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{{This|the maize plant|Maize (disambiguation)}}
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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Maize
| image = Zea mays.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = Cultivars of maize
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Poales]]
| familia = [[Poaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Teosinte|Zea]]''
| species = '''''Z. mays'''''
| binomial = ''Zea mays''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}

'''Maize''' [[International Phonetic Alphabet|pronounced]] {{IPA|[maˈɪs]}}) (''Zea mays'' [[Carolus Linnaeus|L]]. ssp. ''mays''; principally known as '''corn'''<ref>http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Zea+mays </ref><ref>http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=ZEMA </ref><ref>http://www.museums.org.za/bio/plants/poaceae/zea_mays.htm </ref>) is a [[cereal|cereal grain]] that was domesticated in [[Mesoamerica]] and then spread throughout the American continents. Maize spread to the rest of the world after [[European colonization of the Americas|European contact with the Americas]] in the late 15th century and early 16th century. The term maize derives from the Spanish form (''maíz'') of the [[Arawak]] Native American term for the plant. However, it is commonly called '''corn''' in the [[United States]], [[Canada]] and [[Australia]].  Corn is a shortened form of "Indian corn", i.e. the Indian grain. The English word "corn" originally referred to a granular particle, most commonly cereal grains.  [[Hybrid]] maize is preferred by farmers over conventional varieties for its high grain yield, due to [[heterosis]] ("hybrid vigour"). Maize is the largest crop in all of the Americas (270 million metric tons annually in the U.S. alone).

While some maize varieties grow 7 metres (23 ft) tall at certain locations,<ref>Sources: E.Lewis Sturtevant 1894 Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club Vol.21, Lancaster, PA August 20, No.8  Notes On Maize, page 1.</ref> commercial maize has been bred for a height of 2.5&nbsp;metres (8&nbsp;ft). [[Sweetcorn]] is usually shorter than field-corn varieties.

== Maize physiology ==

The stems superficially resemble [[bamboo]] canes and the joints ([[Node (botany)|nodes]]) can reach 20&ndash;30&nbsp;[[centimetre]]s (8&ndash;12&nbsp;[[inch|in]]) apart.  Maize has a very distinct growth form; the lower leaves being like broad flags, 50&ndash;100&nbsp;centimetres long and 5&ndash;10&nbsp;centimetres wide (2&ndash;4&nbsp;ft by 2&ndash;4&nbsp;in); the stems are erect, conventionally 2&ndash;3&nbsp;metres (7&ndash;10&nbsp;ft) in height, with many nodes, casting off flag-leaves at every node. Under these leaves and close to the stem grow the ears. They grow about 3&nbsp;centimetres a day. 

[[Image:Maize ear.jpg|right|thumb|Corn plants showing ears]] 
[[Image:Corn Zea mays Plant Row 2000px.jpg|right|thumb|Young stalks]]

The ears are female [[inflorescence]]s, tightly covered over by several layers of leaves, and so closed-in by them to the stem that they do not show themselves easily until the emergence of the pale yellow silks from the leaf whorl at the end of the ear. The silks are elongated [[Carpel|stigmas]] that look like tufts of hair, at first green, and later red or yellow. Plantings for [[silage]] are even denser, and achieve an even lower percentage of ears and more plant matter. 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]].

Maize is a facultative long-night plant and flowers in a certain number of [[growing degree day]]s > 50&nbsp;°F (10&nbsp;°C) in the environment to which it is adapted.<ref>Sources: Coligado 1975, Salamini 1985, Poethig 1994, Paliwal 2000. </ref>  Photoperiodicity can be eccentric in tropical cultivars, where in the long days at higher latitudes the plants will grow so tall that they will not have enough time to produce seed before they are killed by frost.  The magnitude of the influence that long-nights have on the number of days that must pass before maize [[flower]]s is genetically prescribed and regulated by the [[phytochrome]] system.<ref>P.V.Nelson 1985.</ref>

