MAIZE

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 21H and for growth 32H. 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.

Maize is one of the world's leading crops cultivated over an area