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Americans who are hoping for a ‘return to normal’ are going to be shocked when they see what happens next in America. [RelaxAndTrade]( A special message from the Editor of Relax And Trade: We are often approached by other businesses with special offers for our readers. While many don’t make the cut, the message below is one we believe deserves your consideration. [Nomi Prins]( Maize Article Talk Read View source View history Page semi-protected From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Not to be confused with Maze. This article is about the commonly grown cereal grain. For other uses, see Maize (disambiguation). "Corn" redirects here. For other uses, see Corn (disambiguation). Maize Zea mays - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-283.jpg Illustration showing male and female maize flowers Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classificationedit Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Monocots Clade: Commelinids Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Subfamily: Panicoideae Genus: Zea Species: Z. mays Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (/meɪz/ MAYZ; Zea mays subsp. mays, from Spanish: maíz after Taino: mahis[2]), also known as corn in North American and Australian English, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago.[3][4] The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences (or "tassels") and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that when fertilized yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits.[5][6] The term maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage as the common name because this refers specifically to this one grain whereas corn refers to any principal cereal crop cultivated in a country. For example, in North America and Australia corn is often used for maize, but in England and Wales it can refer to wheat or barley, and in Scotland and Ireland to oats. Maize has become a staple food in many parts of the world, with the total production of maize surpassing that of wheat or rice. In addition to being consumed directly by humans (often in the form of masa), maize is also used for corn ethanol, animal feed and other maize products, such as corn starch and corn syrup.[7] The six major types of maize are dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, popcorn, flour corn, and sweet corn.[8] Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption as kernels, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed, various corn-based human food uses (including grinding into cornmeal or masa, pressing into corn oil, fermentation and distillation into alcoholic beverages like bourbon whiskey), and as feedstocks for the chemical industry. Maize is also used in making ethanol and other biofuels. Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain.[9] In 2021, total world production was 1.2 billion tonnes. Maize is the most widely grown grain crop throughout the Americas, with 384 million metric tons grown in the United States alone in 2021.[citation needed] Genetically modified maize made up 85% of the maize planted in the United States in 2009.[10] Subsidies in the United States help to account for its high level of cultivation of maize and its position as the largest producer in the world.[11] History Pre-Columbian development Plant fragments dated to 4200 BC found in the Guilá Naquitz Cave in Oaxaca, Mexico, showed maize had already been domesticated from teosinte.[4] Cultivation of maize in an illustration from the 16th c. Florentine Codex Ancient Mesoamerican relief, National Museum of Anthropology of Mexico Maize is a cultigen; human intervention is required for it to propagate. Whether or not the kernels fall off the cob on their own is a key piece of evidence used in archaeology to distinguish domesticated maize from its naturally-propagating teosinte ancestor.[4] Genetic evidence can also be used to determine when various lineages split.[12] Most historians believe maize was domesticated in the Tehuacán Valley of Mexico.[13] Recent research in the early 21st century has modified this view somewhat; scholars now indicate the adjacent Balsas River Valley of south-central Mexico as the center of domestication.[14] An 2002 study by Matsuoka et al.. has demonstrated that, rather than the multiple independent domestications model, all maize arose from a single domestication in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago. The study also demonstrated that the oldest surviving maize types are those of the Mexican highlands. Later, maize spread from this region over the Americas along two major paths. This is consistent with a model based on the archaeological record suggesting that maize diversified in the highlands of Mexico before spreading to the lowlands.