The apex of the stem ends in the tassel, an [[inflorescence]] of male flowers. Each silk may become pollinated to produce one kernel of 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 them tender first in boiling water. Modern farming techniques in developed countries usually rely on dense planting, which produces on average only about 0.9 ears per stalk because it stresses the plants. <ref> http://www.farmersalmanactv.com/blogs/barnblog/2005/10/03/how-many-ears-of-corn-on-a-stalk/ reposting material originally from http://maize.agron.iastate.edu/ears.html</ref> 

The kernel of corn has a [[pericarp]] of the fruit fused with the seed coat, typical of the [[Poaceae|grasses]]. It 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 [[pea]]s, and adhere in regular rows round a white pithy substance, which forms the ear. An ear contains from 200 to 400 kernels, and is from 10&ndash;25&nbsp;centimetres (4&ndash;10 inches) in length. They are of various colors: blackish, bluish-gray, red, white and yellow. When ground into [[flour]], maize yields more flour, with much less [[bran]], than wheat does. However, it lacks the protein [[gluten]] of wheat and therefore makes baked goods with poor rising capability.

A [[gene]]tic variation that accumulates more sugar and less [[starch]] in the ear is consumed as a [[vegetable]] and is called sweetcorn.

Immature maize shoots accumulate a powerful antibiotic substance, [[DIMBOA]] (2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one). 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 be attacked by [[aphid]]s 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.

==Genetics==
[[Image:Corntassel 7095.jpg|145px|right|thumb|Corn male flower, a.k.a. corn tassel]]
[[Image:Cornsilk 7091.jpg|160px|right|thumb|Corn female flower, a.k.a. corn silk]]

Many forms of maize are used for food, sometimes classified as various subspecies: 
* Flour corn — ''Zea mays var. amylacea''
* [[Popcorn]] — ''Zea mays var. everta'' 
* Dent corn — ''Zea mays var. indentata'' 
* Flint corn — ''Zea mays var. indurata''
* [[Sweetcorn]] — ''Zea mays var. saccharata'' and ''Zea mays var. rugosa''
* [[Waxy corn]] — '' Zea mays var. ceratina''
* [[Amylomaize]] — '' Zea mays''
* Pod corn — ''Zea mays var. tunicata'' Larrañaga ex A. St. Hil.
* Striped maize - ''Zea mays var. japonica''
This system has been replaced (though not entirely displaced) over the last 60 years by multi-variable classifications based on ever more data. [[Agronomics|Agronomic]] data was supplemented by botanical traits for a robust initial classification, then genetic, [[cytology|cytological]], protein and DNA evidence was added.  Now the categories are forms (little used), races, racial complexes, and recently branches.

Maize has 10 chromosomes (n=10). The combined length of the chromosomes is 1500 [[Centimorgan|cM]]. Some of the maize chromosomes have what are known as "chromosomal knobs": highly repetitive [[heterochromatic]] domains that stain darkly. Individual knobs are [[Polymorphism (biology)|polymorphic]] among strains of both maize and [[teosinte]]. [[Barbara McClintock]] used these knob markers to prove 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. 

There is a stock center of maize mutants, ''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]].  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., [[tetraploid]]s).  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.<ref>http://www.maizegdb.org/ </ref>

In 2005, the U.S. [[National Science Foundation]] (NSF), Department of Agriculture ([[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]]) and the [[United States Department of Energy|Department of Energy]] (DOE) formed a consortium to sequence the maize [[genome]]. The resulting DNA sequence data will be deposited immediately into [[GenBank]], a public repository for genome-sequence data. Sequencing the corn genome has been considered difficult because of its large size and complex genetic arrangements. The genome has 50,000–60,000 genes scattered among the 2.5 billion bases – molecules that form DNA – that make up its 10 chromosomes. (By comparison, the human genome contains about 2.9 billion bases and 26,000 genes.)

