Maize botany and uses

  

      Maize is a cereal crop which could be used for almost anything.Maize is called Zea mays botanically and it could be planted trice in a year in Nigeria which are March-April, Late July-Early August , April-May.Maize has separate staminate and pistillate inflorescence,it is made up of grain,cob,ear,husk and silk.

     Maize could be inter-cropped with any other crop,maize has different varieties ranging from 1950's to 1990's.1950's are EAfro 254,Lagos white, Nig. select 1,Western yellow;1990's varieties are TZB,TZPB,TZR,TZRESR,SUAN.DMRESR [yellow],DMRLSR[yellow],local varieties.Maize soil type is loamy-sandy soil which must be well aerated,drained and fertile.

Maize types varies in uses e.g sweet corn is for consumption and feed corn for industrial usage.Maize harvesting time is physical maturity[leaves turns yellowish to brown[dry maize]],for wet maize[greenish cob with brown silk]. Maize usage is from stalk to maize grain to cob.The stalk is used with wet grounded water of maize[omikan]for Gonorrhea cure,cob could be grounded soak in wood ashes to replace rice bran in animal feed,maize rain could be boiled,roasted,fried[dried grain],processed into custard,banku,dokunnu and maize flour.It could be stored in bag [dried],hang on a roof to dry,silo.