[15][16] Archaeologist Dolores Piperno has said:[14] A large corpus of data indicates that [maize] was dispersed into lower Central America by 7600 BP [5600 BC] and had moved into the inter-Andean valleys of Colombia between 7000 and 6000 BP [5000–4000 BC]. — Dolores Piperno, The Origins of Plant Cultivation and Domestication in the New World Tropics: Patterns, Process, and New Developments[14] Since then, even earlier dates have been published.[17] According to a genetic study by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), corn cultivation was introduced in South America from Mexico, in two great waves: the first, more than 6000 years ago, spread through the Andes. Evidence of cultivation in Peru has been found dating to about 6700 years ago.[18] The second wave, about 2000 years ago, through the lowlands of South America.[19] The earliest maize plants grew only small, 25-millimetre-long (1 in) corn ears, and only one per plant. In Jackson Spielvogel's view, many centuries of artificial selection (rather than the current view that maize was exploited by interplanting with teosinte) by the indigenous people of the Americas resulted in the development of maize plants capable of growing several ears per plant, which were usually several centimetres/inches long each.[20] The Olmec and Maya cultivated maize in numerous varieties throughout Mesoamerica; they cooked, ground and processed it through nixtamalization. It was believed that beginning about 2500 BC, the crop spread through much of the Americas.[21] Research of the 21st century has established even earlier dates. The region developed a trade network based on surplus and varieties of maize crops.[citation needed] Mapuches of south-central Chile cultivated maize along with quinoa and potatoes in pre-Hispanic times; however, potato was the staple food of most Mapuches, "specially in the southern and coastal [Mapuche] territories where maize did not reach maturity".[22][23] Before the expansion of the Inca Empire maize was traded and transported as far south as 40°19' S in Melinquina, Lácar Department.[24] In that location maize remains were found inside pottery dated to 730 ± 80 BP and 920 ± 60 BP. Probably this maize was brought across the Andes from Chile.[24] The presence of maize in Guaitecas Archipelago (43°55' S), the southernmost outpost of pre-Hispanic agriculture,[25] is reported by early Spanish explorers.[26] However the Spanish may have misidentified the plant.[26] By at least 1000 BCE, the Olmec in Mesoamerica had based their calendar, language, myths and worldview with maize at the center of their symbolism.[27] Columbian exchange After the arrival of Europeans in 1492, Spanish settlers consumed maize, and explorers and traders carried it back to Europe and introduced it to other countries. Spanish settlers much preferred wheat bread to maize, cassava, or potatoes. Maize flour could not be substituted for wheat for communion bread, since in Christian belief only wheat could undergo transubstantiation and be transformed into the body of Christ.[28] Some Spaniards worried that by eating indigenous foods, which they did not consider nutritious, they would weaken and risk turning into Indians. "In the view of Europeans, it was the food they ate, even more than the environment in which they lived, that gave Amerindians and Spaniards both their distinctive physical characteristics and their characteristic personalities."[29] Despite these worries, Spaniards did consume maize. Archeological evidence from Florida sites indicate they cultivated it as well.[30] Maize spread to the rest of the world because of its ability to grow in diverse climates. It was cultivated in Spain just a few decades after Columbus's voyages and then spread to Italy, West Africa and elsewhere.[30] Widespread cultivation most likely began in southern Spain in 1525, after which it quickly spread to the rest of the Spanish Empire including its territories in Italy (and, from there, to other Italian states). Maize had many advantages over wheat and barley; it yielded two and a half times the food energy per unit cultivated area,[31] could be harvested in successive years from the same plot of land, and grew in wildly varying altitudes and climates, from relatively dry regions with only 250 mm (10 in) of annual rainfall to damp regions with over 5,000 mm (200 in). By the 17th century it was a common peasant food in Southwestern Europe, including Portugal, Spain, southern France, and Italy. By the 18th century, it was the chief food of the southern French and Italian peasantry, especially in the form of polenta in Italy.[32] Names Many small male flowers make up the male inflorescence, called the tassel. The word maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taíno word for the plant, mahiz.[33] Linnaeus included the common name maize as the species epithet in Zea mays.