== Origin ==
[[Image:Corn parents1.jpg|right|thumb|Two teosintes said to be the parents of maize]]
There are several theories about the specific origin of maize in Mesoamerica: 
# It is a direct domestication of a Mexican annual [[teosinte]], ''Zea mays'' ssp. ''parviglumis'', native to the [[Balsas River valley]] of southern [[Mexico]], with up to 12% of its genetic material obtained from ''Zea mays'' ssp. ''mexicana'' through [[introgression]]; 
# It derives from hybridization between a small domesticated maize (a slightly changed form of a wild maize) and a teosinte of section ''Luxuriantes'', either ''Z. luxurians'' or ''Z. diploperennis''; 
# It underwent two or more domestications either of a wild maize or of a teosinte; 
# It evolved from a hybridization of ''Z. diploperennis'' by ''Tripsacum dactyloides''. (The term "teosinte" describes all [[species]] and subspecies in the genus ''Zea'', excluding ''Zea mays'' ssp. ''mays''.) In the late 1930s, Paul Mangelsdorf suggested that domesticated maize was the result of a hybridization event between an unknown wild maize and a species of ''Tripsacum'', a related genus.  However, the proposed role of tripsacum (gama grass) in the origins of maize has been refuted by modern genetic analysis, negating Mangelsdorf’s model and the fourth listed above.  

The third model (actually a group of hypotheses) is unsupported.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} The second parsimoniously explains many conundrums but is dauntingly complex.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} The first model was proposed by [[Nobel Prize]] winner [[George Beadle]] in 1939. Though it has experimental support, it has not explained a number of problems, among them:
# how the immense diversity of the species of sect. ''Zea'' originated, 
# how the tiny archaeological specimens of 3500–2700 BCE (uncorrected) could have been selected from a teosinte, and
# how domestication could have proceeded without leaving remains of teosinte or maize with teosintoid traits until ca. 1100 BCE.
[[Image:Guila Naquitz cave.jpg|right|thumb|Guila Naquitz Cave, site of the oldest known remains of maize]]

The domestication of maize is of particular interest to researchers—[[archaeologist]]s, [[genetics|geneticists]], [[ethnobotany|ethnobotanists]], geographers, etc.  The process is thought by some to have started 7,500 to 12,000 years ago (corrected for solar variations). Recent genetic evidence suggests that maize domestication occurred 9000 years ago in central Mexico, perhaps in the highlands between [[Oaxaca]] and [[Jalisco]].<ref>http://www.maizegenetics.net/publications/Matsuoka2002PNAS.pdf </ref> The wild teosinte most similar to modern maize grows in the area of the [[Balsas River]]. Archaeological remains of early maize ears, found at [[Guila Naquitz Cave]] in the [[Oaxaca Valley]], date back roughly 6,250 years (corrected; 3450 BCE, uncorrected); the oldest ears from caves near [[Tehuacan]], Puebla, date ca. 2750 BCE. Little change occurred in ear form until ca. 1100 BCE when great changes appeared in ears from Mexican caves: maize diversity rapidly increased and archaeological teosinte was first deposited.

Perhaps as early as 1500 BCE, maize began to spread widely and rapidly. As it was introduced to new cultures, new uses were developed and new varieties selected to better serve in those preparations. Maize was the staple food, or a major staple, of most the [[pre-Columbian]] [[North America]]n, [[Mesoamerican]], [[South American]], and [[Caribbean]] cultures. The Mesoamerican civilization was strengthened upon the field crop of maize; through harvesting it, its religious and spiritual importance and how it impacted their diet. Maize formed the Mesoamerican people’s identity.   During the [[1st millennium]] CE (AD), maize cultivation spread from [[Mexico]] into the [[U.S. Southwest|Southwest]] and a millennium later into [[northeastern U.S.|Northeast]] and southeastern [[Canada]], transforming the landscape as Native Americans cleared large forest and grassland areas for the new crop.

