|
General
- Maize known as corn in some
countries, is a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica and
subsequently spread throughout the American continents.
- Hybrid maize, due to its high
grain yield as a result of heterosis , is preferred by farmers over
conventional varieties.
- The term maize derives from the
Spanish form of the indigenous Taino term for the plant, and is the form
most commonly heard in the United Kingdom
- Maize has a very distinct growth
form; the lower leaves being like broad flags, 50–100 centimetres
long and 5–10 centimetres wide (2–4 ft by 2–4 in); the
stems are erect, conventionally 2–3 metres (7–10 ft) in
height, with many nodes, casting off flag-leaves at every
node.
Cultivation
- Maize is widely cultivated
throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each
year than any other grain.
- The cultivation of Maize in
Germany is undertaken primarily to produce feed for cows, pigs and
poultry (maize for silage including green-maize, grain maize, corn cob
mix, maize coarse meal with husks).
- The dominant areas of cultivation
are on the intensive livestock farms of Lower Saxony and North
Rhine-Westphalia – mainly on farms with livestock which have a
supply of manure.
Uses
- The primary use for maize is as a
feed for livestock, forage, silage or grain.
- The grain also has many industrial
uses, including transformation into plastics and fabrics. Some is
hydrolyzed and enzymatically treated to produce syrups, particularly
high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener, and some is fermented and
distilled to produce grain alcohol.
- The floury meal of maize (cornmeal
or masa) is used to make cornbread and Mexican tortillas. Teosinte is
used as fodder, and can also be popped as popcorn.
- Certain varieties of maize have
been bred to produce many additional developed ears, and these are the
source of the "baby corn" that is used as a vegetable in Asian
cuisine.
Market
- Large scale farming of
gene-modified (GM) maize in countries like the US, Brazil, Argentina
etc. has contributed significantly to overproduction and hence
oversupply in world maize market.
- The U.S. is the leader in world
maize market.
- US maize exports to the EU dropped
about $200 million per year, on average, primarily because of declining
exports to Spain and Portugal resulting from a moratorium on EU approval
of new maize varieties already being grown in the US. Export of Maize,
sorghum and millet is freely allowed subject to registration cum
allocation certificate issued by Agricultural and Processed Foods Export
Development Authority
Entrepreneur who wants the informations
on "Processing, Technology, Applications, Equipment Suppliers, Market,
Reports, Company Profiles" can E-Mail us to
informer@eth.net,
primaryinfo@gmail.com
|