[34] It is known by other names including "corn" in some English speaking countries.[35] Maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage as a common name because it refers specifically to this one grain, unlike corn, which has a complex variety of meanings that vary by context and geographic region.[36] The US and a handful of other English-speaking countries primarily use corn, though most countries use the term maize.[37][8][38] The word maize is considered interchangeable in place of corn in the West; during early British and American trade, all grains were considered corn. Maize retained the name corn in the West as the primary grain in these trade relationships.[34] The word "corn" outside the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand is synonymous with grain referring to any cereal crop with its meaning understood to vary geographically to refer to the local staple,[39] such as wheat in England and oats in Scotland or Ireland.[36] In the United States,[39] Canada,[40] Australia, and New Zealand, corn primarily means maize. This usage started as a shortening of "Indian corn" in 18th century North America.[39][41] During European colonization of North America, confusion would occur between British and North American English speakers using the term corn so that North American speakers would need to clarify that they were talking about Indian corn or maize, such as in a conversation between the Massachusetts Bay governor Thomas Hutchinson and the British king George III.[41] "Indian corn" primarily means maize (the staple grain of indigenous Americans) but can also refer more specifically to multicolored "flint corn" used for decoration.[42] Other common names include barajovar, makka, silk maize, and zea.[43] Betty Fussell writes in an article on the history of the word "corn" in North America that "[t]o say the word "corn" is to plunge into the tragi-farcical mistranslations of language and history".[27] Similar to the British, the Spanish referred to maize as panizo, a generic term for cereal grains, as did Italians with the term polenta. The British later referred to maize as Turkey wheat, Turkey corn, or Indian corn with Fusell commenting that "they meant not a place but a condition, a savage rather than a civilized grain", especially with Turkish people later naming it kukuruz, or barbaric.[27] International groups such as the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International also consider maize the preferred common name.[44] The word maize is used by agricultural bodies and research institutes such as the UN's FAO,[45] the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center based out of Mexico, and the Indian Institute of Maize Research.[46] National agricultural and industry associations often include the word maize in their name such as the Maize Association of Australia,[47] and the National Maize Association of Nigeria.[48] In Southern Africa, maize is commonly called mielie (Afrikaans) or mealie (English), words possibly derived from the Portuguese word for maize, milho, but more probably from Dutch meel or English meal, meaning the edible part of a grain or pulse.[49] Structure and physiology The maize plant is often 3 m (10 ft) in height,[50] though some natural strains can grow 13 m (43 ft),[51] and the tallest recorded plant reached almost 14 metres (46 ft).[52] The stem is commonly composed of 20 internodes[53] of 18 cm (7 in) length.[50] The leaves arise from the nodes, alternately on opposite sides on the stalk,[54] and have entire margins.[55] The apex of the stem ends in the tassel, an inflorescence of male flowers. When the tassel is mature and conditions are suitably warm and dry, anthers on the tassel dehisce and release pollen. Maize pollen is anemophilous (dispersed by wind), and because of its large settling velocity, most pollen falls within a few meters of the tassel.[56] Ears develop above a few of the leaves in the midsection of the plant, between the stem and leaf sheath, elongating by around 3 mm (1⁄8 in) per day, to a length of 18 cm (7 in)[50] with 60 cm (24 in) being the maximum alleged in the subspecies.[57] They are female inflorescences, tightly enveloped by several layers of ear leaves commonly called husks. Elongated stigmas, called silks, emerge from the whorl of husk leaves at the end of the ear. They are often pale yellow and 18 cm (7 in) in length, like tufts of hair in appearance. At the end of each is a carpel, which may develop into a "kernel" if fertilized by a pollen grain. The pericarp of the fruit is fused with the seed coat referred to as "caryopsis", typical of the grasses, and the entire kernel is often referred to as the "seed". The cob is close to a multiple fruit in structure, except that the individual fruits (the kernels) never fuse into a single mass. The grains are about the size of peas, and adhere in regular rows around a white, pithy substance, which forms the cob. The maximum size of kernels is reputedly 2.5 cm (1 in).