[[Image:2005maize.PNG|thumb|right|Maize output in 2005]]
It is unknown what precipitated its domestication, because the edible portion of the wild variety is too small and hard to obtain to be eaten directly, as each kernel is enclosed in a very hard bi-valve shell. However, George Beadle demonstrated that the kernels of teosinte are readily "popped" for human consumption, like modern popcorn.   Some have argued that it would have taken too many generations of [[selective breeding]] in order to produce large compressed ears for efficient cultivation.  However, studies of the hybrids readily made by intercrossing teosinte and modern maize suggest that this objection is not well-founded.

In 2005, research by the [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]] [[United States Forest Service|Forest Service]] indicated that the rise in maize cultivation 500 to 1,000 years ago in the southeastern United States contributed to the decline of freshwater [[mussel]]s, which are very sensitive to environmental changes.<ref>http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/ja/ja_peacock001.pdf </ref>

== Cultivation ==
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Maize is widely cultivated throughout the world, and a greater weight of maize is produced each year than any other grain. While the United States produces almost half of the world's harvest, other top producing countries are as widespread as [[China]], [[Brazil]], [[France]], [[Indonesia]], [[India]] and [[South Africa]]. Worldwide production was over 600 million [[metric ton]]s in 2003 — just slightly more than [[rice]] or [[wheat]].  In 2004, close to 33 million [[hectare]]s of maize were planted worldwide, with a production value of more than $23 billion.

Because it is cold-intolerant, in the temperate zones maize must be planted in the spring. Its root system is generally shallow, so the plant is dependent on soil moisture. As a [[C4 plant]] (a plant that uses C4 photosynthesis), maize is a considerably more water-efficient crop than [[C3 plant]]s like the small grains, [[alfalfa]] and [[soybeans]]. Maize is most sensitive to drought at the time of silk emergence, when the flowers are ready for pollination. In the [[United States]], a good harvest was traditionally predicted if the corn was "knee-high by the [[Independence Day (United States)|Fourth of July]]", although modern [[hybrid]]s generally exceed this growth rate. Maize used for [[silage]] is harvested while the plant is green and the fruit immature. Sweet corn is harvested in the "milk stage", after pollination but before starch has formed, between late summer and early to mid-autumn. Field corn is left in the field very late in the autumn in order to thoroughly dry the grain, and may, in fact, sometimes not be harvested until winter or even early spring. The importance of sufficient soil moisture is shown in many parts of [[Africa]], where periodic [[drought]] regularly causes [[famine]] by causing maize crop failure.
[[Image:Field, corn, Liechtenstein, Mountains, Alps, Vaduz, sky, clouds, landscape.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Field of maize in [[Liechtenstein]]]]

Maize was planted by the [[Native American (Americas)|Native American]]s in hills, in a complex system known to some as the [[Three Sisters (agriculture)|Three Sisters]]: [[bean]]s used the corn plant for support, and [[Squash (fruit)|squash]]es provided ground cover to stop weeds. This method was replaced by single species hill planting where each hill 60–120 cm (2–4 ft) apart was planted with 3 or 4 seeds, a method still used by home gardeners. A later technique was ''checked corn'' where hills were placed 40 inches apart in each direction, allowing cultivators to run through the field in two directions. In more arid lands this was altered and seeds were planted in the bottom of 10–12 cm (4–5 in) deep furrows to collect water. Modern technique plants maize in rows which allows for cultivation while the plant is young, although the hill technique is still used in the cornfields of some Native American reservations. 

[[Image:Cornheap.jpg|200px|thumb|right| A corn heap at the harvest site, [[India]]]]

In North America, fields are often planted in a two-[[crop rotation]] with a [[Nitrogen fixation|nitrogen-fixing]] crop, often [[alfalfa]] in  cooler climates and [[soybean]]s in regions with longer summers. Sometimes a third crop, [[winter wheat]], is added to the rotation. Fields are usually plowed each year, although [[no-till farming]] is increasing in use.  Many of the maize varieties grown in the United States and Canada are hybrids.  Over half of the corn area planted in the United States has been [[genetically modified]] using [[biotechnology]] to express agronomic traits such as pest resistance or herbicide resistance.

