General information about crop : Maize is one of the world's leading crops cultivated over an area of about 139 million hectares with a production of about 600 million tonnes of grain (1999). Maize (Zea mays) is a tall, deep-rooted, warm weather annual grass. A single long stalk will develop from seed. Long smooth leaves are attached at the stem nodes. Seed producing shoots originate from the base of the main stem. The female flowers are borne on the corn 'ear', which arises at a leaf axil near the mid-point along the stem. The flower organs, and later the grain kernels, are enclosed in several layers of papery tissue, termed husks. A mass of long styles (silks) protrude from the tip as a mass of silky threads. These strands are actually the stigmas from the flowers and emerge at the same time the pollen from the terminal tassels is shed. The pollen is wind blown and comes in contact with the emerged silk or stigma.

Botanical name or taxonomic nomenclature :

	Scientific classification
Kingdom  Plantae  Division  MagnoliKKophyta  Class  Liliopsida  Order  Poales  Family  Poaceae  Genus  Zea  Species  Z. mays Binomial name Zea mays L.

Cultivation :

Type of soil or area for cultivation Maize is best adapted to well drained sandy loam to salty loam soils. Water stagnation is extremely harmful to the crop; therefore, proper drainage is a must for the success of the crop. Maize will not thrive on heavy clays, especially low lands. It can be grown successfully in soils whose pH ranges from 5.5 to 7.5.

Weather condition: Maize is a warm weather plant. It grows from sea level to 3000 meter altitudes. It can be grown under diverse conditions. It is grown in many parts of the country throughout the year. Monsoon season is the main growing season. maize may be sown any time from April to October, as the climate is warm even in the winter. Maize requires considerable moisture and warmth from germination to flowering. The most suitable temperature for germination is 21°C and for growth 32°C. Extremely high temperature and low humidity during flowering damage the foliage, desiccates the pollen and interferes with proper pollination, resulting in poor grain formation. Fifty to seventy-five centimeters of well-distributed rain is conducive to proper growth. Maize is very sensitive to stagnant water, particularly during its early stages of growth.

Season for cultivation As a rainfed crop, maize is grown in June-July or August-September. The irrigated crop is raised in January-February.

Planting method : Plough the land three times and prepare ridges and furrows. Dibble one seed per hole at a spacing of 60 cm x 23 cm for the rainy season crop. For irrigated crop, beds are prepared. Here, seeds are sown in lines and earthed up later in to small ridges to form furrows when the crop reaches knee height.

Harvesting : Maize 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 was not 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 and these whole ears are a sufficient form for some livestock feeding use. Few modern farms store maize in this manner. Most harvest the grain from the field and store it in bins. The combine with a corn head (with points and snap rolls instead of a reel) does not cut the stalk; it simply pulls the stalk down. The stalk continues downward and is crumpled in to a mangled pile on the ground. The ear of corn is too large to pass through a slit in a plate and the snap rolls pull 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.