[58] An ear commonly holds 600 kernels. They are of various colors: blackish, bluish-gray, purple, green, red, white and yellow. When ground into flour, maize yields more flour with much less bran than wheat does. It lacks the protein gluten of wheat and, therefore, makes baked goods with poor rising capability. A genetic variant that accumulates more sugar and less starch in the ear is consumed as a vegetable and is called sweet corn. Young ears can be consumed raw, with the cob and silk, but as the plant matures (usually during the summer months), the cob becomes tougher and the silk dries to inedibility. By the end of the growing season, the kernels dry out and become difficult to chew without cooking.[59] Female inflorescence, with young silk Female inflorescence, with young silk Mature silk Mature silk Stalks, ears and silk Stalks, ears and silk Male flowers Male flowers Full-grown maize plants Full-grown maize plants Mature maize ear on a stalk Mature maize ear on a stalk Planting density affects multiple aspects of maize. Modern farming techniques in developed countries usually rely on dense planting, which produces one ear per stalk.[60] Stands of silage maize are yet denser,[citation needed] and achieve a lower percentage of ears and more plant matter.[citation needed] Maize is a facultative short-day plant[61] and flowers in a certain number of growing degree days > 10 °C (50 °F) in the environment to which it is adapted.[62] The magnitude of the influence that long nights have on the number of days that must pass before maize flowers is genetically prescribed[63] and regulated by the phytochrome system.[64] Photoperiodicity can be eccentric in tropical cultivars such that the long days characteristic of higher latitudes allow the plants to grow so tall that they do not have enough time to produce seed before being killed by frost. These attributes, however, may prove useful in using tropical maize for biofuels.[65] Immature maize shoots accumulate a powerful antibiotic substance, 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one (DIMBOA). DIMBOA is a member of a group of hydroxamic acids (also known as benzoxazinoids) that serve as a natural defense against a wide range of pests, including insects, pathogenic fungi and bacteria. DIMBOA is also found in related grasses, particularly wheat. A maize mutant (bx) lacking DIMBOA is highly susceptible to attack by aphids and fungi. DIMBOA is also responsible for the relative resistance of immature maize to the European corn borer (family Crambidae). As maize matures, DIMBOA levels and resistance to the corn borer decline.[citation needed] Because of its shallow roots, maize is susceptible to droughts, intolerant of nutrient-deficient soils, and prone to be uprooted by severe winds.[66] Maize kernels Maize kernels Maize plant diagram Maize plant diagram Ear of maize with irregular rows of kernels Ear of maize with irregular rows of kernels cv. 'Ottofile giallo Tortonese'' – MHNT cv. "strawberry"—MHNT cv. "Oaxacan Green" MHNT Variegated maize ears Multicolored corn kernels (CSIRO) While yellow maizes derive their color from lutein and zeaxanthin, in red-colored maizes, the kernel coloration is due to anthocyanins and phlobaphenes. These latter substances are synthesized in the flavonoids synthetic pathway[67] from polymerization of flavan-4-ols[68] by the expression of maize pericarp color1 (p1) gene[69] which encodes an R2R3 myb-like transcriptional activator[70] of the A1 gene encoding for the dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (reducing dihydroflavonols into flavan-4-ols)[71] while another gene (Suppressor of Pericarp Pigmentation 1 or SPP1) acts as a suppressor.[72] The p1 gene encodes an Myb-homologous transcriptional activator of genes required for biosynthesis of red phlobaphene pigments, while the P1-wr allele specifies colorless kernel pericarp and red cobs, and unstable factor for orange1 (Ufo1) modifies P1-wr expression to confer pigmentation in kernel pericarp, as well as vegetative tissues, which normally do not accumulate significant amounts of phlobaphene pigments.[69] The maize P gene encodes a Myb homolog that recognizes the sequence CCT/AACC, in sharp contrast with the C/TAACGG bound by vertebrate Myb proteins.[73] The ear leaf is the leaf most closely associated with a particular developing ear. This leaf and above contribute 70%[74] to 75% to 90%[75] of grain fill. Therefore fungicide application is most important in that region in most disease environments.[74][75] Abnormal flowers Maize flowers may sometimes exhibit mutations that lead to the formation of female flowers in the tassel. These mutations, ts4 and Ts6, prohibit the development of the stamen while simultaneously promoting pistil development.