Before about [[World War II]], most maize in North America was harvested by hand (as it still is in most of the other countries where it is grown). 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 harvester|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 out the husk and the cob, keeping only the kernels.

[[Image:Corn_kernels.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Corn kernels]]

==Pellagra==
[[Image:Corncobs.jpg|thumb|200px|Multicolored varieties of maize]]
{{main|Pellagra}}
When maize was first introduced outside of the Americas it was generally welcomed with enthusiasm by farmers everywhere for its productivity.  However, a widespread problem of malnutrition soon arose wherever maize was introduced. This was a mystery since these types of malnutrition were not seen among the indigenous Americans under normal circumstances.<ref name=pellagra_mystery>{{cite web | url = http://www.eufic.org/web/article.asp?cust=1&lng=en&sid=4&did=16&artid=103 | title = The origins of maize: the puzzle of pellagra | accessmonthday = September 14 | accessyear = 2006 | work = EUFIC > Nutrition > Understanding Food | month = December | year = 2001 | publisher = The European Food Information Council }}</ref>

It was eventually discovered that the indigenous Americans learned long ago to add [[alkali]] — in the form of ashes among North Americans and lime ([[calcium carbonate]]) among [[Mesoamericans]] — to corn meal to liberate the B-vitamin [[niacin]], the lack of which was the underlying cause of the condition known as [[pellagra]].  This alkali process is known by its Nahuatl (Aztec)-derived name: [[nixtamalization]].

Besides the lack of niacin, pellagra was also characterized by [[protein]] deficiency, a result of the inherent lack of two key [[amino acid]]s in pre-modern maize, [[lysine]] and [[tryptophan]].  Nixtamalisation was also found to increase the lysine and tryptophan content of maize to some extent, but more importantly, the indigenous Americans had learned long ago to balance their consumption of maize with [[beans]] and other protein sources such as [[amaranth]] and [[chia]], as well as meat and fish, in order to acquire the complete range of amino acids for normal protein synthesis.

Since maize had been introduced into the diet of non-indigenous Americans without the necessary cultural knowledge acquired over thousands of years in the Americas, the reliance on maize elsewhere was often tragic.  In the late 19th century pellagra reached endemic proportions in parts of the deep southern U.S., as medical researchers debated two theories for its origin: the deficiency theory (eventually shown to be true) posited that pellagra was due to a deficiency of some nutrient, and the germ theory posited that pellagra was caused by a germ transmitted by stable flies. In 1914 the U.S. government officially endorsed the germ theory of pellagra, but rescinded this endorsement several years later as evidence grew against it. By the  mid-1920s the deficiency theory of pellagra was becoming scientific consensus, and the theory was proved in 1932 when niacin deficiency was determined to be the cause of the illness.

Once alkali processing and dietary variety was understood and applied, pellagra disappeared.  The development of high lysine maize and the promotion of a more balanced diet has also contributed to its demise.

== Pests of maize ==<!-- This section is linked from [[Transgenic maize]] -->

===Insect pests===
[[Image:GEM corn.jpg|thumb|right|Exotic varieties of maize are collected to add [[genetic diversity]] when selectively breeding new domestic strains.]]
* [[Corn earworm]] (''Helicoverpa zea'')
* [[Fall armyworm]] (''Spodoptera frugiperda'')
* [[Common armyworm]] (''Pseudaletia unipuncta'')
* [[Stalk borer]] (''Papaipema nebris'')
* [[Corn leaf aphid]] (''Rhopalosiphum maidis'')
* [[European corn borer]] (''Ostrinia nubilalis'') (ECB)
* [[Corn silkfly]] (''Euxesta stigmatis'')
* [[Lesser cornstalk borer]] (''Elasmopalpus lignosellus'')
* [[Corn delphacid]] (''Peregrinus maidis'')
* [[Western corn rootworm]] (''Diabrotica virgifera virgifera'' LeConte)

The susceptibility of maize to the European corn borer, and the resulting large crop losses, led to the development of [[transgenic plants|transgenic]] expressing the ''[[Bacillus thuringiensis]]'' toxin. "Bt corn" is widely grown in the [[United States]] and has been approved for release in [[Europe]].

