandy loam to silt
loam soil. Water stagnation is extremely harmful to the
crop, therefore proper drainage is a must.
• Maize cannot thrive on heavy soil especially on low
lands.
• pH ranges from 5.5 to 7.5.
• Salinity and water logging are harmful at seeding stage.
• Continuous water logging reduce the yield by 40 to 45%.
• Growth stages of Maize
• Seedling stage : 1-14 days from sprouting to 2 to 4
leaves.
• Vegetative phase : 15-39 days. (30-35 days is knee
high stage)
• Flowering phase : (40-65 days).
• Maturity stage : 66-95 days.
• Includes soft and hard dough stage.
• Ripening : 96-105 days.
• Seed co. Varieties recommended for cultivation in
Zimbabwe
• SC 403 (Very Early, Drought and Streak Tolerance,
and Wide Adaptability).
• Very early maturing varieties
• SC 411 (Very Early, Disease Tolerance and High
Yielder)
• well suited to marginal rainfall areas
• Early maturing hybrids
• SC 513 (Combines Excellent Yield and Grey Leaf
Spot Tolerance, Wide Adaptation).
• Medium maturity hybrids 
• SC 627 (Grey Leaf Spot, Streak Tolerance and Wide
Adaptability).
• SC 633 (Grey Leaf Spot and Streak Tolerance).
• SC 635 (Grey Leaf Spot and Streak Tolerance)
• SC 637 (Grey Leaf Spot and Streak Tolerance).
• Late maturing hybrids 
• SC 709 (Grey Leaf Spot Tolerance, High Grain and Silage
Yielder)
• SC 719 (Grey Leaf Spot and Streak Tolerance, High Grain
and Silage Yielder).
• SC 721 (Grey Leaf Spot and Streak Tolerance)
Cropping system
• Plant population and spacing for maize
• Maize yield is closely related to plant population.
• Most favorable planting densities for high yield in
the tropics are probably in the range of 65,000 to
75,000 plants per ha.
• Some of the widely used crop spacing depending on
the recommended plant density are:
• 90 cm x 30 cm, 75 x 36 cm, 60 x 45 cm
Sowing dates: determined by soil temperatures
Sowing depth : 2.5 – 4 cm
• Preplanting – bulk spreading of fertiliser prior to the last
cultivation. This may be limed if required as well as 2/3 of
the fertiliser planned for sowing. This will have the
nutrients in the soil profile ready for the crop
• 2. Planting – apply the remaining 1/3 of fertiliser under and
to the side of the seed at sowing. This should supply all of
the P and some of the N requirements of the crop.
• 3. Side dressing at approximately 45 cm high (V6). At this
stage the plant is growing very rapidly and requires high
amounts of N and K.
• 4. Top dressing at tassel emergence (V12) the final
application of N and K. This application will need to be
delivered via fertigation. If fertigation is not possible,
fertiliser needs to be applied at 1-3 above.
• other nutrients required include zinc, sulphur,magnesium
Good agronomic practices
• Good weed control
• Crop rotations
• Adequate moisture supply
• Avoid alternative hosts
• Good tilth for seed beds
• Proper fertlization
• Intergrated pest management
• Selection of varieties based on resistance to lodging
stalk rot, disease and pests, maturity period.
Pre –emergence
• Pre-emergence application , metalochlor and
alachlor at 2.0 kg /ha (Lasso 50% EC) + one hand
weeding.
• Atrazine.
• Atratop 50%WP 0.25 kg/ha 500 g/ha
Pendemethalin.
• Stomp 30% EC 1.0 kg /ha
• 3.3 l/ha
• Post emergence
• 2.4D Na salt Fernoxone 80% WP 1.0 kg /ha 1.25
kg/ha.
• hand hoeing and weeding on 30 to 35 DAS is
effective and economical compared to two hoeings
and weedings
Major diseases and insect pests of maize
Downy mildew
• White and yellow stripping
Management
• Resistant varieties
• Good Timing of planting
Maize blight
• Lesions
Management
• Resistant varieties, cleanliness, crop rotation

Stalk or ear rot

• Whitish-pink cottony fungal growth

• Management
• Resistant varieties, plant pop, rotation
Maize mosaic virus
• Green patches
• Management: control aphids
Maize streak virus (MSV)
•Virus disease spread by leafhoppers
Nature of damage
•Yield loss is caused by plant stunting and the termination of ear formulation,
development and grain filling in infected plants.   
•With severe infection, plants can die prematurely.
Signs
•Early disease symptoms begin within a week after infection and consist of very small,
round, scattered spots in the youngest leaves.
•The number of spots increases with plant growth; they enlarge parallel to the leaf
veins.
•chlorosis with broken yellow streaks along the veins, contrasting with the dark green
color of normal foliage.
Factors favoring development
•Many cereal crops and wild grasses serve as reservoirs of the virus and the vectors.
•Outbreaks of maize streak have been associated with drought and irregular rain in
west Africa.
 
• Corn rusts
• Corn smuts
Pests
Maize stalk borer
• Also known as the African sorghum stem borer
Busseola fusca 
Damage to plants
• Foliage consumption, particularly in the whorl.
• Destruction of the growing point in the whorl, causing a symptom known
as "deadheart"
• Extensive feeding on tassels, ears, and stems.
Signs
• Young larvae feed on foliar tissue in the whorl, leading to perforations
and 'window pane' damage in unfolding leaves.
• Older larvae burrow into the stem, which can result in crop lodging.
• Holes in the stem, which are used by adult moths to emerge.
• Dead heart.
Factors favoring pest development
• Young maize crops (plants less than two months old) are
attractive for oviposition.
• Zero-till agriculture.
Geographical distribution
• Found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, generally above 500
masl. However, the species can live in altitudes ranging
from sea level to above 2000m.
Armyworm

Common names: Armyworm, African armyworm

Latin names: Spodoptera and Pseudaletia spp. Common species include
Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth) and Spodoptera exempta (Walker).

Damage to plants 
• Entire leaves and young plants can be consumed during severe
infestation.
• Signs 
• ‘Window pane’ damage to leaves caused by newly emerged larvae,
which feed by scraping the leaf surface without perforating it.
• Ragged leaf appearance from the leaf edges inwards, also due to
feeding.
• Under severe infestation the entire foliar tissue might be
lost, with only midribs remaining.  Lower leaves are
consumed first.
• Large number of caterpillars migrating across fields and
roads.
• Worm frass (feces) on the ground below plant
African pink borer
Sesamia calamistis
Nature of damage
• Newly hatched larvae remain in a group behind the leaf sheath and
begin chewing on the stem and inner side of the sheath. 
• Later, some larvae migrate to neighboring leaf sheaths, while others
penetrate the stem, expelling a dust from within. 
• Severe damage causes the stem to break. 
• These also feed in the whorl, tassels and ears. 
Signs
• Easy detachment of the central leaves of the whorl - 'dead heart'
• Unfolding leaves will have rows of oblong holes.
• Wilt brought on by damage at the base of the plant.
Geographic distribution
• This borer is an important pest in the warmer coastal areas of
Africa.
Other problematic pests
• Cutworms
• termites
Storage pests
• Grain borers
• Grain weevils
Harvesting and storage
• Physiological maturity is reached when all kernels on the
ear have attained their dry matter maximum
accumulation
• The hard starch layer has advanced completely to the
cob goes from top of kernel to base of cob
• A black abscission layer has formed this indicates that
moisture and nutrient transport from the plant has
ceased.

• Harvested by hand or machinery at 18- 24°C moisture

level.
• Further dried to 14° C
• Shelled , cleaned and stored in dry and cool conditions.