[76] This may cause inflorescences containing both male and female flowers, or hermaphrodite flowers.[77] Genomics and genetics Exotic varieties are collected to add genetic diversity when selectively breeding new domestic strains With white and yellow kernels Maize is an annual grass in the family Gramineae, which includes such plants as wheat, rye, barley, rice, sorghum, and sugarcane. There are two major species of the genus Zea (out of six total): Z. mays (maize) and Z. diploperennis, which is a perennial type of teosinte. The annual teosinte variety called Z. m. mexicana is the closest botanical relative to maize. It still grows in the wild as an annual in Mexico and Guatemala.[78] Many forms of maize are used for food, sometimes classified as various subspecies related to the amount of starch each has: Flour corn: Z. m. var. amylacea Popcorn: Z. m. var. everta Dent corn : Z. m. var. indentata Flint corn: Z. m. var. indurata Sweet corn: Z. m. var. saccharata and Z. m. var. rugosa Waxy corn: Z. m. var. ceratina Amylomaize: Z. mays[verification needed] Pod corn: Z. m. var. tunicata Larrañaga ex A. St. Hil. Striped maize: Z. m. var. japonica This system has been replaced (though not entirely displaced) over the last 60 years by multivariable classifications based on ever more data. Agronomic data were supplemented by botanical traits for a robust initial classification, then genetic, cytological, protein and DNA evidence was added. Now, the categories are forms (little used), races, racial complexes, and recently branches.[citation needed] Maize is a diploid with 20 chromosomes (n=10). The combined length of the chromosomes is 1500 cM. Some of the maize chromosomes have what are known as "chromosomal knobs": highly repetitive heterochromatic domains that stain darkly. Individual knobs are polymorphic among strains of both maize and teosinte.[citation needed] Hufford et al., 2012 finds that 83% of allelic variation within the genome derives from its teosinte ancestors, primarily due to the freedom of Zeas to outcross.[79] Barbara McClintock used these knob markers to validate her transposon theory of "jumping genes", for which she won the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Maize is still an important model organism for genetics and developmental biology today.[80] The centromeres have two types of structural components, both of which are found only in the centromeres: Large arrays of CentC, a short satellite DNA; and a few of a family of retrotransposons. The B chromosome, unlike the others, contains an additional repeat which extends into neighboring areas of the chromosome. Centromeres can accidentally shrink during division and still function, although it is thought this will fail if it shrinks below a few hundred kilobase. Kinetochores contain RNA originating from centromeres. Centromere regions can become inactive, and can continue in that state if the chromosome still has another active one.[81] The Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center, funded by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and located in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is a stock center of maize mutants. The total collection has nearly 80,000 samples. The bulk of the collection consists of several hundred named genes, plus additional gene combinations and other heritable variants. There are about 1000 chromosomal aberrations (e.g., translocations and inversions) and stocks with abnormal chromosome numbers (e.g., tetraploids). Genetic data describing the maize mutant stocks as well as myriad other data about maize genetics can be accessed at MaizeGDB, the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database.[82] In 2005, the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) formed a consortium to sequence the B73 maize genome. The resulting DNA sequence data was deposited immediately into GenBank, a public repository for genome-sequence data. Sequences and genome annotations have also been made available throughout the project's lifetime at the project's official site.[83] Primary sequencing of the maize genome was completed in 2008.[84] On November 20, 2009, the consortium published results of its sequencing effort in Science.[85] The genome, 85% of which is composed of transposons, was found to contain 32,540 genes (By comparison, the human genome contains about 2.9 billion bases and 26,000 genes). Much of the maize genome has been duplicated and reshuffled by helitrons—group of rolling circle transposons.[86] In Z. mays and various other angiosperms the MADS-box motif is involved in floral development. Early study in several angiosperm models including Z. mays was the beginning of research into the molecular evolution of floral structure in general, as well as their role in nonflowering plants.[87] Varieties differ in their resistance to insects, including borers.