===Diseases===

{{Main|List of maize diseases}}

* [[Corn smut]] or common smut (''Ustilago maydis''): a fungal disease, known in [[Mexico]] as ''huitlacoche'', which is prized by some as a gourmet delicacy in itself.
* [[Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus]]
* [[Stewart's Wilt]] (''Pantoea stewartii'')
* [[Common Rust]] (''Puccinia sorghi'')
* [[Goss's Wilt]] (''Clavibacter michiganese'')
* [[Grey Leaf Spot]]
* [[Mal de Río Cuarto Virus]] (MRCV)
* [[Stalk and Kernal Rot]]

== Uses for maize ==
[[Image:CornShocksForestvilleMinnesota2006.JPG|thumb|Corn shocks, or bundles, are a traditional harvest practice.]]
In the United States and Canada, the primary use for maize is as a feed for [[livestock]],  forage, silage or grain. "Feed corn" is also being increasingly used for heating; specialized corn stoves (similar to wood stoves) are available and use either feed corn or wood pellets to generate heat. [[Silage]] is made by fermentation of chopped green cornstalks. 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]].  Grain alcohol from maize is traditionally the source of [[bourbon whiskey]]. Increasingly ethanol is being used at low concentrations (10% or less) as an additive in [[gasoline]] ([[gasohol]]) for motor fuels to increase the [[octane rating]], lower pollutants, and reduce petroleum use.
[[Image:Corn on charcol.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Roasted corn on Charcoal, a common sight in [[Bangalore]], [[India]]]]
Human consumption of corn and [[cornmeal]] constitutes a [[staple food]] in many regions of the world. Corn meal is made into a thick porridge in many cultures: from the [[polenta]] of [[Italy]], the angu of [[Brazil]], the [[mămăligă]] of [[Romania]], to [[Mush (cornmeal)|mush]] in the U.S. or the food called [[sadza]], [[nshima]], [[ugali]] and [[mealie pap]] in Africa. It is the main ingredient for [[tortilla]]s, [[atole]] and many other dishes of [[Mexican food]], and for [[chicha]], a fermented beverage of [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]].  The eating of corn on the cob varies culturally.  It is common in the United States but virtually unheard of in some European countries.

{{nutritionalvalue | name=Sweetcorn (seeds only) | kJ=360 | protein=3.2 g | fat = 1.2 g | carbs=19 g | fiber=2.7 g | sugars=3.2 g | potassium_mg=270 | magnesium_mg=37 | iron_mg=0.5 | vitC_mg=7 | vitA_ug=10 | folate_ug=46 | niacin_mg=1.7 | thiamin_mg=0.2 | source_usda=1 | right=1 }}

[[Sweetcorn]] is a genetic variation that is high in sugars and low in starch that is served like a [[vegetable]]. [[Popcorn]] is kernels of certain varieties that explode when heated, forming fluffy pieces that are eaten as a snack.

Maize can also be prepared as [[hominy]], in which the kernels are bleached with [[lye]]; or [[grits]], which are coarsely ground corn. These are commonly eaten in the [[Southeastern United States]], foods handed down from [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]. Another common food made from maize is [[corn flakes]]. 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. 

Some forms of the plant are occasionally grown for ornamental use in the garden. For this purpose, variegated and coloured leaf forms as well as those with colourful ears are used.  Additionally, size-superlative varieties, having reached 31 ft (9.4m) tall, or with ears 24 inches (60cm) long, have been popular for at least a century.<ref>http://www.angelfire.com/un/giantcrops/maize.html </ref><ref>Sources: Eve. J. Wash. IA 1946, Kempton 1924. </ref> 

Corncobs can be hollowed out and treated to make inexpensive [[smoking pipe]]s, first manufactured in the United States in 1869. Corncobs are also used as a [[biomass]] fuel source. Maize is relatively cheap and home-heating furnaces have been developed which use maize kernels as a fuel. They feature a large hopper which feeds the uniformly sized corn kernels (or wood pellets or [[cherry]] pits) into the fire. 

