2. INTRODUCTION TO MAJOR FIELD
CROPS (HPA101)
TOPIC:- MAIZE
PRESENTED TO:-
DR. gargi goswami
dr. Deepa joshi
COLLEGE OF HORTICULTURE
V.C.S.G UTTARAKHAND UNIVERSITY OF HORTICULTURE & FORESTRY
BHARSAR, PAURI GARHWAL, UTTARAKHAND – 246 123
Presented by:-
Sanjay singH bisht
Id-16025
3. Introduction
Common name : Maize / Corn/baby corn
Botanical name : Zea mays L.
Family : Poaceae / Graminae
Origin : Mexico
Chromosome no : 2n=20
Maize is third important cereal crop next to rice and wheat.
Maize is called ‘queen of cereals’
Ancestor of maize is Teosinte.
4. Nutritional value
Maize grain contains about 70% carbohydrate.
1.97% sugar,10% protein and 4.8% fat,4%oil
2.3%crude fibre.
Maize is poor in Ca but rich in P and K like other
cereals.
Mg,Na and Cl are very less and Fe is sufficient.
But lacks in Triptofan and Lysine A.A.
Protein found in maize in called-Zein.
5. Morphology of the plant
Tall annual plant grows to a height of 1 to 3metre or
more in some cases belonging to family
Gramineae/Poaceae.
It is a self pollinated and monoecious plant.
Root system
Root system is fibrous and deep ,well developed. It
consist of :-
(A) Seminal roots
(B)Crown or coronal roots
(C)Brace or aerial roots
6. Stem
The stem is made up of approximately 12-18 nodes and internodes and
is completely filled with pith .The number of internodes my vary but
on an average there are 14 internodes .
A leaf is attached to every node , and often a bud or branch arises at
a node .
Leaves
Develop alternately or opposite side of the stem .Each leaf consist of
a thin ,flat and expanded blade with a midrib and smaller veins and
thicker more rigid sheath.Each sheath surrounds the internodes above
the node to which it is attached
No of leaves varies from 12-20, stomata are present on both side of
the leaves .
7. Inflorescence
Normally a monoecious plant having two type of inflorescence.
Female inflorescence develop into ear (cob)and the male is
tassel.
Flower borne on two different part of the plant .
Male flowers borne in cluster(tassel) on top of end of stem.
while female borne aside of the plant inside young cobs .
female inflorescence develops1-3 days after male
inflorescence.
10. Area and production
It is cultivated on nearly 150 m ha in about 160 countries.
In India
In India it is grown over an area 6.4 mha with
total production of about 22.23million tonn
contributes 9%in National food basket
maize growing states that contributes more than
80% are Andhra pradesh (20.9),Karnataka
(16.5),Rajasthan(9.9),Maharastra(9.1)&Bihar(As
Rabi crop) (8.9)% respectively .
11. In world
USA is the largest producer 36%(782mt),
with productivity >9.6t/ha followed by
China ,Brazil,India,Argentina ,Ukraine
and Mexico.
13. Source: The daily records, March 2018
Fig. 2: Top five maize producing
countries in the World in 2018 (million
metric tonnes)
14. Classification of maize
S.no MAIZE (SPP) CHARACTER
1 Flint corn (Zea mays indurata) Kernel is hard and smooth, commonly
cultivated in India.
2 Dent corn (Zea mays indentata) Kernel appears like tooth,so named
dent
Corn mainly grown in USA.
3 Pop corn ( Zea mays everta) To prepare food products like ,corn
flakes, corn chips, pop corn etc.
4 Sweet corn (Zea mays saccharata) In this, a translucent sweet horny
appearance before maturity.
5 Soft corn ( Zea mays amylacea) Kernel almost entirely consist of soft
starch is known as soft corn.
6 Pod corn (Zea mays tunicata) Husked, primitive type of corn.
7 Waxy corn ( Zea mays cerabina
kulesh)
Commercially grown on a small scale.
Produce starch to tapioca starch.
15. Soil and climate requirement
Climate -:
Most suitable temperature is 21ºCfor germination and
for growth 32°C.
Grows from sea level to 3000mtr altitudes.
In north India mainly grownas Kharif (Monsoon)season
crop.
In south India any time from April -oct.