[88] CIMMYT maintains a large collection of maize/corn accessions tested and cataloged for insect resistance.[88] Evolution As with many plants and animals, Z. mays has a positive correlation between effective population size and the magnitude of selection pressure. Z. m. having an EPS of ~650,000, it clusters with others of about the same EPS, and has 79% of its amino acid sites under selection.[89] Recombination is a significant source of diversity in Z. mays. (Note that this finding supersedes previous studies which showed no such correlation.)[89] This recombination/diversity effect is seen throughout plants but is also found to not occur – or not as strongly – in regions of high gene density. This is likely the reason that domesticated Z. mays has not seen as much of an increase in diversity within areas of higher density as in regions of lower density, although there is more evidence in other plants.[89] Some lines of maize have undergone ancient polyploidy events, starting 11 million years ago. Over that time ~72% of polyploid duplicated genes have been retained, which is higher than other plants with older polyploidy events. Thus maize may be due to lose more duplicate genes as time goes along, similar to the course followed by the genomes of other plants. If so - if gene loss has merely not occurred yet - that could explain the lack of observed positive selection and lower negative selection which are observed in otherwise similar plants, i.e. also naturally outcrossing and with similar effective population sizes.[89] Ploidy does not appear to influence EPS or magnitude of selection effect in maize.[89] Breeding Maize reproduces sexually each year. This randomly selects half the genes from a given plant to propagate to the next generation, meaning that desirable traits found in the crop (like high yield or good nutrition) can be lost in subsequent generations unless certain techniques are used.[citation needed] Maize breeding in prehistory resulted in large plants producing large ears. Modern breeding began with individuals who selected highly productive varieties in their fields and then sold seed to other farmers. James L. Reid was one of the earliest and most successful developing Reid's Yellow Dent in the 1860s. These early efforts were based on mass selection. Later breeding efforts included ear to row selection (C. G. Hopkins c. 1896), hybrids made from selected inbred lines (G. H. Shull, 1909), and the highly successful double cross hybrids using four inbred lines (D. F. Jones c. 1918, 1922). University supported breeding programs were especially important in developing and introducing modern hybrids.[90] By the 1930s, companies such as Pioneer devoted to production of hybrid maize had begun to influence long-term development. Internationally important seed banks such as the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the US bank at the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign maintain germplasm important for future crop development.[citation needed] Since the 1940s the best strains of maize have been first-generation hybrids made from inbred strains that have been optimized for specific traits, such as yield, nutrition, drought, pest and disease tolerance. Both conventional cross-breeding and genetic engineering have succeeded in increasing output and reducing the need for cropland, pesticides, water and fertilizer.[91] There is conflicting evidence to support the hypothesis that maize yield potential has increased over the past few decades. This suggests that changes in yield potential are associated with leaf angle, lodging resistance, tolerance of high plant density, disease/pest tolerance, and other agronomic traits rather than increase of yield potential per individual plant.[92] Certain varieties of maize have been bred to produce many ears which are the source of the "baby corn" used as a vegetable in Asian cuisine.[93] CIMMYT operates a conventional breeding program to provide optimized strains. The program began in the 1980s. Hybrid seeds are distributed in Africa by the Drought Tolerant Maize for Africa project.[91] According to former Goldman Sachs executive, Nomi Prins… Americans who are hoping for a ‘return to normal’ are going to be shocked when they see what happens next in America. She says, “If you’re betting your job, savings, or retirement accounts on a return to ‘normal’ you’re about to be left behind by a brand-new crisis few see coming.”  [Go here now to see America’s next crisis](  [RelaxAndTrade]( From time to time, we send special emails or offers to readers who chose to opt-in. We hope you find them useful. 135 Auburn Ave NE Suite 201, Atlanta, GA 30303, United States To be sure our emails continue reaching your email box, please add our email address to your [whitelist](. [Privacy Policy]( | [Terms & Conditions]( | [Unsubscribe]( Copyright © 2023 Relax And Trade | All Rights Reserved