An unusual use for maize is to create a ''Maize Maze'' as a tourist attraction. This is a [[maze]] cut into a field of maize. The idea of a Maize Maze was introduced by [[Adrian Fisher]], one of the most prolific designer of modern mazes, with The American Maze Company who created a maze in [[Pennsylvania]] in 1993. Traditional mazes are most commonly grown using [[yew]] [[hedge (gardening)|hedges]], but these take several years to mature. The rapid growth of a field of maize allows a maze to be laid out using [[Global Positioning System|GPS]] at the start of a growing season and for the maize to grow tall enough to obstruct a visitor's line of sight by the start of the summer. In Canada and the U.S., these are called "corn mazes" and are popular in many farming communities.  

[[Image:CornKernelBox.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Children playing in a corn kernel box]]
Maize is increasingly used as a [[biomass]] fuel, such as [[Ethanol fuel|ethanol]], which as researchers search for innovative ways to reduce fuel costs  has unintentionally caused a rapid rise in food costs.  This has led to the 2007 harvest being one of the most profitable corn crops in modern history for farmers. A [[biomass gasification]] power plant in Strem near [[Güssing]], [[Burgenland]], [[Austria]] was begun in 2005. Research is being done to make [[diesel]] out of the biogas by the [[Fischer Tropsch]] method.

Maize is also used as [[Bait (luring substance)|fish bait]] called "dough balls". It is particularly popular in [[Europe]] for [[coarse fishing]].

Stigmas from female corn flowers, known popularly as corn silk, are sold as herbal supplements.

Corn kernels can be used in place of sand in a [[sandbox]]-like enclosure for children's play.<ref name=corn_box>{{cite web | url = http://www.mazefunpark.com/attractions/details.php?attraction_id=5 | title = Maize Quest Fun Park: Corn Box | accessmonthday = October 08 | accessyear = 2007}}</ref>

==Maize and art==
[[Image:Mochica Corn.jpg|thumb|right|px150|Gold Maize. Moche Culture 300A.D. [[Larco Museum|Larco Museum Lima, Peru]]]]
Maize has been an essential crop in the [[Andes]] since the [[pre-Columbian]] Era. The [[Moche]] culture from Northern [[Peru]] made ceramics from earth, water, and fire. This pottery was a sacred substance, formed in significant shapes and used to represent important themes. Maize represented anthropomorphically as well as naturally.<ref>Berrin, Katherine & [[Larco Museum]]. The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York:Thames and Hudson, 1997. </ref>

==See also==

* [[Baby corn]]
* [[Protein per unit area]]
* [[Detasseling]]
* [[List of corn varieties]]
* [[Moonshine]]
* [[Zein]]
{{Wikispecies|Zea mays}}
{{Cereals}}

==References==
* Ferro, D.N. and Weber, D.C. [http://www.eap.mcgill.ca/CPMP_1.htm Managing Sweet Corn Pests in Massachusetts]
* [http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=42268 ITIS 42268] as of [[22 September]] [[2002]]
* [http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Zea.html A list of Zea taxonomic names] This list is of historical interest to taxonomists. It is largely of no practical use because many or most are based on single-gene mutations and if completed would be thousands of entries long. Modern classifications are available that are of great utility.