Soils -:
Red sandy loams to medium black soils with good
drainage facilities are preferable.
Maize does not come up well heavy clay in saline,
alkaline and waterlogged soils.
Optimum pH range should be 5.5 to 7.5.
16. Growth stages-
seedling - 1-14 days(from sprouting to 2-
4 leaves)
vegetative -15-39 days (30-35 days )
flowering -40-64 days
maturity-66-95days
ripening -96-105 days.
17. Varities
A number of hybrids and composites for Kharif and Rabi
season have been recommended.
Hybrids like Ganga safed (resistant to downy mildew),ganga
2,Ganga-5, ganga -7,Ganga-9 (Released by PAU, Ludhiana)
Composites like Kisan ,Tarun,Harsha,Arun,Kiran (Released
by Anand Agriculture University,Gujrat ) are recommended
for cultivation.
20. Land Preparation -:
Good tilth in the soil for seed germination.
Scrap the weeds and stubble.
One deep ploughing followed by 2-3 harrowings .
Planking should be done after each ploughing.
21. Time of sowing -:
Season Optimum time of sowing
Kharif Last week of June to first fortnight July
Rabi Last week of October for inter cropping and up to
15th of November for sole crop
22. Methods of planting
Planting depth to some extent depends on the moisture
status of the field and the type of soil .Usally the following
methods are followed :-
1) Palnting on side of ridge :-followed in high rainfall condition
2) Planting in narrow furrows:-followed in low rainfall areas .
3) Planting in flat bed with no earthing up :-In normal
condition
4) Planting in flat bed with earthing up 40-50 days after
planting:-Areas having heavy storms during rainy season .
24. Transplanted maize
If sowing time is late then it can be
grown as transplanted crop.
For Transplanting in one ha area
nursery requirement is -700-800m2
25. Seed rate and spacing
Generally seed rate for-
Composite varities - 18-20gh/ha
Hybrid varities - 20-25kg/ha
Spacing is kept 20-25cm in rows and
60-60 cm plant to plant
26. Seed rate and plant geometry -:
S.
No.
Purpose Seed rate
(kg ha-1)
Plant geometry
(plant x row, cm)
Plant population
Plants /ha
1 Grain (normal) 20 60 x 20
75 x 20
83333
66666
2 Sweet corn 8 75 x 25
75 x 30
53333
44444
3 Baby corn 25 60 x 20
60 x 15
83333
111111
4 Pop corn 12 60 x 20 83333
5 Green cob (normal
maize)
20 75 x 20
60 x 20
66666
83333
6 Fodder 50 30 x 10 333333
28. Nutrient management:-
Application of FYM 10 t/ha,10-15 days prior to sowing.
N:P2O5:K2O ratio for hybrids and composites vary -
120:60:40kg/ha - hybrids .
80:30:20 kg/ha -composites .
and 25 kg ZnSO4 /ha is recommended.
Method of fertilizers application: Full doses of P, K and Zn
should be applied as basal.
Nitrogen application in five splits doses -:
S. No. Crop Stage Nitrogen rate (%)
1 Basal (at sowing) 20
2 V4 (four leaf stage) 25
3 V8 (eight leaf stage) 30
4 VT (tasseling stage) 20
5 GF (grain filling stage) 5
29. Water management
generally 8 irrigations are given to kharif season
crop , and for winter seson soil should be kept
moist with frequent and mild irrigation.
Surface
irrigation
Sprinkler
irrigation Drip irrigation
30. Weed management
First weeding is done during 20 to 25 days and may be continued till 75 days after
sowing.crop weed competition is upto 45 days .
Atrazine being a selective and broad-spectrum herbicide in maize checks the
emergence of wide spectrum of weeds. Pre-emergence application of
Atrazine (Atratraf 50 wp, Gesaprim 500 fw) @ of 1.0-1.5 kg a.i ha-1 in 600
litre water, Alachlor (Lasso) @ 2-2.5 kg a.i ha-1, Metolachlor (Dual) @ 1.5-2.0
kg a.i ha-1, Pendamethalin (Stomp) 1-1.5 kg a.i. ha-1 are effective way
for control of many annual and broad leaved weeds.