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{commons|Zea mays|Maize}}
* [http://www.ontariocorn.org/classroom/products.html A Zillion Uses for Corn]
* [http://www.ncga.com/WorldOfCorn/main/index.htm NCGA Corn Industry Statistics]
* [http://caliban.mpiz-koeln.mpg.de/~stueber/thome/band1/tafel_088.html Image of Zea mays from Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz]
* [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Zea+mays&CAN=WIKPEDIA Zea mays at Plants For A Future]
* [http://www.iowacorn.org/cornuse/cornuse_3.html Usage of Iowa and U.S. Corn Crop]
* [http://maize.agron.iastate.edu/corngrows.html How a Corn Plant Develops]
* [http://www.maizegdb.org/ Maize Genetics and Genomics Database project]
* [http://www.maizesequence.org The Maize Genome Sequence Browser]
* [http://www.cimmyt.org/ International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center]
* [http://www.milpa.nl Maize of Guatemala]
*[http://www.iita.org/cms/details/maize_project_details.aspx?zoneid=63&articleid=273 Maize research at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)]
* [http://www.angelfire.com/un/giantcrops/jala.html Jala maize (record ear-length race)]
*[http://www.gmo-safety.eu/en/maize/corn_borer/143.docu.html European corn borer] An ingenious pest
*[http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=573703 Processing corn from seed to harvest to table]
*[http://www.gardenpics.com/photos/data/500/jala20ft_9_28_06.JPG {{convert|20|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}. tall Jala maize]
*{{dmoz|Science/Agriculture/Field_Crops/Cereals/Corn/|Corn}}
*[http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/corn The Great Corn Adventure - University of Illinois Extension]
*[http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:sQslLwgXymUJ:counties.cce.cornell.edu/monroe/nutrition/Farmers%2520Market%2520Recipes/Corn_final.pdf+corn+nutrition+facts&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us Corn Facts]

<hr align=center noshade size=2 width=50% />
<center>[[Food]] &nbsp;|&nbsp; [[List of fruits]] &nbsp;|&nbsp; [[List of vegetables]]</center>

{{Model Organisms}}

[[Category:Agriculture in Mesoamerica]]
[[Category:Biofuels]]
[[Category:Cereals]]
[[Category:Crops originating from the Americas]]
[[Category:Energy crops]]
[[Category:Grasses]]
[[Category:Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Staple foods]]
[[Category:Tropical agriculture]]
[[Category:Maize| ]]

{{Link FA|ast}}
{{Link FA|cs}}
{{Link FA|pt}}
{{Link FA|sk}}

[[ar:ذرة (نبات)]]
[[an:Panizo]]
[[ast:Zea mais]]
[[bm:Kaba]]
[[zh-min-nan:Hoan-be̍h]]
[[bg:Царевица]]
[[ca:Dacsa]]
[[cs:Kukuřice]]
[[da:Majs]]
[[de:Mais]]
[[et:Mais]]
[[el:Καλαμπόκι]]
[[es:Zea mays]]
[[eo:Maizo]]
[[eu:Arto]]
[[fa:ذرت]]
[[fr:Maïs]]
[[gl:Millo]]
[[ko:옥수수]]
[[hr:Kukuruz]]
[[io:Maizo]]
[[id:Jagung]]
[[ia:Mais]]
[[os:Нартхор]]
[[it:Zea mays]]
[[he:תירס]]
[[jv:Jagung]]
[[ht:Mayi]]
[[ku:Lazût]]
[[la:Zea Mays]]
[[lt:Paprastasis kukurūzas]]
[[ln:Lisángú]]
[[jbo:zumri]]
[[ms:Pokok Jagung]]
[[nah:Cintli]]
[[nl:Maïs]]
[[ja:トウモロコシ]]
[[no:Mais]]
[[oc:Milhòc]]
[[pl:Kukurydza zwyczajna]]
[[pt:Milho]]
[[ro:Porumb]]
[[qu:Sara]]
[[ru:Кукуруза]]
[[simple:Maize]]
[[sk:Kukurica siata]]
[[sr:Кукуруз]]
[[fi:Maissi]]
[[sv:Majs]]
[[ta:சோளம்]]
[[th:ข้าวโพด]]
[[chr:ᏎᎷ]]
[[tr:Mısır (bitki)]]
[[uk:Кукурудза]]
[[vec:Formenton]]
[[zh:玉米]]
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