Manual
weeding
intercultivation
Mulching
32. Cropping system
In the irrigated areas many rotataions of crops involving
maize are feasible . some of the sysytems are followed
are-
maize -potato 1 year
maize -wheat 1 year
maize -toria -wheat 1 year
maize -toria -sugarcane 2 year
maize -wheat -cotton - Barseem 2 year
maize-potato-sugarcane -wheat 3 year
34. Thinning and gap filling
Thinning is done by keeping one healthy seeding
/hill on 7-8 days.
Gap filling is done where seeding is not
germinated(2seeds/hill)and immediately pot
water it .
Crop should also earthed up 30-35 days after
application of fertilizer to prevent lodging .
35. Harvesting and shelling
Harvest maize cop when husk has turned yellow and
grains are hard enough having less than 30 per cent
moisture.
It takes about 90-120 days to mature.
Shelling is done by hands commonly, but now a days
corn sheller are available which are tractor drawn or
electrically operated.
37. Yield -:
Irrigated crop:-5-6 t/ha of grain in case of hybrids
and 4.5-5.0 tons in case of composites .
Rainfed crop:-2.0-2.5 t/ha for hybrids 1.5-2.0 t/ha for
composites.
38. Quality protein maize
It is characterized by presence of balance amount of A.A
with high content of Triptofan(5%) and Lysine(3.5%) and low
amount of leucine and isoleucine .
Varities for QPM-1-9,Rattan,protina and Shaktiman.
Baby corn
It is a young finger like un fertilized cob with 1-3 cm immersed
silk
The desirable length of baby corn is 6-11 cm.
it is a good source of fibrous protein and easy to digest.
Sowing can be done at any time from April to may.
Var-HM-4 ,Golden Baby, VL-42etc.
39. Pop corn -
Pop means kernel relatively small &oval and
sometimes oval in shape when heated about
170°C grains turning inside out.
var- Amber , VL amber etc.
fodder maize-
var-african tall,J1006
40. Plant Protection -:
Diseases
Common Rust (Puccinia sorghii)
To control Spray of mancozeb @ 2-
2.5g/litre.
Turcicum leaf blight
(Exserohilum turcicum)
.To control, spray Zineb/
Meneb @2.5-4.0 g/ litre of
water (2-4 applications) at 8-
10 days interval.
41. Downy mildews(Peronosclerospora sorghi )
Seed should invariably be treated with metalaxyl @ 2.5g/kg seed and need
based foliar sprays of systemic fungicide such as metalaxyl @ 2-2.5g/L is
recommended at first appearance of disease symptoms.
Rot of Maize
Use of bio-control agents (Trichoderma formulation) in furrows mixed with
FYM @ 10g/kg at 10 days prior to its use in the field. It always advisable to
practice crop rotation to minimize the disease incidence.
Banded leaf and sheath blight (Rhizoctonia solani f. sp. Sasakii)
Seed treatment with peat based formulation @ 16 g/kg of Pseudomonas
fluorescence or as soil application @ 7g/litre of water, carbendazim,
thiophanate-methyl and captan and foliar spray (30-40 days old crop) of
tolcofos-methyl @ 1g/ litre or validamycin @ 2.7ml/litre of water.
Maydis leaf blight (Drechslera maydis)
sprays of mancozeb or zineb @ 2.5g/litre of water.
42. Maydis leaf blight )
Banded leaf and
sheath blight
Rot of Maize
Downy mildews
43. Insect-Pest
Stem borer(Chilo partellus)
Chilo partellus, popularly known as stalk
borer that occurs during monsoon season is
a major pest throughout the country.
Chilo lays eggs 10-25 days after
germination on lower side of the leaves.
The larva of the Chilo enters in the whorl
and cause damage in the leaves.
44. Pink Borer (Sesamia inference)
foliar spray of 0.1 % Endosulfan in 700 ml (35 EC) in 250 litre water 10 days
after germination is very effective.
Shoot fly (Atherigona sp.)
Sowing must be completed before first week of February so that the crop will
escape shootfly infestation.
Spring sowing must be accompanied with seed treatment with Imidacloprid
@ 6ml/kg seed.
Termites (Odontotermes obesus)
For control of termite fepronil granules should be applied @20kg ha-1
followed by light irrigation. If the termite incidence is in patches, than
spot application of fepronil @ 2-3 granuled/ plant should be done.
